What kind of mindset do you have? Do you believe where you are is where you’ll always be? Or do you belive that change and growth are possible?
I know that sounds weird when reading it, but it’s a serious question. Laid out like this it’s easy to say that you belive in change and growth, but you’d be surprised at how many people have a fixed mindset, versus having a mindset of growth.
Being of a fixed mindset means you belive that talent, intelligence, and even ability are given to you at birth. It means that you don’t belive that ability can be developed.
In other words, if you don’t have it by now you won’t because you never had it in you.
Of course, failure isn’t your fault. Afterall, others were born with greater ability that you.
What is the purpose of trying if you weren’t born with the right stuff?
The opposite is a growth mindset.
It’s the type of mindset that breeds hope. It assumed that both change and hope are possible. That you can grow into whatever it is that you want to achieve.
People with a growth mindset can take constructive criticism. People with a fixed mindset take it as a slight.
What type of mindset do you have?
This will take some introspection on your part to come up with the right answer because just like earlier, you’ll consciously say that you have a growth mindset. But do you really?
What self limiting beliefs keep coming up? How do you talk to yourself? Subconsciously, do you think that you’re not good enough? When failing at something, how do you take it?
If you consciously lower your self expectations then you might have a fixed mindset. If you feel that you just can’t do it because you’re not talented enough, you might have a fixed mindset.
But, if you see that failure is a way to learn how NOT to do it, then you definitely have a growth mindset!
Stop judging yourself against others that you see as being more successful than you. Instead, understand that they are just further along in their journey then you are. You may still be in the first chapter of your story while they may be nearing the end of theirs.
You’ll get there as long as you focus on having a growth mindset. See what skills you need to possess and work on achieving them.
Above all, know that this is your story to write. The only thing more tragic than allowing failure to end your story is allowing the fear of it to prevent you from writing it at all.
