By Moira Du

When you want to excel in something, most people would tell you to work hard; but some people would argue that working hard doesn’t work. You’re either born with certain skills or you’re not. Working hard won’t help you improve on skills you are not born with. Studies would beg to differ.

A psychologist named Carol Dweck called this mindset the fixed mindset and urged her readers to follow a different one instead: the growth mindset. In this article, let’s rediscover the growth mindset and how it can help you on your path to success.

What is the Growth Mindset?

The growth mindset describes a way of thinking in which people can improve on their abilities through effort and learning. The abilities you have are not set in stone. Rather, they are foundations to be built on. You can also learn and master new skills, ones you may not necessarily be gifted in.

Why is the Growth Mindset better than the Fixed Mindset?

The growth mindset provides the opportunity for people to learn new skills and succeed through those skills. Having a fixed mindset, on the other hand, doesn’t allow a person room to grow as they start believing that the skills they have now cannot be improved on and they cannot learn new skills.

The growth mindset also fosters resilience. According to Harvard Business School, those with a fixed mindset did not seem to process anything when reviewing their mistakes while those with a growth mindset had processing patterns show up in their brain activities.

Furthermore, those with the growth mindset are less likely to be discouraged when faced with hardships and challenges, instilling the importance of perseverance within them.

The Takeaway

Having the right mindset is key to having a successful future. By fostering a growth mindset instead of a fixed one, you can prioritize both your intelligence and creativity and cultivate both with practice and perseverance. Those with growth mindsets are also not easily put down by failure. Rather, they use that failure to fuel their future successes, seeing them as learning experiences rather than challenges.