Growth Mindset

How much do you think your beliefs shape your reality? Could your mere belief about, for example, something you eat, actually dictate your body’s physiological response to that food? Researchers have shown exactly that:

Just believing that the milkshake had high vs. low calories impacted the physiological responses of participants! Of course, simply slapping fake labels on your food isn’t the answer to concerns about weight and health. However, this research and many other studies like it show how we usually underestimate the power of belief and perspective.

Mindset Matters

Burn this statement into your brain: How you see yourself and your capabilities profoundly affects your behavior and your future. Similarly, how you view stress and setbacks determines whether those challenges tear you down or become stepping stones for personal growth. Shakespeare’s Hamlet wisely observed, “there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Without question, our mindset--the lens we use to view the world and ourselves--shapes our reality and our opportunities for growth.

Decades of research from Carol Dweck and colleagues highlights the value of a growth mindset: the underlying belief that one’s capacities can be developed with effort and persistence. A person with a growth mindset is guided and motivated by a desire to learn, which has important implications for responding to challenges or setbacks. A person with a growth mindset is more likely to embrace challenges, seeing them as opportunities to learn. A growth mindset promotes persistence in the face of setbacks, because it brings the understanding that consistent effort is the key to mastery and success. In contrast, a fixed mindset works on the assumption that one’s capacity is static (the idea that you’re just born with it, and either you have it or you don’t). Unfortunately, operating from a fixed mindset leads a person to focus on appearances--trying to look smart and successful instead of investing effort in growth. People with a fixed mindset are likely to avoid challenges and give up quickly in the face of setbacks because they are more driven by the fear of failure. Interested to know where you fall on the fixed—growth mindset spectrum? Take this short assessment on Carol Dweck’s website to find out!: http://blog.mindsetworks.com/what-s-my-mindset

This brief video summarizes some of the key features of growth and fixed mindsets:

The Obstacle is The Way

A key aspect of a growth mindset is understanding that resistance is needed for growth. This understanding can have a profound impact on how one approaches stress and obstacles in life. The idea that obstacles can be used as stepping stones for growth has been around for thousands of years. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” This kind of thinking is a staple in Stoic philosophy, as is the emphasis placed on one’s perception and interpretation of challenges: “Choose not to be harmed—and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed—and you haven’t been” (also Marcus Aurelius).

It’s exciting to see modern research in neuroscience and health psychology yielding strong support for this ancient wisdom. In this very popular TED talk, psychologist Kelly McGonigal explains how one’s view of stress can have serious consequences for one’s health and wellbeing:

The main takeaway of this line of research is surprising to most people: stress is only harmful to your health if you believe it is. What we experience as the stress response--the physiological activation of the sympathetic nervous system--is extremely important in helping us rise to meet immediate challenges by preparing us for action and encouraging social connection. Where we get into trouble is when the thinking mind takes over and ruminates, elaborates, and anticipates further challenges, creating an unnecessarily prolonged physiological response. [In addition to the tips provided below, check out the mindfulness module for ways to tame the over-thinking mind.]   

Furthermore, part of a growth mindset includes an appreciation for the learning that comes through meaningful challenge. McGonigal’s work emphasizes that stress is always part of a happy life, because the things that often generate the most stress are also often the sources of greatest meaning. Many “stressful” experiences and circumstances can be reframed as highly valued and rewarding experiences; things that we would not choose to live without. Being a parent can be extremely stressful, but it’s a challenge that countless people find profoundly rewarding. Performing at a concert, pursuing a graduate degree, traveling overseas, starting a business… there are countless examples. What about you? Think about your most meaningful roles, goals, relationships, activities, and responsibilities. Think especially about those things that help you experience joy, meaning, love, learning, or purpose. Do any of these roles and tasks feel stressful at times? What would it be like if you suddenly had to live without these sources of both stress and meaning? Would it be worth it to lose these valued sources of meaning in order to get rid of the stress?

It’s an interesting thought experiment to consider what life would be like if all stress, resistance, and inconvenience was completely eliminated. What if everything in your life was easy and convenient? What would be the consequences if nothing was challenging for you? Yet, isn’t it interesting that so much emphasis in modern society is placed on increasing ease and convenience? This scene from the movie WALL-E provides a thought-provoking example of what the “easy life” might look like:

In summary, getting rid of stress is not the answer; changing our relationship to stress is. As a result, we can start by changing how we view stress and challenges in life. We can approach setbacks as opportunities for growth. We can make use of any resistance that life throws at us; these aren’t bad things happening to us, these are growth opportunities happening for us.

Personal Application

The research and principles summarized in this section provide several important applied takeaways:

1. Develop a passion for stretching yourself. Be grateful when something is challenging; stretching yourself leads to growth. Especially if you’re working toward something you value, approach any obstacle or challenge as a chance to increase your strength and resolve. Just like in physical strength training (e.g., lifting weights), resistance and challenge are needed to increase one’s strength of character. Remember that the things of greatest value require the greatest effort. Deliberately choosing more difficult tasks, and approaching them with courage and interest, contributes to a growth mindset.

2. Make all conditions serve you. James Allen, author of the early 20th-century work As a Man Thinketh, wrote that the “strong ones” are those “who only recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; who make all conditions serve them…” (emphasis added). Whatever conditions/circumstances you are dealt, use them to your own greatest benefit. If you are interviewed for a job but don’t get it, make a list of what you learned through the process, and apply it to your next attempt. If you’re stuck in traffic, use that time to take a deep breath and think of one thing you have to be grateful for in that moment. Whatever happens, ask yourself “How can I use this for my own growth/benefit?”

3. Be willing to “fail.” We can put “fail” in quotation marks, because, as James Allen observed in the previous point, failure can be viewed simply as one of the pathways to attainment. It’s natural to feel disappointed when we fall short, but notice how much of that disappointment comes from a perception that our effort was “wasted.” Was it really wasted? It doesn’t have to be. What did you learn? What can you do differently? Are you able to get feedback? What growth can come from this? Getting over the fear of failure isn’t easy, but there are some things that make it easier. One is to fail a lot, and to keep at it each time. If that feels too discouraging, try the next point!

4. Emphasize effort and learning over immediate outcomes. A hallmark of the growth mindset is feeling good about worthy efforts in a valued direction. It feels great when those efforts are successful, but an over-emphasis on the immediate outcome can undermine the persistence needed to achieve the most important long-term outcomes. A growth mindset emphasizes giving one’s best effort, understanding that over time one’s skill will improve and the chances of success increase. Let go of comparisons, and don’t judge yourself by others’ outcomes.

   Instead of feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with a new task or a challenging goal, can you bring a sense of curiosity to the process? What is there to learn here? Can you approach this as an intriguing puzzle to solve? Even if immediate success isn’t observed, you can give yourself credit for taking steps in the right direction. Later on in the module, you’ll find more great content on the art of persistence.

5. Notice thoughts that come from a fixed mindset, and respond with a growth mindset. As we cover in detail in the Mindfulness module, thoughts are not facts. As you learn the difference between fixed and growth mindsets, you can start to notice unhelpful thoughts that come from a fixed mindset: “I’m not good enough,” “People will think I’m dumb if I fail,” or “I can’t handle the rejection.” These are just thoughts, and you don’t need to believe them, obey them, or even spend time evaluating their accuracy. Simply consider: If you really buy into any of these thoughts, where will they take you? Is that the kind of life you want to live? You have a choice at this point. You can follow the fixed mindset thoughts with the aim of avoiding some short-term discomfort (likely at the expense of growth and other things you value), or you can respond with a growth mindset and the willingness to work through some discomfort in the service of growth and pursuing the things that matter most to you. For example, you can respond with statements like: “This is hard, but I know I’ll get better if I keep at it,” “No one is born knowing how to do this,” “I’m willing to get it wrong at first so I can really learn how to get it right.” Then, wholeheartedly take the action that leads to growth, learn from the experience, and feel good about having taken courageous steps in a valued direction.

6. Channel stress into energy that boosts your performance. Researcher Alison Wood Brooks conducted a fascinating experiment with people who were about to give a speech. Some were instructed to manage their anxiety by relaxing and saying to themselves, “I am calm.” Others were told to embrace the anxiety and say to themselves, “I am excited.” Neither approach made the anxiety go away, but those who embraced it and told themselves “I am excited” felt better able to handle the stressful situation, and independent raters judged their speeches as more convincing and effective. By shifting their perspective, they channeled their stress into energy that improved their performance. Other research has found that the same subtle shift in mindset improves students’ exam scores and protects workers in high-stress jobs from burnout.

   Choosing to view stress and anxiety as fuel for tackling life’s challenges can help you achieve your full potential. When you’re feeling stressed or anxious, see if you can interpret these physiological reactions as excitement, energy, and motivation to help you rise to the challenge. You might even say to yourself, “This is great - this is my body preparing me to perform well.” Kelly McGonigal describes this process as learning to “transform the physiology of fear into the biology of courage” (The Upside of Stress, p. 119). Over time, shifting your perspective on stress can have a remarkable impact on your health and wellbeing.

Mindset Resources

• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

• www.mindsetworks.com

• The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good for You, and How to Get Good at It by Kelly McGonigal

• The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday