BioSteel Breakdown – Growth VS. Fixed Mindset

In 2006, Carol Dweck, a scientist and researcher at Stanford University published a book titled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, the central idea being that people’s opinions fall on a mindset continuum, with Growth at one end and Fixed at the other. Individuals have existed on this spectrum for centuries. Dweck had gone further and created a classifiable and assessable format.

Where an individual sits on this spectrum predicts how they will react to different obstacles in life, primarily failure, and what sort of steps they will take to overcome or prevent it from happening again.

Fixed Mindset: Skills are innate, and talent is the sole indicator of success. The focus is on appearing smart, funny, attractive, etc. at all times.

Growth Mindset: Our skills are malleable, and we possess the ability to impact and improve them with practice and dedication. The focus is on learning and becoming better versions of ourselves.

We likely all want to exist in a Growth mindset. Every failure IS an opportunity, and every setback is a comeback. It is a painful and challenging place to live as it requires a level of personal honesty that can strip you raw. It’s easier to chalk up your failure and success to some external source – whoever gave you the level of talent you possess – and continue bitterly at the world as opposed to accepting responsibility yourself.

If you’re reading this article, I doubt you are that person, and fortunately, it doesn’t matter where you are on the spectrum – you CAN work towards Growth.

Here are the top 3 steps that Championship Lifestyle recommends for leaving behind a Fixed Mindset.

1. Be Honest With Yourself – It seems so easy but is in reality so very hard which is why we suggest writing it down on paper as if you are assessing someone else entirely. Write down your strengths and weaknesses and outline a few reasons why you picked each. After that brainstorm steps to improve upon your weaknesses.

2. Process over Outcome – Again, it seems simple, but you must fall in love with the process, whatever that is. It can no longer be about the win or loss only, the pay check, or the test result. Start to find joy in the work itself, even the mundane and challenging parts. The outcome is merely an extension of the process, and it pales in comparison to what you are doing day after day.

3. It Takes Time – We want immediate gratification, we want our problems solved instantly, our skills learned overnight, and our goals reached and smashed in record time. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Improving anything, but specifically, your mindset is going to take a very long time. You are going to struggle, you are going to take a step forward and six back but eventually it will happen. Have patience and endure, it will all be worth it.

Thanks to Championship Lifestyle for this refreshing and eye-opening article on changing your mindset.