Do you have a ‘fixed’ or ‘growth’ mindset? The answer may determine whether you’re frustrated or fulfilled.
Particularly in middle-age, many of us pause to look at our lives and are left scratching our heads. If we haven’t achieved the professional success or personal happiness we anticipated, we are likely to start questioning where we went wrong.
There are lots of reasons that we might perceive ourselves as underachievers, but the research undertaken by Standford University psychologist Carol Dweck illuminates an extremely common one: we didn’t get our mindset right.
Specifically, Dweck has identified two contrasting mindsets:
- A ‘growth’ mindset, which is grounded in the belief that our intelligence and abilities can be developed with effort, and
- A ‘fixed’ mindset, which is grounded in the belief that our intelligence and abilities are fixed.
You might think that beliefs about intelligence and ability wouldn’t have much impact on a person’s life outside of school or university, but nothing could be further from the truth. It turns out that our beliefs on these matters can shape the way we respond to a broad range of opportunities and challenges in life.
Fundamentally, people with a growth mindset value learning for learning’s sake. As a result, they are happy to take risks like looking silly or making mistakes in order to learn. This focus on personal ‘growth’ – as opposed to looking impressive – leads them to embrace challenges and push themselves to maximise their potential. And when they fail, or face a setback, they see this within the context of a longer ‘learning journey’, which means that they can pick themselves up and keep going.
In contrast, those with a fixed mindset resist opportunities for growth. They believe that people are born with a particularly level of intelligence and a set of skills which can’t really be changed. They don’t see the point in exposing themselves to criticism by stepping outside their comfort zone or seeking feedback on their performance. They also tend to give up easily in challenging situations because they view effort as something that only stupid or untalented people need to bother with.
Over the years, I’ve encountered many people whose fixed-mindset thinking has constricted their lives. They’ve recognised that they are frustrated by their lack of success, but haven’t made the connection between their situation and their self-defeating mindset.
One particular man comes to mind. Dom* was a professional who had enjoyed success early in his career but was struggling to adapt to changes in his industry. Increasingly, practitioners in his field were using computer software to perform tasks that had traditionally been done by hand. Dom didn’t know how to use the new software and wasn’t interested in learning, despite the fact that it was becoming almost mandatory to use it. He was despondent about the changes in his industry and outraged that younger people at his firm were being promoted over him. He suspected he might be at risk of being retrenched.
The solution to Dom’s problem was obvious: he needed to learn to use the software. Unfortunately, his fixed mindset wouldn’t allow him to consider this option despite the fact that he was relatively computer literate and would have been supported by his employer to undertake the necessary study. His stated objection to learning to use the software was that computers were eroding skill levels in his profession. In truth, it was a set of self-defeating beliefs that were stopping him from learning to use it. His fixed mindset was telling him that he wasn’t good at using computers, that he would look a fool in the training sessions because he’d be the oldest attendee, and that his younger colleagues would think less of him if he wasn’t immediately better at using the software than they were. None of these beliefs were true (he did eventually go on to use the software successfully), but it took a long time – and a lot of self-reflection – for him to overcome them.
So how do people develop their different mindsets? Dweck’s research indicates that our mindset is shaped by our family, friends and teachers during our childhood. If we are praised for our effort, as opposed to intelligence, and given constructive feedback, we are more likely to develop a growth mindset. For example, the child who is told “You’re doing a great job of practising your drawing – keep that up and you’ll become a better artist” is more likely to develop a growth mindset than the child who is told “You’re not good at drawing – you’ll never be an artist. Why don’t you focus on music – you’re naturally good at that.”
If you think you are being held back by fixed-mindset thinking, it’s definitely worth exploring. It takes work to change thought patterns formed in childhood, but the rewards can be enormous. To start the process of changing your mindset, you need to learn to recognise the fixed-mindset voice in your head when it speaks to you. Once you know what it sounds like, you can you start to question it, learn to ignore it and eventually replace it with a voice that’s far more positive and encouraging.
If you’re interested in learning more, a great place to start is with Dweck’s best seller, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Although a little repetitive (it was marketed as a self-help book rather than an academic treatise), it does a great job of explaining the role of mindset in all aspects of life, including parenting, leadership and relationships.
*Any people described in this blog are either non-identifiable due to changes I’ve made to their stories to protect their anonymity, or have given permission to have their stories shared.