What is a Fixed vs Growth Mindset? - Pathways To Happiness

In our everyday lives, we are constantly influenced by the people around us, what we read, and even our thoughts.

A fixed mindset is terrible for your performance in school, work or life.

It’s common for people to have a fixed mindset when they believe that their characteristics, such as intelligence or talent, cannot be developed.

So even if you put your mind to learning something new and improving, you will not be able to do so again in the future.

On the other hand, having a growth mindset is great for your performance in school, work or life.

It is because it helps you view yourself as being able to grow and transform throughout your life.

It will also help you take on new challenges as long as you believe you can learn something new.

Mindset Definition

A fixed mindset believes you cannot change, while a growth mindset believes you can.

Fixed mindset: “I cannot improve my grades or abilities.”

Growth mindset: “I can learn new things and improve my grades and abilities.”

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Fixed mindset: Views oneself as incapable of changing or improving. People with fixed mindsets believe that success is determined by innate ability. Therefore, they think success is ultimately predetermined.

Growth mindset: Believes that success results from effort and hard work. With a growth mindset, people think failure can be a learning opportunity instead of a step back.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset Examples

An example of how a growth mindset can help someone is with their abilities. If you believe that your abilities are not fixed and can change, you will be more likely to keep learning new things in your life.

Another example of how a growth mindset will help someone is with their emotion management.

If you are always thinking about the things you have missed in life and what you need to do to improve, it will be much easier for you to stay positive in school, work or life situations.

Many people know that having a growth mindset is essential for success but find it difficult to change their fixed mindset. But this is possible!

Changing your mind can be as easy as looking at different ways your thoughts could be wrong or limiting yourself from thinking about specific topics or behaviors.

It can contribute to helping you realize that it’s not just one thing that could change but many different factors over time. Focus on small steps, and the mindset will naturally follow suit when things start changing for you or getting better.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset for Kids

One way to help kids develop a growth mindset is to illustrate how they can change their behavior. For example, if your child tends to be disruptive in class, you could point out that their behavior has impacted the learning environment.

You could also give them examples from the past where they have changed their behavior and improved their ability to learn or behave better.

Another way to help kids develop a growth mindset is by helping them identify what skills or talents they are good at to improve on those skills in the future. Children need to maintain a growth mindset because it will help them to succeed in school.

You can see the research here and here on how a growth mindset positively impacted pupils.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset for Students

The fixed mindset is awful for students. Unfortunately, it can be so bad that it leads to low grades or poor performance.

Students with a fixed mindset often believe that they cannot learn new material and cannot keep up with their peers.

It leads them to give up on learning, which harms their prospects.

However, students with a growth mindset will instead put in the effort to improve their grades and performance, even if they initially fall behind.

They will apply the effort because they know it will lead to success and help them become successful people in their life.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset for Business Owners

A growth mindset is good for business owners because it means you can learn from your mistakes and improve the business.

For example, if you believe in your ability to learn new things and develop over time, you can use these challenges to grow your business accordingly.

Any person can have a fixed mindset, but when that mindset becomes consistent with their actions, it harms their performance.

On the other hand, if they have a growth mindset, they will perform better overall in their life.

Growth Mindset Challenges

The most challenging part of having a growth mindset is overcoming obstacles.

You need to be able to step out of your comfort zone and take on new challenges to grow.

It can cause you to feel a lot of anxiety, but you must push through and push yourself.

A mindset that enables you to work through these challenges will help you improve overall.

There are many ways that a growth mindset helps with your life outside of school or work too.

It includes how well you do in sports, relationships, hobbies, and more.

Having a growth mindset also helps with creativity because it allows for more opportunities for the ideas in your head to come out into the world.

Famous people with a growth mindset include Elon Musk, Jim Carry and Oprah Winfrey. By looking at their success, you can see how a growth mindset impacted their lives positively.

The Benefits of a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is great for your performance because it helps you believe you can learn something new or improve. It will also help you take on new challenges as long as you believe you can learn something new.

A fixed mindset will hold you back. As a result, you may not be able to grow over time, which could be detrimental to your performance.

If someone believes they cant develop their mindset, they are more likely to give up sooner rather than later.

They may feel confused and unsure of why they are even trying in the first place.

It is a prevalent example of this fixed vs. growth mindset dilemma:

If someone has a fixed mindset, they may have trouble starting a new project in their life because they feel like they can’t change who they are.

They might also feel like the project won’t last, and if it falls apart, it has wasted their time and effort.

Can a Person’s Mindset Change?

Yes, a person’s mindset can change!

One way to help change your mindset is by looking at other people’s roles.

For example, when you feel like you’re not good enough and aren’t striving to learn new things, look to the people around you who are always trying to improve themselves.

They are the ones who have a growth mindset, and they are great examples of why you should as well. But even if others around you don’t seem like they have a growth mindset, remember that it is still possible for you to develop one.

Your mindset can change simply by believing that you can learn something new.

How to Develop a Growth Mindset

Everyone experiences setbacks. A child might miss the target on their first attempt. An adult might fail a test or assignment for the first time.

Everyone also has moments when they feel like they aren’t good enough and don’t measure up to expectations.

These are called ‘setbacks’ or ‘growing pains,’ and everyone experiences them from time to time.

They can be frightening, but they should not discourage anyone from continuing down the road to improvement.

People who grow from these situations are those who learn from them and continue moving forward towards tremendous success instead of dwelling on past mistakes that have led to failure.

A growth mindset is a positive outlook that focuses on learning from your failures instead of avoiding them or dwelling on them as weaknesses that need to be corrected.

Failure provides valuable lessons that will make you stronger in the future.

Understand Your Current Mindset

It can be challenging to learn anything new if you know nothing about what you’re doing.

Therefore, to begin your journey towards a growth mindset, you should first examine your current mindset regarding failure.

To understand how your current mindset has developed and where it may be to the growth mindset, ask yourself these questions:

What do I fear the most?
What am I doing when I fail that doesn’t work?
How does this compare to my goals for myself?
What are my self-imposed limitations for myself?

Focus on Learning From Your Mistakes

The trick to developing a growth mindset is focusing on learning from your mistakes. Failure is not always something to be feared because it can provide valuable information that leads you to more success.

Making mistakes is an inevitable part of life, but how you react to those mistakes determines how successful you are in the future.

One way to handle setbacks is by looking at them as opportunities for growth instead of dwelling on them as adverse events.

When faced with a difficult situation, think about what you could learn from it and come away with a positive outlook. These lessons will help you grow from the experience instead of being discouraged or overwhelmed by what has happened.

Be Curious About the World Around You

People who have a growth mindset are curious about the world around them. They want to know what is happening, why it is happening, and how they can be involved in changing it.

One of the best ways to develop a growth mindset is to be curious about what you are experiencing in your life and ask yourself, ‘What can I learn from this?’ The first step toward developing a growth mindset is actively seeking opportunities for learning and practice.

When you set these intentions, you realize that failure is not an obstacle to overcome but merely a part of the process of becoming more skilled and successful.

This moment of reflection helps ground yourself in the present moment, which helps refocus your energy on what matters—improvement.

Put in the Time and Effort Required for Growth

To develop a mindset that allows you to grow from your mistakes, you must put in the time and effort. You must get out of your comfort zone and try new things even if they fail.

It can be difficult as people often avoid challenges because they feel uncomfortable doing something different from what they are used to doing.

However, this means you are avoiding the opportunities for improvement that failure can provide. Continuing the path of ‘avoidance,’ growth becomes difficult and may even become impossible.

Stay Flexible and Keep Learning

One of the most important things you can do is stay flexible and keep learning.

To grow from a setback, you need to adapt to situations as they arise. If you are going through difficult times, you must find a way to stay positive and look for the lessons that can help you grow from those experiences.

Failure is an opportunity for growth, not something negative or that needs fixing.

Here are more posts about the Growth and Fixed Mindset that you might like.

Conclusion

A growth mindset believes one can achieve success and personal growth with effort and hard work. There are multiple benefits to having a growth mindset; these include more personal resilience and willingness to be open to challenges, creativity, and tremendous success.