Do you avoid challenges or give up easily when you have a challenge?
Do you beat yourself up harshly or blame others when things don’t work out?
Do you believe that your intelligence or qualities can’t be changed?
Those all have to do with your mindset, which is your belief about yourself. The good news is that your mindset can be improved.
I read a book called, “Mindset:The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck Ph.D. and it was very interesting. She refers to 2 types of mindsets: a Fixed mindset and a Growth mindset.
The Fixed Mindset believes that traits cannot be changed.
Example 1:
You step on the scale and you didn’t lose what you intended to
Fixed Mindset Reaction:
You beat yourself up thinking nothing will work with your body and you give up on your weight loss goal.
The Growth Mindset believes that traits can be changed with effort.
Example 1:
You step on the scale and you didn’t lose what you intended to
Growth Mindset Reaction:
You’re disappointed but you understand that the scale doesn’t tell the full story and you still may be losing inches. You still believe that your program could work since you just started it, so you’ll give enough time to work. If you still don’t see the results you want, you’ll keep at it but try something different.
So how do you change your mindset?
1) Learn to hear your fixed mindset voice
2) Recognize that you have a choice
3) Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice
Fixed Mindset: “What if you fail-you’ll be a failure”
Growth Mindset: “Most successful people had failures along the way.”
4)
Also, here is a great article that talks about why praising your kids may be bad based on Dr. Dweck’s research: Why Praise Can Be Bad For Kids