5 Ways to Improve your Growth Mindset to Become Successful

To start a new business and be successful, it’s essential to cultivate a mindset that guides you through the inevitable ups and downs.

Start by listening to your self-talk. What are you telling yourself? Are you questioning whether you have the skills or talent for a project? When you think about taking on a new challenge, do you resist for fear of failing? Do you worry that you will fail, and that people will look down on you? When you fear the future, you doubt your abilities, put yourself down, criticize your errors and expect failure. This negative thinking damages your self-confidence, harms your performance, and will stop you from following the path to success.

If you look at people who are successful, how did they get there? Where they just lucky or were they talented? Or are they successful from years of hard work, perseverance, and persistent learning from their mistakes?

Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset

The difference is what is known as fixed and growth mindsets. How is a growth mindset different from a fixed mindset? Most people are somewhere in between, having a fixed mindset in one area of their life and a growth mindset in another, even though they lean towards one side or the other.
 

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck explains in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, that it’s not intelligence, talent or education that sets successful people apart. It’s their mindset or the way they approach life’s challenges. In her research, she built on the theory of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to continue to form new connections into adulthood, after it had been damaged or when it’s stimulated by new experiences.

She writes: “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character, well then, you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.” The fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life, Dweck says.

“I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves in (a learning setting), in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?”

But when you start viewing things as mutable, the situation gives way to the bigger picture.

“This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”

So, if a fixed mindset can hold you back, how can you cultivate a growth mindset to help you reach your goals?

How to Develop a Growth Mindset to become successful in business 

View challenges as opportunities

Everyone faces challenges and obstacles throughout life, but the way you respond to them can make the difference between success and failure. Recognize that you have a choice. With a fixed mindset you’ll see setbacks as proof that you’re not good enough. But if you see them as opportunities for growth, you can learn, change your strategy, and try again.

Persist in the face of setbacks

When you make a mistake or fall short of a goal, you haven’t failed. You can learn the skills you need to achieve your goals. Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning”. Most people make mistakes and learn from them. The most successful people in the world regard themselves as lifelong learners.

Cultivate grit

Grit is the engine that moves us toward our goal. Having grit is about having stamina, a persistent and consistent pursuit of a long-term goal even when we are struggling, faltering, or temporarily failing. Grit is to have passion and see effort as the path to mastery. Angela Lee Duckworth defines grit this way: “Grit is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals.” See her 2013 TED talk, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance .

Take action

When you practice thinking and acting in a mindset of growth, it becomes easier to tackle obstacles in a more positive way. Acknowledge and embrace imperfections and don’t let perfectionism stop you from taking action and trying new things. You may not succeed the first time, but practice helps you to develop. Every day is a clean slate to make new goals and take action on them, and continue to make a new goal for every goal accomplished.

Keep the big picture in mind

Having a growth mindset means that you have a greater sense of your purpose. You know your why. Why you want to start your business. What you want to accomplish. Who you want to help. Why this is important to you. How this will impact your life and other peoples lives. How you will feel when you accomplished your goals. Other people's success inspires and motivates you to build a successful business.
   

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