Researchers over time have been looking at the different mindsets of people; one very significant study done on how childhood patterns of learning and development can impact our lives. This is mainly because very early in our formative years we are choosing to have one of the two mindsets, it’s an unconscious choice and probably an influence on all those that have impacted us in our formative years.
Carol Dweck explains how an individual mindset from the early days can have a huge impact on their life.
To quote from her study:
In one study, Dweck and her colleagues offered four-year-olds a choice: They could either redo an easy jigsaw puzzle or try a harder one. Even as early as 4 years old, these children exhibited characteristics of one of the two mindsets — those with “fixed” mentality stayed on the safe side, choosing the easier puzzles that would affirm their existing ability, articulating to the researchers their belief that smart kids don’t make mistakes.
Those with the “growth” mindset, thought it an odd choice, to begin with, perplexed why anyone would want to do the same puzzle over and over if they aren’t learning anything new. In other words, the fixed-mindset kids wanted to make sure they succeeded in order to “seem smart”, whereas the growth-mindset ones wanted to stretch themselves, for their definition of success was about “becoming smarter”.
She went onto a 20 years study and found even more fascinating facts of how your mindset influences almost all aspects of your life.
And how this plays out in the rest of your life:
It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and how your beliefs about yourself can have the power to create your life.
Believing that our qualities are written in stone makes us rigid and inflexible to anything that is not in our comfort zone. But more damaging is the fact that it creates an unyielding urgency to prove yourself over and over.
This can be exhausting and it provides no new learning opportunities, as it always results in rewarding, not process appreciation.
If we shift our “praise” to focus on “process” rather than results, the change in the self-belief changes.
The growth mindset looks at accepting challenges and learning from them. They are willing to learn and believe that everyone can grow through their application and experiences.
At the heart of what makes the “growth mindset” so winsome, Dweck found, is that it creates a passion for learning rather than a hunger for approval.
Its hallmark is the conviction that human qualities like intelligence and creativity, and even relational capacities like love and friendship, can be cultivated through effort.
People with this mindset are not discouraged by failure, but also they don’t actually see themselves as failing in those situations — they see themselves as learning.
As you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another—how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road.
People with a fixed mindset see every obstacle or failure as a personal affront and it damages their self-esteem. It's counterproductive as no learning takes place.
In growth, mindset challenges are seen as possibilities to better themselves and develop new skills to cope with the challenge.
We can shift our mindset with conscious practice and develop new neurons that create new wiring. Our brain has the ability to create new pathways all the time. A small shift of thought and belief will change how we view our capabilities and the world around us. As this impacts every aspect of our life, from professional to our most personal relationships.
