According to psychologist Carol Dweck, these are people with a growth mindset, and the other end of the spectrum is the fixed mindset people:
- Fixed Mindset – This group of people believes that there are aspects of themselves, or a core, that simply cannot be changed. Maybe superficial upgrades can be made to other parts of the self, but this group believes that we are who we are, and we should make the most of what we have. They believe that trying to change those basic, core aspects will only lead to failure, so there isn’t any point in trying.
- Growth Mindset – People with this mindset believe that traits, intelligence, and ability can be upgraded and developed over time. They see themselves not as something fixed and static but rather as a person that is evolving constantly, always changing and becoming something new and different. People with this mindset might fail in their attempts at growth, but even failure is evolution.
It’s important to note that science proves definitively that the growth mindset people have it right. Nothing about us is ever fixed, and everything can be improved upon at any point in life.
Taking the growth mindset to the next level
I think this quote really drives home the importance of the difference between these two mindsets:
Some years ago, I talked with an industrial psychologist. “When you cut through all the motivational crap,” he said, “people have only two primary motivations: pursuit of possibilities and avoidance of negative consequences.”
“Around 3 percent of our population,” he continued, “is primarily motivated to pursue possibilities. About 92 percent completely concerns itself with avoiding negatives. There’s a 5 percent swing group that’s sometimes motivated by one, sometimes the other.”
The 3 percent group that the industrial psychologist mentions would be the group that really whole-heartedly embraces a growth mindset. They’re the people for whom growth is not just a mindset, it’s a lifestyle that influences everything they do.
I think there any many among us who want to be that person that’s always striving for something new and exciting but it’s certainly not easy to achieve, because it is human nature to seek security and to avoid risks.
But how do I become that person, you ask
I think this is one of those times where psychology can show us the door, but it can’t help us walk through it.
I can tell you all kinds of useful things about these kinds of people (see How to be an Expert at Anything and The 8 Secrets of Success) but really, it’s up to you to follow their example.
Perhaps the best advice I can give you is that it’s a hell of a lot of fun to embrace risk taking and growth and just follow your dreams. This blog is part of my growth and risk taking master plan for the universe and even when I hate it and I want to just delete everything it’s still exciting and new and always interesting.
So ask yourself, do you want to become that person or not? It’s a simple question and too often we complicate fundamental questions like this with a million little problems and dilemmas when we should really be shaping our lives around our answers to those fundamental questions.
If your answer is yes, start right now. You probably know what your first step is, whatever your dream may be, so go do it this instant!
Further Reading:
-Fear and Anxiety: They’re in the System by Cliff Havener
Really nice post! Thanks for the encouragement! We sure need a healthy dose of it once in a while to keep our focus on our goals.