I don’t regret any decisions, even if they didn’t turn out as planned, because there’s always something worth taking away. I think that I can learn from success, but I can learn even more from failures.
For me, a growth mindset is having awareness to make decisions that will contribute toward my future self and having the strength to say no to what hampers my growth. Even more importantly, recognizing what is actually worth investing my energy into and whether it’s something my future self would be proud of is paramount to find growth.
The term “growth mindset” has become very popular in recent times, it is basically on top of everyone’s minds! But what does it truly mean?
According to Harvard’s Business Review, it is the concept that skills can be developed through hard work, good techniques, and feedback from others. It’s not just about having goals and wanting to grow, but also about the strength to make tough decisions that may not work out, the ability to work through constant feedback, and accepting rejection without taking it to heart.
Personally, some of my biggest growth has come from emotional experiences. For instance, it took me years to comprehend not everyone’s my friend and there’s absolutely no shame in calling most people an acquaintance. Before that point, I was a version of me who got disheartened when acquaintances didn’t show up like real friends. I learned that having one real friend is enough, that I can still enjoy acquaintances’ company without considering them friendships, and to be grateful for the close friends I do have. Now, I fully invest in my core friendships and draw strict boundaries for the rest. This emotional clarity and growth didn’t come from having that boundary defining mindset, but learning my lessons as I experienced life as well.
Having a growth oriented mindset has shaped how I approach my professional life too. When a job doesn’t work out or I don’t get a job I wanted, I look at it from a different perspective. There are always two factors: those I can control, and those that I cannot. For the ones that I can control, I reflect back on them — sometimes I find my answer and sometimes I don’t. After I’ve done all I can on my end, I resort to my belief that it didn’t happen because it wasn’t meant to be and something better may be awaiting me.
Having a growth mindset can appear similar to having a positive mindset, but these are not one in the same. A positive mindset relates more to making the most out of a fixed situation, however, a growth perspective looks at potential ways to change the situation itself. Everyone experiences a mix of positive and growth mindset, which continuously evolves with experience. These both need to co-exist for successful growth. Optimism is helpful when working hard, trying your best, and staying hopeful that it will work out.
Another misconception is that a growth mindset is just about rewarding effort, but it’s not. Outcomes and results matter, but so does the progress. It’s so crucial to take mindful steps, reflect on past failures, seek feedback, and overall, have the willingness to improve. Solely believing in growth is not enough to achieve success. Believing in growth itself is important but there’s so much more that goes behind being successful, like the choices you make, the risks you take, your intent, and your behaviour, all contribute to finding success
A growth mindset isn’t striving to be perfect nor avoiding failures, it’s about learning along the way and always aiming to do your best. There is no one-size-fits-all guideline to achieve it, but I personally found Stanford University’s tips to be useful. Here are a few steps you can take to foster one:
- Valuing your efforts is important! Sometimes despite putting in the effort, you won’t win, and that’s okay. Instead of having a self-critical mindset, turn those failures into lessons and opportunities for growth.
- I’m not there yet. This is something I practice in my personal life quite often. By using “yet” at the end of a sentence brings the focus to the ever-present scope of something better. For instance, “I am not the world’s best writer yet” helps me strive to write something better each time I do.
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Be compassionate with yourself. This practice involves dissecting the compassion you have for others toward yourself. This helps combat negative emotional thoughts and foster a kind mindset.
A growth mindset isn’t always winning a trophy, it’s about learning and experiencing. That is what makes it more valuable than an actual trophy.
