Mindset - What is it, why is it important (and how can it change)?
Make It Stand Out.
Mindset is how an individual's belief structures influence their behaviour or interpret the world around them. And it’s a term we hear often in different arenas - work, academia, parenting. But why is mindset important?
It was within Carol Dweck’s research that she discovered mindset is split into two parts - growth mindset and a fixed mindset. She began to notice how some children in her sample size would be willing to challenge themselves and attempt a task that was beyond their abilities, but not totally out of scope. And another set of students who seemed to never pick the more difficult task - even when incentivised. Dweck proposed that some children appeared to have a different mindset to their peers. A growth mindset individual will choose an area that challenges them beyond what they already know of themselves. They take calculated risk by knowing that they may not succeed yet the process will provide them with a growth opportunity - something new to learn, including about themselves.
‘Mindsets of individuals function not only as an underlying structure of individual motivations and shapes them but also as motivations themselves’ (Dweck, 2000)
Growth mindset individuals believe in change and growth and opportunity. They have an outlook that if they work or try at something then they’ll definitely improve at it, without becoming too focussed on the end goal. They’re aware of the small steps they need to take to reach their overarching intention. I sometimes think it’s akin to having an abundant mindset - not quite as woo as the word abundant has attached to it these days. More that there’s a gratitude in the ‘getting to do’ something, that life has a potentiality to it and it’s this attitude which is key in reframing peoples experiences and approach to life.
Whereas a fixed mindset person will choose a topic, test or job that they’re good at yet doesn’t challenge them. They don’t risk the idea of failing in some way as they play it safe. They hold beliefs that people’s personality’s or behaviours are static. I’m sure many of us have heard the saying “A leopard never changes it’s spots”! That, is a fixed mindset. Those with a fixed mindset find it incredibly difficult to receive or even hear criticism as anything other than a personal attack. Whereas a growth mindset person would consider it as an opportunity to reflect on whether they’ve missed a personal blindspot.
Mindset shows up in relationships, academic endeavours, personal setbacks and image formation (Song, Young Lee & Kim 2019. Pg.3) which is why it’s important to know which camp you sit in - growth mindset opens up the opportunities available to you in life. In their paper, Crum et. al (2017) reviewed how those with a ‘stress-resilient'-mindset’ are more likely to see stressful situations as an enhancing opportunity. Additionally, participants of their study also experienced more ‘positive emotions’ than their ‘stress-is-debilitating’ counterparts. I find it fascinating how our mindset impacts our emotional states / regulation, cognitive abilities, relationships and opportunities - have I mentioned it impacts your opportunities?! Just teasing.
But what if you’re someone with a fixed mindset, and with this new awareness, wishes to become more of a growth mindset individual? There’s a whole host of ways to approach cultivating a growth mindset but there are two that I’ve personally used in my life:
Offering praise for effort not ability or attribute - Dweck discovered that when children were praised and offered attention for their efforts then they were more willing to give things a go. What I mean by this is instead of “Your picture is so pretty!” to a child, you might frame it as “There’s a lot of detail in there. I love the colours, it must have taken you a long time”. A great synopsis of this can be found in the book, “Nurture Shock” by Ashley Merryman and Po Bronson.
The power of YET - The potential of YET as opening up the way your attitude shapes your reality. Adding that three letter word to the end of a sentence opens up the potentiality of achieving that goal, aspiration or overcoming that challenge. For example: “I can’t cycle up mountains” holds our attention differently to “I can’t cycle up mountains yet” - can you hear and feel the difference? The seed sowing that can occur through the language we use with others and towards ourselves, creates a mindset shift which encourages us to step beyond what we believe we know about ourselves and into the uncomfortable space of becoming.
Dweck’s work is now in most schools and workplaces, and it can be found in arenas such as Instagram (IG)! Song et. al’s (2019) paper looked at the type of accounts those with a growth mindset followed and why they used the platform. They found that growth mindset users on IG tended to seek out and follow accounts that offered them an opportunity to learn. As if they have a continual thirst for learning. I’d highly recommend watching Dweck’s Ted Talk, which to date has over 10 million views!
Mindset is also important when it comes to the motivation to change habits.
