The Difference Between Growth and Fixed Mindsets

A person’s perspective on things can vastly affect their learning and development. For this reason, it is essential that, at an early age, a motivational mindset be developed to help him face any challenges head-on. A psychology professor at Stanford, Carol Dweck, coined two kinds of growth and fixed mindsets that people have when it comes to dealing with obstacles. These are the fixed mindsets and the growth mindset.

Definition

A person with a fixed mindsets believes that talents and learning capacity are inborn and fixed such that, at some point, it reach a limit. On the other hand, a person with a growth mindset believes that hard work and effort ultimately determine a person’s learning capacity.

Differences

Many factors differentiate a fixed thinker from a growth thinker. Here are some of the essential ones:

Handling Criticism

Whether you are at school or work, receiving critiques is inevitable in everyone’s life. It is essential to determine how a person handles feedback because it usually shapes self-esteem and motivation to do work.

A person with a fixed mindset would usually take any form of criticism as unfavorable. They would not mind it because it makes them doubt their abilities.

On the other hand, a person with a growth mindset would take any form of feedback as constructive criticism. They will most likely take criticism as a means of self-improvement and use the comments to produce better output.

Learning New Skills

Fixed mindsets would have a person believe that he is either naturally great at something, or terrible at it: there is no in-between. Talent is inherent, and as such, a person cannot learn it through hard work.

A growth fixed mindsets believes that effort and persistence will help a person be good at what he wants. It instills the belief that anything is learnable for as long as you put the work in it.

Work and Learning Outputs

Those who have a fixed mindset would likely have a preference for routine work. They believe that potential is predetermined and that efforts should not be wasted when they have reached what they think is their peak performance. As such, they would stick to what they have done earlier and not grow out of it.

On the contrary, those who have a growth mindset believe that there can always be more out of something. These people thrive in projects that present new challenges and obstacles. As such, most of their methods in handling projects are different, and they produce different outputs every time.

How to be better in every aspect of life

One of the most important realizations that a person must have is knowing that change is constant. The world is becoming more and more progressive, which is why it is essential to always grow with it.

Developing a growth mindset is beneficial for every person. Its development must start at a young age so that by the time they grow up, they will have a healthy and positive mental attitude.

A person’s mindset on everyday challenges can determine his success in life. By understanding that everything can be a tool for learning, he embraces the idea that there is no limit to a person’s potential and capabilities. As such, make sure always to engineer a mindset that encourages growth and positivity.