A Tale of Two Mindsets

“I guess I’m just not cut out for this ‘walking’ thing.”

- Said no baby ever

You’ve met people with a fixed mindset. They fret, overlooking good and cover up their mistakes. They care about their position in the pecking order.

They believe we’re assigned a fixed amount of talent at birth and that this determines how far we go in life. They need to prove themselves and desperately seek approval from teachers, peers, bosses, and society. Their primary goal? Look smart!

Those with a growth mindset believe that talent is only part of the recipe for success and that with hard work and study, there are no limits.

They crave challenge and don’t mind failure, seeing it as a necessary stop on the way to Victory Town, and could care less how they’re judged. Their No. 1 goal is to improve.

We’re born with a growth mindset. You’ll never see a baby that’s afraid to try and fail. But social convention and an antiquated education system teach us to fear “doing it wrong.”

We know our mindset literally creates our reality. Now you know you have a choice between a fixed and growth mindset. I think our choice is clear.

But how can you develop a growth mindset? If only there were some tools we could use…