Looking back on my journey, I’ve encountered quite a lot of ups and downs that were enough to stop me in my tracks and just give up on the goals I was pursuing at the given time. But there is one experience that will remain diuturnal. I had a burning desire to go to the university immediately after my secondary education- my dream university was the University of Ibadan. I mean who doesn’t have the dream of gaining admission to the university? My dream course program was Communication Arts and sometimes I would visit the school and stroll through the departments and seeing students engrossed with school work was fascinating for me. I couldn’t stop picturing myself as one of them.
I was all up for it- I’ve imagined it, dreamt of it, tasted it, made plans, prepared for it. I was ready. I saw almost all my classmates from high school going on to further their studies but me. I was making no progress and I felt heartsick. As if that was not enough I lost my father and whatever invisible thread I was holding on to to get in Uni was ripped off. I felt all shades of hopelessness. I thought it was the end of it all. Apart from losing my father I also lost my sponsor because he was the breadwinner in my family. Things were not in good shape.
Then a time came after working for 4 years and saving up for my tuition fees with the help of my family and friends- I went back to school. I had my fears. Fears of not fitting in, fear of failure (I thought I’d lost the zest for school which will tell in academic performance). I was not sure how it would pan out but I was willing to take that step. And it was worth it in the end. This might not be your reality but putting up with obstacles is an essential part of our existence and overcoming them most times requires a good dose of the growth mindset.
Growth mindset is a buzzword that we hear every day and its real meaning is- water down. Making some people wonder if this concept truly works or if is it just to inspire them to perspire. In this article, I’m going to point your mind to the basics and how you can develop one to grow in your personal and professional life.
A growth mindset is simply the belief in your ability to learn and grow. And this is not limited to all grand achievements but even to the little things such as building new healthy habits. Dr. Carol Dweck is a professor of Psychology at Stanford University and she has done a lot of work and research on growth mindset, studying why some people succeed while others who are equally talented, do not her discovery showed that mindsets play a crucial role in the whole process and on top of that she wrote a whole book titled ‘Mindset’ talking about what mindset is all about.
Dr. Carol defined growth mindset to describe people who believe they can succeed and improve their skills if they put in the effort, time, and persistence. She went further to categorize the concept into a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
Fixed Mindset
These are a set of people who believe that skills and intelligence are set and they are not in control of their abilities. They believe that people are born with the skills that they have.
Growth Mindset
This category of people believes that skills and intelligence are grown and developed and that you are in control of your skills. They believe that skills are built and people have skills because they’ve taken the time to work on themselves and develop the skills they now have. They believe in their capacity to learn and get better no matter their status or age.
To take it a bit further, mindsets are influenced majorly by what we believe over time. If you want to learn a new skill for example and you think you can’t master this skill especially if you fail on your first try. Your belief in your inability to master that skill will stop you from taking any action which means you won’t grow. Your belief that you can do something is more likely to inspire action or make you start than when you believe you can’t. And when you take action repeatedly, you will likely make significant growth.
Another characteristic is that people with a fixed mindset focus on the outcome or how they look while people with a growth mindset are more concerned about the process.
These two characteristics (Beliefs and Focus) can be linked to the key ingredients of growth:
Efforts.
Someone with a fixed mindset will not put in the effort because they believe (believe) that it is not necessary and they are not born with the skills required for the task.
On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset, you believe that efforts are of high priority on the growth journey, so you put in the effort and practice.
Mistakes
Someone with a fixed mindset will not want to look bad and are easily discouraged whenever they make a mistake. This person's ‘focus’ is on the outcome. But if you see mistakes as an opportunity to learn then you have a growth mindset.
Challenges
When a person with a fixed mindset is faced with challenges they take flight; this is because they mostly see challenges as a threat because they believe (belief) that they don’t have or are born with the ability to tackle those challenges.
On the flip side, if you have a growth mindset, you’re more likely to embrace challenges and see them as an opportunity to learn and grow.
Feedback
Feedback to a person with a fixed mindset is commonly an attack and they take it personally or get defensive but feedback to a person with a growth mindset is often received with appreciation.
I need to point out here that a growth mindset is not a magical pill that changes everything automatically and you find yourself excelling at all your endeavors.
And it is not just a desire or making social media posts out of it. It requires a substantial amount of effort or commitment. I learned that the hard way.
One thing that constantly stands in the way of achieving a growth mindset is the fear of failure. This fear can be so crippling that you might not even recognize it. And you come up with these familiar excuses- it’s not my thing, I’m not even cut out for that or I don’t have the time, and so on, making it even harder to take a step. But deep down, there is the fear of criticism and what people think or how it is going to make you look when you fail.
Here is one thing I’ve learned in managing fear of failure. I like to see it as a learning curve. When I need to learn a new thing or have a task that I’m not particularly good at, I approach it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Yes, I don’t know it but if I put in the effort to learn I’ll master the skill. And even if I fail or things turn out messy. I prefer not to stay stuck but I’d rather find a way out. This does mean that I don’t acknowledge those failures but I don’t want to be blinded from seeing what lies ahead.
So instead of running away from learning, or disembarking on a new journey due to fear of failure, embrace it as an opportunity to learn and grow. You’re undergoing a process that will build you and equip you. That should be your focus and not how you will look if you fail. There are quite a good number of people who have shown us through their lives that failure does not destroy but is a catalyst for growth and success. The story of Nelson Mandela amongst others is always very inspiring to me. This will likely help you to achieve those goals.
How to Embrace a Growth Mindset
Knowing How the brain works- Neuroplasticity
I promise you I didn’t intend to take you through this but it is necessary for where we’re heading.
Research has shown that the human brain is massively plastic and can be molded and adjusted to new learning or experience.
Our brain is a series of circuits and pathways and when we do something, a pathway is fired and when we do that same thing several times, the circuit is built. This is how practice builds a skill. This means we can improve on anything that you care about. Our brain adjusts itself to the machinery of that ability.
I know that we all are different when it comes to learning a new skill. And it may be challenging, to take the necessary action but those challenges are good for the brain. This can be likened to the gym where you build muscles by carrying heavy weights and doing strenuous exercise. If you don’t do it then you won’t build the muscles. And you can’t build muscles by watching others working out, which is the same way you can’t master a new skill or grow by observing what others are doing or knowing what they do. You get better by doing.
Think About How You Got Better At Other Skills
Sometimes it helps to remember how you’ve built some skills that you have.
When I remember how I’ve successfully conquered other skills it means I can also learn and master a new one. Especially if the new skill you’re learning is proving to be difficult, you will recall that you were not good when you started on the skills you know now but with constant practice, you become better at it.
Learn New Stuff
I’m not saying you should go off and start learning how to get to the moon unless, of course, it matters to you.
But the idea here is to learn how to do stuff you are curious about. If you have this sumptuous meal that you’re not sure how to prepare. You can binge Youtube videos showing you how to prepare a meal. If you want to do a simple task and are not sure how to do it, this is an opportunity for you to learn something instead of putting it off because you don’t know how to do it. Learning something new now and then challenges you and helps to keep you ready to take on even more challenging tasks.
Let me quickly add that these are not rosy at all, it can be frustrating but taking action no matter how small is much better than not doing it at all. You should focus on starting small, give yourself grace,and be patient as you continue to do the work, you’ll build momentum over time. It is very possible to grow, learn and build our skills in the areas of our interest even in the face of setbacks and difficulties. You should stop allowing a fixed mindset to rub you off of the opportunity to overcome obstacles and accomplish your goals.
We're all a work in progress so what are you currently working on to grow and be better?
I'm working on my consistency right now and improving my writing skills
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