5 Ways a Growth Mindset Leads to Success

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What does success take? Some people think you have to be born with extraordinary skills or just be lucky. They believe it’s only for some people but not others, like it’s a rare resource that some people get and everyone else will never have.

However, researcher and professor of psychology, Carol Dweck, has found that a growth mindset is what leads to success, while a fixed mindset holds people back.

Whether it’s kids in school or adults on their career path, Dweck found that our mindset, or our beliefs about ourselves and our capabilities, is what determines if we are more likely to succeed or fail.

The difference between a fixed mindset and growth mindset

The contrast between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset is very similar to the difference between pessimism and optimism, it’s about your perspective.

It’s believing something is off-limits for you forever because the door is closed, versus believing that you can just find the key and open the door for yourself.

Someone with fixed mindset characteristics might believe the following:

• Their skill set is written in stone, so their current abilities are all they’ve got and they can’t develop new ones.
• Intelligence is something you’re born with, not something you can develop.
• If they fail at something the first time, they’re just bad at that thing and shouldn’t bother trying to get better.
• They believe failing means being judged and rejected.
• Asking for help means being perceived as weak.
• Critical feedback is met with anger or shame.
• If they don’t understand or know how to do something already, they can’t learn it.
• They give up quickly when something is hard.

The qualities of a growth mindset are quite different:

• Skills and talents are not set in stone, they’re developed through practice.
• Intelligence can always be improved through experience and a desire to learn.
• Failure is something you learn from, it isn’t personal.
• Asking for help makes you better.
• Feedback is a tool that helps you improve.
• Anything you don’t know you can learn.
• You are willing to keep working at something even when it takes a long time.

A child in school with a growth mindset believes that even if they aren’t good at math right away, they can become good at it with practice and time, while a child with a fixed mindset believes if they struggle with math now they will always struggle with it because they just aren’t good at it.

The greatest benefit of a growth mindset is that nothing is really off-limits to you. You know that when you decide you want something you’ll eventually find a way to get it through a willingness to work hard and learn the skills you need.

If you find that you lean more towards a fixed mindset, the great news is that you can change your mindset. Thanks to something called neuroplasticity we can rewire our brains as adults and learn new ways of thinking.

In fact, Carol Dweck says we’re all a mix of both mindsets, and that we evolve over time. So wherever you are now, you can improve.

The Growth Mindset traits you need for success

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1. You take ownership of your beliefs and thoughts

We all have our fears and triggers. When you want to shift into a growth mindset you have to become aware of the thoughts and beliefs that have been holding you back, because it’s your beliefs that determine your actions.

If you believe that your skills are ‘fixed’ and that you can’t develop new talents then you don’t take actions that would lead to success. But, if you believe that you can learn new skills and become better at something with practice, then you will take the actions necessary to achieve the result you want.

When you gain awareness you become in charge of your thoughts and beliefs, instead of having them be in charge of you. You can analyze your thoughts and judge whether or not you should act or not act on them.

If you notice you have a limiting belief (a belief that keeps you small out of fear) about yourself, you can start to work on overcoming that belief instead of being held hostage by it. Learn more about how to overcome limiting beliefs.

2. Perseverance

When you have a growth mindset you’re willing to fail and try again. You keep going even when you don’t get quick results or you get knocked down or an obstacle gets in your way.

You know that even though you struggle with something now, in time you’ll become more proficient or find a way that works.

People with a fixed mindset are more likely to give up when things don’t work the first time. They’ll write themselves off as a failure and never try again.

They might take one piano lesson and never go back because they didn’t do well the first time. They’ll tell themselves, “I’m just not gifted like people who play the piano well,” and not understand that anyone who plays an instrument well had to practice for months if not years to achieve that level of skill.

3. An open mind

To achieve success you have to have an open mind. You must be open to trying new strategies when your current one doesn’t work. You have to be open to taking advice from people who have done it, instead of believing that there is only one way (your way).

Someone with traits of a growth mindset is always learning. They’re always seeking knowledge and alternate perspectives.

They don’t mind asking for help because it allows them to learn from someone else, or delegate a task to someone who is more skilled in that area. When you have a growth mindset that doesn’t mean you try to do everything yourself, but that you know everyone has their own strengths and sometimes you need to stay in your zone of genius and allow someone else to do what they’re good at.

If a fixed mindset person believes that they aren’t capable of learning new skills then they’ll never try something new.

4. A willingness to expand past your comfort zone

You can’t have a growth mindset and achieve success if you won’t leave your comfort zone.

Think of it this way, if you want to grow an apple tree but you keep it in a small pot in a dark corner of your house it will never grow very big. It will never be able to bear fruit because you won’t allow it to expand to its fullest potential.

You have to plant yourself in unfamiliar soil under the open sky to become your greatest self. You can’t be too afraid to leave the place you’ve been planted.

Have to be willing to put yourself in unfamiliar situations and be uncomfortable.

You have to do things that you aren’t good at right away and keep trying until you get it.

You have to fail in front of people and not care if they judge you.

Someone with a growth mindset sees opportunities to succeed outside their comfort zone, where people with a fixed mindset see fear-based limitations and boundaries that they don’t believe they can overcome.

5. You value your work ethic as much as your results

Yes, results are important, especially when you have a goal that would allow you to improve your life in some way. The issue is when you’re so fixed on achieving the perfect result that the possibility of anything less than perfection makes you not try at all, or you don’t learn the valuable lessons you get from failing.

People with a growth mindset don’t shy away from their goals because there is a chance they’ll fail. They learn from their mistakes and failures instead of being defeated by them.

They know that failure is just part of the learning experience and when it happens they understand that either they need to practice or try something new.

Effort for the sake of effort isn’t the answer, it’s all about working smarter. With a growth mindset, you know that you have to analyze your results and adjust your strategy as needed.

How to apply the characteristics of a growth mindset

Now that you know the vital growth mindset traits you need to create success, how do you apply them?

First, assess what areas you need to work on but do it from a place of curiosity and grace, not one that is critical and mean.

Maybe you’re great at perseverance, but you keep doing the same thing over and over again while getting mediocre results because you don’t have an open mind and won’t try new things that would get you a far better outcome, or you don’t believe in yourself enough to trust that you can succeed with a strategy that is outside your comfort zone.

Or maybe you’ve refused to try new things or practice skills you haven’t been so good at before because you think your talents are fixed and you’re afraid of failing.

Identify what you need to work on without any judgment.

Second, be ready to exercise a lot of patience.

A fixed mindset isn’t created in a day, and so it won’t disappear in a day either. Anytime we humans desire self-improvement it takes time to see change. We are so used to instant gratification that sometimes when personal development doesn’t happen as fast as we like, we want to give up.

Developing a growth mindset is a journey. Enjoy each revelation and advancement you experience. When you look back in a year you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.

Third, create a strategy to go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.

How will you take action in those areas that need improvement? How will you shift your thinking?

For example, say you want to start your own business but this voice in your head starts telling you all the reasons why it won’t work and why you’ll fail. What do you do? Instead of just believing that voice, start to challenge it. Create another positive voice in your head that cheers you on.

“I can absolutely create a successful business, I have what it takes and anything I don’t know I can learn. All I have to do is open myself to the possibilities and take one step at a time. I might feel afraid sometimes but I can do this.”

Maybe you need to give yourself a pep talk every day and make it part of your routine. Make reading personal development books or listening to positive podcasts something you do each week. Find someone who has done what you want to do and get their advice or watch what they do.

Seek out positivity and wisdom and integrate it into your daily life, you will be on your way to a growth mindset and the success it brings.

When you adopt a mindset of anything being possible for you, then you have the power to transform your life.