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Your Simple Superpower - Growth Mindset

By Laura posted 03-26-2019 22:24

  

When you hear the word “superpower” what comes to mind? The ability to fly, be invisible, or have incredible strength? (Flying would be the one I would choose!)superhero_girl_Depositphotos_32145945_l-2015.jpg

Here’s the awesome news. In this blog and the next one, we have two superpowers to share with you. And they are totally within your reach.

This week’s blog is all about growth mindset. (By the way, it is totally possible to change your mindset!) Next week, we will dig into neuroplasticity – how it is possible to change how our brains are wired.

Growth mindset will help you fight negativity in your life, supersize your confidence and most importantly, help you pursue your path to purpose.

We’ll talk about the benefits of growth mindset, look at the incredible differences in the brain activity of people who have it and those who don’t, and take inspiration from some cute, furry bandits.

Read to the end to learn about a really easy way to shift from a fixed mindset to one of growth. All it takes?   The addition of one three-letter word. 

Feel the need to dig deeper?  Download our Growth Mindset worksheet. Want to share these concepts with your kids?  Sesame Street friends will help you out!

brickhouse.jpgFixed Mindset: The Challenges

Fixed mindset is when we believe that we are born with our talents and capabilities.

Fixed mindset is like living in a brick house – something solid that can’t be changed. It is easy to become defensive or anxious when you think that you have a set level of intelligence and ability.

The underlying worry is always, “is this enough for me to succeed? If not, I am in trouble!” The belief is that your talent and intelligence is what it is.  You can’t get more.

Growth Mindset: The Benefitsthrive_title_normal_resolution_4X3.jpg

The concept of growth mindset is the belief that our most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting place.

Growth mindset has some big benefits. It creates a love of learning, a willingness to try new things and a resilience that we need to be successful.

Face Off: Fixed vs Growth

Let’s compare fixed mindset to growth mindset to see how they stack up.

In a fixed mindset, you stick with what you know to keep up your confidence.
In a growth mindset, you keep up your confidence by always pushing into the unfamiliar, to make sure you’re always learning.

In a fixed mindset, failures define you. (because they define the limits of your talent or ability)
In a growth mindset, failures are temporary setbacks.

In a fixed mindset, it’s all about the outcome. If you fail, you think all effort was wasted.
In a growth mindset, it’s all about the process, so the outcome isn’t where your focus is and therefore isn’t as important.

Scientific Proof: In the Labbrain_MRI_growth_mindset_Dweck_TED_talk.png

How amazing is this? A study had participants fill out a survey which identified whether these people had growth or fixed mindsets. 

Scientists then conducted scans to measure the electrical activity in the brain as participants were shown a mistake they had made. If you look at these pictures, green means that the brain is not engaged. Red means that it is turned on.

The fixed mindset people? They are the ones in green. When faced with their error, they didn’t feel that they had the ability to fix it. So they didn’t try.

The growth mindset group? Their brains were switched on. They believed in their ability to learn and grow. So they leaned in and engaged with the problem in an effort to figure it out.

Nutshell is that growth mindset people feel empowered when faced with challenge. Fixed mindset people don’t.

Raccoon_getting_in_trouble.jpgScientific Proof: In the Wild

This is such a fun story to share. In 2002, the city of Toronto admitted that they had a big problem that came in small, furry packages. Racoons were wreaking havoc with peoples’ garbage and they were making a heck of a mess. People were fed up.

The answer? The city financed the development of raccoon-proof garbage cans.

Did it work? Nope.

Toronto’s Mayor John Tory framed the issue like this, “The members of Raccoon Nation are smart, they’re hungry, and they’re determined… Defeat is not an option.” (Love it!)

In 2015, the city invested another $31 million dollars in making their garbage cans raccoon-secure.

The obstacles kept coming, but as explained by Suzanne MacDonald, so did the raccoons. MacDonald, an expert on raccoon studies, compared these Toronto raccoons to ones outside the city. Through her studies, she found that all these garbage can challenges made the Toronto raccoons smarter than their country cousins.

Raccoon_39437561_m-2015.jpgHow Did They Do It?

What is at the heart of their success?

  • They are motivated – raccoons love their garbage can snacks.
  • They work together.
  • They have no fear.
  • Failure doesn’t discourage them.
  • They will spend hours working on a problem.

Persistence and motivation add up to a magical formula that we all can learn from. (Read how purpose naturally fuels this in us, becoming our strategic advantage.)

No matter how amazing raccoons’ brains are, I promise you that ours are superior. This is the proof – if raccoons can get smarter by working hard, being motivated and not giving up – without a doubt, we can too!

An Easy Way to Make the Shift: Power of Yetpower_of_yet.png

By now, hopefully you are totally sold on growth mindset. Here is a really easy way to welcome it into your life.

Whenever you catch yourself saying “I can’t” or “I am not good enough” add the word YET.  (Watch Elmo and friends rock out to "Power of Yet.")

For example:

  • I can’t speak French YET
  • I am not experienced enough to get that promotion YET
  • I don’t know how to do it YET

Simple right? But really powerful. By adding “yet” an important shift takes place. You are saying to yourself that with time, you will achieve your goals and you will push yourself to reach them.

In our second example, let's change this to “I am not experienced enough to get that promotion.” Period.

Energetically, it’s totally different, right? When I read that statement, it totally deflates me. It feels like we have boxed ourselves in. It's like we are saying, “I am not good enough and that probably won’t change.”

The addition of that one small word shifts everything. Adding YET transforms your fixed mindset (not being good enough) into a growth mindset (with hard work and more experience, I’ll become good enough).

That “yet” is you putting your stake in the ground, saying that it is going to happen. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. 

It’s Time to Power Upboy_taking_off_Depositphotos_81503714_m-2015.jpg

So how does growth mindset tie to purpose? The likelihood is that the purpose you pursue will be outside of your current skills and abilities. Purpose lies at the intersection of what you are good at, what you love to do, and what the world needs, right?

Just because you are good at something, doesn’t mean that you will be 100% capable straight out of the gate. A growth mindset helps you bridge the gap between what you envision doing and what you are capable of right now.

In this way, it helps us keep the faith in our ability to develop our passion. And that’s a superpower that we can all benefit from.

Next superpower we will learn about? The ability we have to rewire our brains and how we can benefit.  Stay tuned...

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