Fixed And Growth Mindset: All About How You Carry Yourself

Your mindset determines how you feel and carry yourself. On a day to day basis you go through different things, make new decisions, try new things, and attend new events. How you carry yourself through these events is very important to your self esteem, your everyday behaviors, and how you view experiences. A fixed mindset is very easy to have because it takes no effort and in a way it's like the easy way out because you can give up on different things and not necessarily care or want to improve. The growth mindset is something you have to put effort into because it's trying to better yourself through everything you do, even your mistakes and criticism you may receive.

The fixed mindset is very common in adolescent teenagers or people with a generally low self confidence. It requires absolutely no effort or change and can even affect your life expectancy negatively. The fixed mindset affects your natural behaviors and you're less likely to participate in healthy behaviors such as social events, team sports, positive presentations, eating a healthy amount, and doing things you love in general. Some common phrases a person with a fixed mindset might say or think, “ I’m only good at certain things” and “ I don't like doing what I don’t know but at the same time I don't want to learn how to do it”. In reality there are always going to be interruptions, conflicts, and struggles, but they are there to make you stronger and if you have a week fixed mindset you will never grow from difficult experiences.

The opposite of the fixed mindset is the growth mindset. The growth mindset is proven to make people enjoy life more and have a generally happier disposition. As you can tell from the title of this mindset, it's all about growing and with growth comes strength. The criticism you received from others may be tough and for a little while it may make you upset but if you put in the effort to try to fix your mistakes and learn new things that criticism becomes positive. Some great things to get in the habit of thinking are, “ I will try and practice until I get the results that I want” and “ I welcome feedback and constructive criticism”. Many people tend to focus on the right here and right now not the outcome. If you put in hard work and dedication but you still fail then you should always try to persist and go back and review what you did to try to make it better and give it your all. Nothing that anyone really wants comes easy and it feels great after you work very hard to get what you worked for. It's like a self reward.

While the growth mindset sounds great in theory it will, of course, be easier said than done, but it's worth it. People with fixed mindsets may never try anything new or never reach their full potential which is very unfortunate but you yourself make that decision. Taking out the phrase “I can't do it” from your vocabulary will help you a lot. Instead of saying I can't do it, you can say “this isn't easy but I will work hard and stay on track to get it”. Another great thing to keep in mind is no matter what, what you start you should always finish. Growing in your mindset and self esteem can take people a lifetime so it's great to start right now and think as positive as possible.