7 Best Growth Mindset Habits That Will Help You Achieve Great Things

*Contributed by Brenda Berg.

Growth mindset is a belief that your skills and qualities can be improved and changed for the better. It means that you are keeping your mind open to new things and possibilities. Fixed mindset, on the other hand, is holding you back – it means that you are not open-minded and not available for change and improvement.

People can have a growth mindset in some situations but fixed one in some. This is not necessarily wrong, but if you recognize a fixed mindset in some part of your life, you should change it.

Growth mindset is something that you can implement in your everyday life simply by learning certain habits and working on making them a permanent thing in your life.

Here are some of the habits that you should consider:

7 Best Growth Mindset Habits That Will Help You Achieve Great Things

1. Be open to new things

Those who have a fixed mindset rarely ever accept new things. They reject them as their mind doesn’t like changes. In a recent study, both people with growth mindset and those with fixed mindset were asked a set of complex questions. Afterwards, they were all told if their answers were correct and this is where the difference happened.

People with fixed mindset cared only when they were right – their brain showed immense activity – but once the interviewer told them what they did wrong, why their answer is not correct and how to fix it, they would shut down. They didn’t care for any new information that they might get.

On the other hand, people with growth mindset showed great brain activity all throughout the interviewer’s speech and their brain showed activity especially once the interviewer started telling them how to fix their answers.

This is a good example of the difference between fixed and growth mindset but also a good lesson. New information and learning should always be welcome in your mind since that is how you maintain a healthy mind and have a successful life.

2. Look for like-minded people

If you are surrounded by people who don’t believe in growth mindset and who do not want to succeed in life, grow and improve, you’ll be closer to ending up like that. People who have a fixed mindset are going to affect your opinion too, inevitably. You’ll reconsider your decisions and needs. They will make you want to give up.

This is why you need to search for like-minded individuals. You don’t have to completely exclude fixed minded people from your life, you just have to find some to balance that out and give you a fresh perspective on the matter.

Sabrina Stone, a psychologist from Paper Fellows says ‘ Like-minded people aren’t necessarily those who always agree with you but those who share the same attitude about success and achieving it. There are plenty of ways to find them – in your workplace, online or elsewhere. What matters is that you are surrounded with people striving towards something. ‘

3. Successful people speak eloquently

People who practice growth mindset are never afraid to speak in public or to anyone in their environment. They speak freely, eloquently and in perfect time. This is a great habit to acquire. Your voice needs to be heard in a way that you want it to be.

Practice giving speeches at home, in front of your friends, family etc. You can also practice talking properly with people, engaging in interesting conversations at parties in order to get a hang of it.

Another way to practice eloquent speaking is to write down what you want to say before you say it. That way, you’ll be able to see all of your mistakes and remember your words better. For style tips and guidance in this area, you can always seek information at Via Writing or State of Writing. Work on your timing, clarity and volume for best results. These are all extremely important when talking.

4. View challenges as opportunities

Fixed mindset makes you view every challenge as an obstacle, something to be avoided, skipped or something worthy of giving up. Growth mindset has a wonderful habit of always regarding challenges and roadblocks as ways to learn new things and acquire new skills.

You can never grow if everything is as you want it. There have to be some challenges if you want to continue to advance in your life. Even studies support this.

‘With fixed mindset, challenges are regarded upon as problems. However, when you embrace the growth mindset, challenges become opportunities to learn, grow and advance. You see, the synaptic connections die if they don’t get used – learning new skills makes wonderful synaptic connections and that keeps you sharp and agile. ‘ says Henry Benner, a scientist and educator at Academized.

5. Accept lifelong learning

Lifelong learning is something that they should teach in schools. Children usually believe that once they finish their school, they’ll never have to learn another thing again. This thinking, on its own, is not a problem – the problem is when adults have that same school kid mindset and they don’t want to let it go.

You have to embrace learning and you have to learn your entire life. Learning is not a bad thing – it’s fun, makes your mind fit and you’ll feel much better if you invest your time into something useful.

6. Be empathetic

Empathy is important. Learn to listen to other people and hear their opinions. Open yourself up to different perspectives and learn from them. If you understand where the other person is coming from, you’ll think your opinions through and might even improve them.

7. Always be positive

Positivity is the key to a happy life. It’s not always easy to stay positive when the times are hard and it’s not about smiling. It’s about believing that things will get better and that there will be a positive outcome in the end. Don’t let the bad thoughts that you and other people may have to stop you. Stay optimistic.

Christian Jones, CEO and founder of Big Assignments shares in his story that he was stuck in his fixed mindset for a very long time. He couldn’t advance due to his own stubbornness. He used to give up once the smallest setback happened and he didn’t believe that learning new things and growing can give him anything good. With help from his friends, he managed to change his fixed mindset into growth mindset. This has led him to success with his company and in life in general. Better attitude invites success in.

 

Final Thoughts

Growth mindset habits are healthy, mindful ways of handling everyday situations. There are so many opportunities for you to show that you have grown and that you are a much better person now than you were before. Stay positive, happy and open minded to everything that comes at you.

Brenda Berg is a professional with over 15 years of experience in business management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Consultant and tutor for college students and entrepreneurs at Oxessays. She believes that constant learning is the only way to success. You can visit her personal blog at Letsgoandlearn.com