Have you heard the term ‘growth mindset’? What does it mean to have a growth mindset? Do you already have a growth mindset?
Having a growth mindset is not the same as thinking positively or being an optimist. It is a term coined by psychologist Dr Carol Dweck and her research team. Their research involved giving two groups of school-aged children tasks to complete, then providing each group with different types of feedback. One group was given positive feedback based on their intelligence and innate abilities – you did so well, you are obviously very clever! The second group was provided with effort-based feedback, meaning they were praised for their perseverance, effort, and ability to learn.
After giving both groups a second round of more difficult tasks to complete, the researchers found that the first group – praised for their innate intelligence – consistently performed worse, were more likely to exaggerate their results and chose less challenging tasks compared to the second group, who had been praised for their ability to learn. This led the research team to develop the theory of ‘fixed mindset vs growth mindset’.
With a fixed mindset, you believe your ability to perform a task (for example, solving mathematical equations) is set – like your eye colour – and you can’t change it and are therefore less likely to try to improve. Whereas, with a growth mindset, you believe you can develop the skills needed to improve your abilities (like building larger muscles by working out) and are then motivated to improve your performance.
Now naturally we humans are complex creatures, and it’s unlikely that we are ‘all fixed’ or ‘all growth’ mindset. Instead we tend to swing between the two depending on the topic or the day! But if you find yourself often thinking ‘I’m just not good at that’ or ‘there’s no point in trying, I won’t be able to do it’ – you’re probably approaching life with a fixed mindset. This can be detrimental to your experience, performance and ultimately your success, whatever you define that to be.
The good news is that you can have a growth mindset about developing a growth mindset! That means that cultivating a growth mindset is a skill and it is in your power to develop and build on that skill. How to develop a growth mindset: 10 strategies to success is a great article to get you started.
There are also some fantastic TED talks and podcasts available that help explain this concept and how to enhance it even further, including:
- How to enhance performance and learning by applying a growth mindset
- Change your mindset, change the game
- Grit: the power of passion and perseverance
- After watching this, your brain will not be the same
Finally, I’ll leave you with one of my favourite growth mindset quotes:
Imposter syndrome: “I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s only a matter of time until everyone finds out.
Growth mindset: “I don’t know what I’m doing yet. It’s only a matter of time until I figure it out.”
The highest form of self-confidence is believing in your ability to learn.
Adam Grant, occupational psychologist
This article was written by Career Development Consultant, Rindala Hadzic.
