Adopting a Growth Mindset

How to Transform Challenges into Opportunity

Our mindset is everything. Everything begins with it. That’s why we must do everything to guard our mind. In a world full of uncertainties that we are in, it’s your mindset that will help you to navigate challenges and tap into opportunities. It is expedient that we adopt the growth mindset. Believe that anything can be developed overtime. This include skills, knowledge and talent. So when faced with the down, it’s not the end because you can grow from the down to the up. A popular psychologist Carol Dweck expressed the view that failure is part of the journey to success, not the end point as a lot of people view it. Failure gives you the opportunity to learn lessons that will help you in the journey forward.

The Growth Mindset

The growth mindset is the direct opposite of a fixed mindset. A fixed mindset sees abilities and knowledge as static and unchangeable. It also views setbacks as failure or endpoint rather than as an opportunity to learn other ways to make it work. Whereas a growth mindset in time of setback, asks: “what can I learn from this?” with a mindset like this, you will find the courage to push on.

The Benefits of a Growth Mindset

The benefits of adopting a growth mindset are numerous. The benefits are beyond measure. With a growth mindset, one can easily bounce back from any challenges with more resilience, courage and creativity. Adopt the growth mindset and also surround yourself with a community of people with the growth mindset. The benefits cut across both your personal and professional development. The truth remains that there will always be challenges whenever we are trying to achieve a goal. So, therefore, the earlier one embrace a growth mindest, the better in order to emotionally prepare to deal with these challenges and achieve the set goals.

Practical Tips on How to Adopt a Growth Mindset

1. Rethink Your Thoughts:
   during setback, take your time to have a rethink of your thoughts. Distance yourself from the outcome and try to have a rethink of the entire situation and try to grill your mind on possible lessons that you are supposed to learn from the situation and use it to bounce back with a more creative strategy to get the project done successfully.
2. Keep Realistic Goals:
   the code to having a realistic goal is SMART. S-specific, M-measurable, A-attainable, R-realistic, T-time duration. Break your goals into smaller objectives. It will be easier to achieve in bits. And then have a grateful heart and celebrate little wins.
3. Truly Believe You Can:
   Truly believe you can. Whatever you have not achieved is just a matter of time. You are yet to achieve it is not the same as you can’t achieve it. As long as you can break a goal into smaller objectives, you can achieve anything.
4. Take Feedback:
   feedback is important to your growth. Successful people are those that have managed feedback properly. It is an opportunity to review. And be ready to take honest feedbacks. Ensure your feedbacks are taken from the real target audience. And then work on the complains while you acknowledge the pros.
5. Join a Like-Minded Community:
   no great person walks alone. No successful person walks alone. You need a community of like-minded people you can always draw strength from especially during setback period. There is a lot of learning and unlearning to do on the journey and you need others.

Real-Life Success Stories

Thomas Edison failed severally in his attempt to invent the light bulb. But guess what he said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” That was a man that believed in continuous learning. He viewed every failure as another way not to get it done. And so therefore his mind is positioned to keep looking for ways that will work till he finally found a way to make the light bulb work.

Harry Potter book by J.K. Rowling became a global phenomenon after Rowling encountered several rejections of the manuscript for publishing. She was resilient and kept improving and applying till she got a shot.

Conclusion

I hope it’s now convincing enough that adopting a growth mindset is not just an option but should be a way of life. By rethinking setbacks, setting SMART goals, and believe in yourself, you can achieve anything. With a growth mindset, every twist and turn in the journey only makes it more adventurous.

Also read: What is personal development?