Think about the following situation. It’s a rainy day. You forgot your jacket at home. You got a flat tire as you were riding your bike to school. You arrived late to class. Your professor glared at you. You spilled coffee on the paper you had to turn in, and you burned your hand in the process. You received your score from the past exam, and you got a C-. How do you feel and react? What’s going through your head?Your Mindset

The attitudes we have during obstacle-ridden days are good illustrators of our mindset. Carol Dweck (2006) found two mindsets: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. People with fixed mindsets believe that their talents, abilities, and qualities are carved in stone, whereas people with growth mindsets believe that their basic qualities such as talents and intelligence can be cultivated through their efforts (Dweck, 2006). Those with fixed mindsets avoid challenges, give up when obstacles get in their way, ignore criticism, and find the success of others threatening. Those with growth mindsets embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism, and are inspired by the success of others.

With the growth mindset, we can acknowledge our failures and find inspiration to keep improving. For example, getting a D on a paper is not the end-all of your college career. That D shows the potential for improvement and learning.  The D might inspire you to work harder and seek out the resources and tools that will help you earn the grade you are capable of achieving. While the grade may be frustrating, your mindset will affect your response to either avoid the challenge or embrace the challenge and improve your work.

TIPS

  • Seek out new challenges. Even though you may struggle or fail, the amount of growth you’ll experience will be powerful and could influence other areas of your life.
  • Be persistent. When obstacles get in your way, power through. Do not give up.
  • When you receive criticism, do not ignore it. Listen to the criticism. Learn from it and see if you can change your thinking or actions so that you’ll be more successful in the future.
  • Draw inspiration from the success of others. When your friends succeed, offer sincere congratulations. Be motivated by success. Avoid comparing the success of others with your own path, as no two paths to success will look alike.

TOOLS

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