Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: Why A Mindset Shift Strategy Matters

There is a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. Each one is very different, and which ever mindset we adopt has a significant impact on how we approach daily life. It will ultimately affect the way we feel, what our goals are, what we set out to achieve, what we actually achieve and what skills we develop.

The main difference between a growth and mixed mindset is one of perception. If you have a growth mindset, you believe that your skills and intelligence will evolve. If you have a fixed mindset, you’ll believe that you’ll never improve on something you’re not good at.

We are strong proponents of the growth mindset. Encouraging all business owners to adopt a positive perspective and outlook on life and education is something we never stop doing. So below, we’ll look at the concept of growth mindset vs fixed mindset in detail, and outline why a strategy to shift your mindset to a growth one is so important.

Growth vs. Fixed mindsets: Breaking it down

The human brain is forever changing, evolving and developing. It doesn’t stop. We’re always learning new things – from the moment we wake up in the morning to the movement we go to sleep. Parts of the brain will respond to different experiences, and the brain always has the capability to upgrade and every stage of life.

Yet despite this, there are so many people in life who think they’re ‘stuck’ in one place. They were born with specific talents or intelligence, and that’s what will remain for the duration of their lives.

In her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Stanford University professor Carol S. Dweck, she described the two mindsets:

• A growth mindset: where people believe that their own talent, intelligence and ‘smarts’ can get better through learning and effort.
• A fixed mindset: where people believe their talent and intelligence remain ‘fixed’ and can’t get any better.

Those people who have a fixed mindset think that they possess a specific, inherent level of capabilities that cannot change. They do their best to not look dumb, but rather to look smart as much as they can. Former Roman emperor Caligula was said to have a fixed mindset given his negative attitude coupled with his sheer brutality.

By contrast, those people who have a growth mindset realise that they may not know something, or that they aren’t good at something – and that that is okay. It is simply temporary. They don’t need to be ashamed of themselves or go out of their way to provide they’re more intelligent than they actually are.

What is a Growth mindset?

A growth mindset refers to a mental perception that one’s own intelligence and talent as personal qualities can be developed and improved upon over the course of time. That doesn’t just mean they’ll become the next Steven Hawking or Noam Chomsky (after all, there will always be differences in what we can achieve). It just means they believe that, through hard work and through positive action, they can increase your own talents and intellect.

Part of a growth mindset also realises that failures and obstructions are a critical part of growing up and learning. It recognises failure and pain as a short-term instance, and allows you the opportunity to learn from them and do better with yourself. People who have a growth mindset tend to:

• Have the belief that hard work and effort leads to expertise
• Think that setbacks and failures are short-term – and merely a path on the way to greatness
• Look for tough situations and embraces them
• Think they can develop and improve their own intelligence, knowledge and talents
• See other people’s success as inspiring
• Look at criticism as a chance to learn

What is a Fixed mindset?

A fixed mindset refers to a paradigm whereby one believes that their own talent, intelligence and skillsets are ‘fixed’. They believe that people begin their life with a particular level of inherent talents and ‘smarts’ that they’ll achieve one they become adults. Once they achieve that level, they can no longer go any further. They simply stop developing.

People with fixed mindsets try to steer clear from challenges and are intimidated by other people’s victories. They see attributes like abilities and skillets as something that you ‘are’ and that you will ‘always will be’, rather than that something that evolves over time. Your individual characteristics cannot won’t change, no matter what you do.

If you have a fixed mindset, you may tend to:

• Ignore criticism from others
• Steer away from challenges so that you don’t fail
• Feel intimidated by other people’s success
• Surrender easy
• Believe exerting effort is pointless
• Hide embarrassing attributes or perceived flaws to avoid judgment

Why shifting to a growth mindset is critical for business owners

Having a growth mindset is inherently positive, while a fixed mindset is inherently negative. Because staying positive and determined are key personality characteristics for any business owner to have, adopting a growth mindset is an absolute must.  Here are some of the benefits of a growth mindset that business owners can experience.

Increased motivation
Studies have indicated that a growth mindset has a positive impact on motivation and self-efficacy. One 2002 study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that students who were encouraged to adopt a growth mindset showed higher motivation compared to others.

Challenges become opportunities
A growth mindset transforms challenges in both your personal and professional lives into opportunities. These include opportunities to learn and to improve oneself. You may not know how to cook food very well, then learn to cook. You may not know how to put two sentences together in a large group, so take public speaking classes.

This is vital because challenges come up in business every day. Whether it’s something as small as an email address that doesn’t work or as large as a loss of a major client, every setback is an opportunity to do better.

You’ll stop craving approval
The need for approval can be toxic. Constantly trying to prove to someone else that you’re a good person, good at your business or good in a particular field, can create a world of hurt and heartache. When you replace the need for approval with the nee to learn, you’ll unlock an everlasting potential for growth.

You’ll value the journey over the destination
People with a growth mindset enjoy the process of learning. They don’t really care if it extends beyond what they expect. Pitch the deal. Buy that stock. Learn Krav Maga. Become a bodybuilder. Start a snake breeding business. Get a law degree at 50. Start a new political movement. With a growth mindset, you’ll realise that you never stop learning, because life never stops teaching.

You’ll perceive criticism as a good thing
People on a fixed mindset avoid criticism like the plague. By doing so, they sacrifice so many opportunities to learn. Use criticism, whether it’s constructive or not, to your advantage. By seeing criticism as positive, you’ll view every negative comment or piece of feedback as a new part of your ammunition. This is especially important for a business owner, where you call the shots.

How to develop a growth mindset

It’s very possible to develop a growth mindset as a business owner by doing the following.

1. Know that your brain is engineered to get better.You should first come to the realisation that your brains are specifically constructed to grow, acquire new information and learn. By deliberately throwing yourself into new experiences, you’re able to strengthen the nerves throughout your brain and boost your own wits.
2. Get rid of the ‘fixed mindset’ inside you. Many people have a voice or a feeling inside of them urging them to give up easily. It’s vital for you to get over this as soon as you possibly can, especially if you’re in a leadership position where people are depending on you.
3. Reward the journey. For some reason, our society is engineered to reward outcomes and results. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it can be evidence of a fixed mindset. It is critical that you reward the journey, the process and effort that you put yourself through towards achieving those results.
4. Obtain feedback. Don’t shy away from feedback. We all know from personal experience as students that once we received feedback on our work, we’d go off and do it again but better. This gives us the motivation we need to go on and on. The same applies in business – you can always get better in some aspect.
5. Leave your couch. In other words, escape your comfort zone. People who never leave their comfort zone are quite literally ‘fixed’ there, which is tantamount to a fixed mindset. But next time, pick the more difficult option and see what happens – you might just grow!
6. Accept and appreciate failure. Pain and failure are temporary. It is all part of the process of becoming great, successful and fulfilled. The sooner you learn to realise that failure is a learning opportunity, the closer you’ll get to achieving a growth mindset.