Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset
How to Develop & Train for a Growth Mindset – Deep End Fitness
Developing a growth mindset is like training for a marathon. You need to continuously work hard in order to achieve your goals. Here are six ways to do that.
Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset
Our bodies require constant exercise in order to stay healthy and in shape. It isn’t something we do once and then are able to never address again. We have to maintain and constantly be progressing with our physical health.
When it comes to moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset it is just the same. The process of achieving a growth mindset is ongoing and requires changes to lifestyle and patience with your own progression. However, when you obtain some basic knowledge on training growth mindset, you’ll have a good foundation to build yourself up from, and in time it won’t seem so daunting.
If you’re looking to strengthen your growth mindset, check out our F.R.E.E. Your Mind Course, spaces are limited, so sign-up today and let’s get going!
So, let’s take a look at some basic ways to train a growth mindset so you get a better idea of how to go about it…
Understanding the Two Mindsets
If there was a place to start, it would be knowing the two mindsets. Understanding them even in a simple way can still be beneficial. A fixed mindset is the established belief that one is incapable of positive change. The growth mindset is its opposite, where a person believes they can change, grow, and improve.
When you establish a clear understanding of the two, you will be able to then apply it to your own life and better see where you may have a fixed mindset and can work towards a growth mindset.
Meet Yourself Where You’re At
We’re all on different paths and walks of life, with our own unique struggles and challenges. However, seeing someone who appears to be much further ahead in their progress than you are can be discouraging. You have to learn to not compare yourself to others. Allowing yourself to receive a healthy dose of compassion and humility will help you fully acknowledge the growth you need.
You do yourself a disservice by not mentally accepting where you are at in your progress. That acceptance opens a door of freedom, because then, you will be living in reality, and understanding it’s not about how you may compare to someone else, but how you compare to you from yesterday.
It’s Not About Other People
Other people will bombard you with their opinions. We either manage to resist the temptation to please others or learn to shape ourselves by their ideals. If you fall on the end of the latter, you’re more likely to have a fixed mindset, because you cannot possibly grow and at the same time be living for other people’s standards and expectations.
Learning to not live by other people’s opinions can be an incredible challenge. Truly learning about who you are as a person in what you believe and stand for can be very helpful, though. A great way to exercise this is to dive into your passions and learn to set boundaries for yourself in your relationships.
“Learning to not live by other people’s opinions can be an incredible challenge.”
Remodeling Yourself
Suppose you’re trying to land a job, but have yet to be successful. Instead of allowing that thought of “I’ll never find a job” to enter your brain, tell yourself “I will find a job.” Negative thoughts and words keep us from our personal growth. If we say something enough we may begin to believe it.
Start replacing those things you tell yourself with “I can” or “I will be able to” or whatever phrase is true and counters the fixed mindset. If a negative phrase tries to enter your mind, don’t allow it to get you down.
Become Aware
Maybe you have a tendency to get distracted easily or procrastinate. Maybe you don’t give things a fair chance. You may not be able to lift as much as you want. Perhaps you aren’t particularly good at math. Whatever it is you struggle with or have a bad habit of doing, figure out what it is. Ask a friend to help you figure out some of those areas of improvement, especially in the case where you are unaware.
This isn’t to say you should start shaming yourself or become overwhelmed by how much room for improvement there is. It’s about growing in self-awareness and detaching yourself from the idea that failure is what defines you. So make mistakes and fail. Do it in front of people. Detach yourself from the fear, and accept what is so that you can grow from it.
Be Efficient
It’s not about how fast you can accomplish your task. Being focused and putting in the necessary effort is what will determine the outcome of your success. Working on your growth only sometimes, or when you feel like it is not going to get you to where you want to be. It’s a daily journey trying to improve. Over time, the intentional thoughts and actions will become second nature and will be a regular part of your day when maintained.
It’s Not A Solo Act
Developing a growth mindset is not a journey you make alone. In fact, in most cases, a growth mindset comes faster and more efficiently when integrated socially. Not everyone has easy access to groups or friends who are seeking self-improvement, but there are professionals out there who can give you guidance. Places like Deep End Fitness offer coaching for growth mindset, and under a coach’s instruction, you will notice much greater improvements and have significantly less to figure out.
Even without a coach, progressing will still involve others. Friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, whoever you may have any interaction with, are all affecting your life in some way, and who you are surrounded by will impact your mindset.
Get Started!
Now that we’ve covered some pretty general and common elements of training growth mindset, you can get started. Just remember that if it feels overwhelming, there are experts who have made careers out of helping people with their growth mindsets. But you can start yourself just by doing some simple reading, or making a plan to meet with a coach.