Last week was about mindsets and confidence. This week we will explore having a fixed vs. a growth mindset. The inspiration comes the work Carol Dweck has done in this space. Click HERE for Carol’s TED talk on the subject.
Carol’s premise is that you can either have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. If you have a fixed mindset you believe that things like talent and intelligence are pre-determined, and you will tend to avoid challenges, because failure is something you can’t do anything about since your skills are fixed. If you have a growth mindset you realize that you have a baseline of talent and intelligence, but you know these can be enhanced. If you have this mindset you view failure as an opportunity to learn and improve.
Connection to parenting-> My wife and I are trying to raise kids with a growth mindset. You’d assume that all we would need to do is praise our girls and tell them they can do anything. This is only a small part. The big part is celebrating the grind with them and what the grind has enabled them to do. For example, my youngest, Violet, will turn 3 over the weekend. She is behind with her speech. As Violet makes progress we praise her for that, and we also say, “I’m so proud of how hard you’ve been working on your words. Good job working on your flashcards. You’re hard work is helping you do better.” We don’t always do it, but we are trying to be intentional about celebrating the grind and how that leads to the result. We believe that if we continually do this we will foster a growth mindset, a mindset in which our girls will grow up and say, “I can’t do that yet, BUT I will figure out how!” Take that growth mindset and add in some grit and some sass, and you’ll have two strong Embry ladies ready to take on the world.
Work connection. I see two different ways this can connect with work. The first connection is to your personal mindset. Do you have a fixed or a growth mindset? Be honest. Here is where I’m supposed to tell you that I’m some wise sage who always believes in myself and always has this sunny outlook that I can grind it out and improve. I’d be lying if I said that. I have times where I’m like, “Forget it. I can’t do that garbage!” (That’s my maturity right there). The second connection is what are you doing to create a growth mindset for others around you? What are you saying and/or doing to get others to see their potential for growth? Are you praising them for going through the process like you praise them for the result? Are you helping them see how they messiness and pain they are going through now is making them better? If you can connect those dots for people they will be more likely to embrace a growth mindset. They will be more likely to say, “I can’t do that yet, BUT I will figure out how.”
The challenge: What are you doing to create a growth mindset for yourself and the others around you?
Have a jolly good day,
Andrew Embry
Striking Matches 