So, what is a growth mindset? It is believing that your abilities can grow and develop over time with hard work. It’s important to know what it is because it will help you with school, activities, and everyday life.
There are so many benefits to developing a growth mindset.
- Being perfect is not the goal. SO you never worry about everything being so perfect.
- Failure isn’t that big of a deal! You don’t see failure as the end result or because you aren’t smart enough.
- Taking risks and stepping outside your comfort zone is a good thing!
- You grow your confidence because you are willing to fail.
- You know you don’t have to be so perfect and can take some smart risks and not be so perfect.
The opposite of a growth mindset is called a fixed mindset and many of us have this. A fixed mindset is when you believe you can never get better. You are just born that way. You believe there will be no improvement no matter what.
The not-so-good part about having a fixed mindset is that you won’t take risks because you think you can never get better at anything. Having this type of mindset will hold you back from so much.
The cool part about is that even if you are reading this thinking “Oh my gosh, I have a fixed mindset.” Don’t you worry because the brain can reprogram! The more you work on having a growth mindset the brain has the ability to reprogram and help you grow one. The first step is happening right now. Reading this you are learning what a growth mindset is and you are understanding that our abilities can grow and improve.
Think back in kindergarten when you were learning to read. You didn’t open a book and read all the words you saw! It took practice and dedication. Your parents and teachers didn’t say “Oh well he/she can’t read it’s over.” No way! They knew with practice that you would get it!
The next step is making sure that you get rid of that negative voice that pops into our minds from time to time telling us that we aren’t good enough. Practice using your affirmations and replace that negative talk with positive ones.
Here’s an example. “When I struggle in math it means I am learning and I will get better” “I am not a good at fractions YET.” The power of yet goes with having a growth mindset. You are telling your brain that it will happen with some hard work.
A few last things to remember……
Failure is part of the journey. Don’t determine that you will never be good at something just because you failed the first few times. Keep working at it and understand that failure is part of the process. Remember it took albert Einstein 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. I mean talk about a growth mindset!
When you have the belief inside that you are always growing and learning no matter what challenge you take on you will be successful. Your confidence will grow when you learn to have a growth mindset and you won’t be set back by failures. You will be proud of the effort you put in and your abilities in every area of our life will flourish and grow. Make sure to always step outside of that comfort zone and challenge yourself so you do grow. And lastly remember those positive affirmations to help your mindset.
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