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Having a Growth Mindset

Double Vision
Kerry Volk

By Kerry Volk

Circumstances and decisions cause our lives to turn in new directions. Often these paths seem to be either good or bad for us. Depending on our perceptions, our interpretation of circumstances can cause us to take progressive action or become locked into static patterns of behaviour. By understanding the process of interpreting events we can make our decisions work for us, instead of against us.

The idea an old dog can't be taught new tricks is going the way of the dodo. It's becoming extinct, and for good reason. There are beliefs having what is called a 'growth mindset' can counter the old ideas behind what having a 'fixed mindset' is. We can learn new tricks – these being new skills.

A fixed mindset is the belief individuals have a set standard of traits, intelligence and behaviours inherent to them that can't necessarily be changed. Basically, you are good at some things and bad at others and that's the way it is. You are who you are.

A growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief anyone can be good at anything with enough learning and practice, of course with limitations. This is because your abilities are due to your actions. With enough practice we can all learn new skills.

It is important to note a fixed mindset can be harmful because it may hold people back from their potential to learn. By adhering to an old way of thinking, it's possible to believe we are restricted due to our natural born talents, or lack thereof.

A growth mindset allows us to see restrictions not as failures or shortcomings, but as a beneficial process towards fully understanding a complicated problem, and then seeking solutions - instead of giving up. It can help keep self-assurance high, when we push into the unfamiliar, to continue to learn even if we aren't the proverbial 'naturals' at it.

Harvard Business Review recommends this type of thinking. Although perceptions may not be true to reality, our chosen mindset determines how we approach both challenges and opportunities.

So how do we use a growth mindset to our full advantage?

By knowing experiences are always teaching us, failure doesn't come as such a harsh restriction. Instead it may be looked at this way– before anyone is really great at something first they have to be terrible at it. Basic talents and abilities can be developed over time through experience and practice.

This way of thinking allows mistakes to not be seen as shortcomings, but rather as a learning experience that hones our skill-sets for the better.

The word neuroplasticity is a good example to illustrate this type of thinking. This belief argues our brains can rewire themselves and form new pathways. The old adage that 'practice makes perfect' still holds water because, supposedly, with enough effort over time we can remap our brain by creating new neural connections.

With a growth mindset in place, it becomes possible to convince ourselves our skills can be adapted to new circumstances. Our character, intelligence and creative abilities are not set in stone, they are not fixed. Instead, our challenges may be processes that, in the end, make us better at what we do.