Imagine if your life was roughly the same 5 years, 10 years, 20 years from now? What if you had the same habits in 10 years as you do now?
Now imagine if your life was completely different 5 years from now – for the better. Imagine if you no longer had the disempowering habits you have now. Imagine if they were replaced by new, empowering habits. How does that sound and look like? Can you imagine it? What would those habits be? In order for us to evolve past our current selves, our habits and the way we approach our lives – physically and mentally – must change. A growth mind-set is needed and a fixed mind-set is to be abandoned.
Before I continue I would like to briefly highlight the differences between the two mind-sets, in my own words. A growth mind-set is a state of mind where you focus on the solutions. A mind-set where you are always looking to evolve, where you are accountable for yourself and ready to adapt to different environments to ensure a positive outcome.
Whereas a fixed mind-set is a mind-set of limits. A mind-set where we believe that we cannot improve certain things in our lives (or ourselves). This mind-set is more likely to belong to those who are not accountable for themselves and look to blame others in the face of adversity. A fixed mind-set is a mind-set where limits are constantly set, ultimately limiting the impact that individual has in their world and on the world.
I hope that provides some clarity on the differences between the two.
You can’t expect things to change if you are not willing to change
How does one go about developing a growth mind-set? It’s a fascinating question and not something we are born with. There are many things. However I will discuss the three I have found to be most valuable in my journey, so far.
I believe the first and arguably the most important step to developing a growth mind-set is curiosity. Without curiosity life is nothing. Without curiosity we will settle for what’s in front of us, without ever trying to achieve and discover more. Being curious allows us to push further, to challenge ourselves, to find out things about ourselves and who we are. Be curious. Look for more. Learn more. Live more.
Chase progression not perfection
Secondly we must acknowledge and embrace the imperfections within us. None of us are perfect. We can all improve. That’s a great incentive to learn more, is it not? How much more can we add to our repertoire to provide us with the capability to deal with the different types of challenges we constantly face in our daily lives? By acknowledging that we have work to do, we become more accountable. Accountability is in my humble opinion, one of the best practices we can adopt in our lives. Anybody who doesn’t consider themselves accountable for their life is on a one way road to nowhere. True change comes within. Stop blaming others. Make things happen for yourself.
Do it for yourself
Another crucial part of developing a growth mind-set is trusting yourself more, and to stop seeking approval from others. This is crucial because constantly seeking approval from others is going against yourself. You are not other people. You are yourself. The only approval you should seek is from yourself.
“Is this something I want? Does this reflect who I am? Am I doing this for myself or for the approval of others?” These are some of the questions that we must ask ourselves on a consistent basis to help guide us to the path meant for us.
As always the choice is ours, and it begins with accepting reality as it is right now and asking questions. What is my current situation? What do I wish to become? How can I become that? What do I need to learn and do to become that?
From then on we have clarity in terms of what we should do to help us grow, ultimately kick-starting the growth process and helping us to adopt a growth mind-set that we can sustain.
Thanks for reading.
Tony.
