What Is the Growth Mindset?

We have all heard the old maxim "You have to believe that your efforts count" but just what does it really mean? When someone asks you what your biggest challenge is often times you are given a blank stare or some variation of that. You then have to take the time to explain what your greatest challenge is then to share best practices with those who are struggling in similar situations.


First and foremost you need to believe that your efforts matter. If you don't feel like you are making an impact on the world around you then you are not going to get the same return on your marketing investment from social media applications like the ones mentioned above. Be willing to take the time to learn new techniques, create new products and offer assistance where necessary. Recognition is often a great motivator of the kind of results that you want.

Second, believe that your efforts matter because people who are in the same situation are constantly looking for a different outcome. Those who are successful are always looking for something different. They view failures as learning experiences. They understand the difference between a reward for hard work and an award for exceptional performance.

Third, growth mindset believes that people are generally happy when you are doing well no matter what. People can sense when you are trying to do something. When you maintain a positive perspective people are drawn to your company and what you are doing. When you have this growth mindset people will keep working toward your goals no matter what.

Fourth, growth mindset is about mental toughness and keeping learning new skills. You might think that what you are doing is easy, but most people could identify with the struggles. People want to be around leaders who are challenging them. Leaders who stay curious and challenge their thoughts attract others like yourself who also want to achieve success.

Fifth, if you have the ability to think and use your abilities then you can achieve great things. The mindset belief encourages you to believe that your talents are unique and can be used to achieve great things. Those with an inherent talents will do very well in their chosen careers. If you have the ability to think and use your skills then you should never settle for a fixed mindset.

Sixth, growth mindset allows us to step back from our emotions so we can focus on our skills and results. If we are emotionally involved with what we are doing, it is very difficult to concentrate on results. When we become overly involved with our emotions we shut down. We can learn many lessons from losing a fight or dealing with a difficult boss. However, the more we ignore the emotions the easier it becomes to get caught up in the situation.

Seventh, growth mindset allows us to step back from our negative emotions so we can focus on positive feelings and results. When we become overly negative our lives become unmanageable. On the other hand, when we are able to focus on our positive feelings we find new things we can do to better our lives.

The last step is to stay curious. Curiosity gives us a sense of purpose and an internal sense of motivation. When we can pay attention to our emotions and intrinsic motivations we can accomplish great things. We can achieve greatness in our careers, friendships, and relationships.

The fourth and final step to developing a growth mindset is to view failures as learning experiences. We learn from our failures by becoming better people. When we view failures as learning experiences we can grow even stronger. Failure motivates us to want to improve our skills. We can also choose to keep looking at our mistakes as stepping stones towards success rather than as something that discouraged us from becoming who we are supposed to be.

Two basic mindsets about what makes people successful are the one that sees failures as learning experiences and the second is that they view failures as something to avoid. People with a growth mindset believe that every failure is a lesson that we can use to become stronger. By changing how we respond to failures we can change the way we react to everything in our lives. By seeing our failures as something to avoid we eliminate the mental block that stops us from ever reaching our full potential.