Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset
I had the opportunity to attend a professional development session today on Growth Mindset, with James Anderson
It reinforced some learnings from the weekend, that we are our beliefs, values and actions. James discussed the 5 truths of talent. Essentially this meant that:
- Innate ability runs out at some stage
- Effective effort leads to growth. Effective effort means pushing beyond your comfort zone, making mistakes you learn from, and identifying the behaviors that lead to growth
- Your potential is unlimited. Everyone can grow beyond their current abilities
- There are no naturals. Yes, some people may have a headstart, but to be an expert, or the best in your field, you still need to spend time perfecting your ability.
- Virtuous Practice builds talent.
Habits of mind
I was particularly interested in the habits of mind pertaining to a growth mindset. These are intelligent behaviors, or behaviors that lead to growth and progression.
The other interesting point from today was that rather referring to a dichotomy of fixed vs growth mindset, James identified a mindset continuum. This makes sense, as rarely in life is anything black or white, especially pertaining to human behavior. This also suggest that we have the ability to move from a fixed mindset through to a high growth mindset over time, in different aspects of our personality. This chart identifies some areas of personality and how a fixed mindset through to high growth mindset may react in different situations.
The final tidbit of information I gained from the day, is the performance plateau. Basically this described that as a person gains a mastery of something, they hit a performance plateau. Without progression, this leads to frustration, struggle, failure, resignation & fear. Especially if we aren’t able to break through this plateau.
However, if we are able to continue learning, or break through the plateau with progress, then we experience satisfaction, achievement, confidence and courage. Therefore a growth mindset, and the ability to keep learning and progress in our lives can be thought of as a courage mindset. We are more likely to stretch ourselves then, and step out of our comfort zone to take on new challenges and subsequently learn more about ourselves.
It was this discussion that encouraged me not to settle in my life, to keep pushing beyond my comfort zone and keep experiencing new things and learning about life and in the process, myself.
Finally, my favourite quote of the day: “Labels are for jars, not for people” - James Anderson.
If you would like to learn more from James he has a book called “The Agile Learner”.
Love these charts! Thanks for sharing.
I'm always exploring the power of mindset. It really can be the make or break factor in all things. Following you :)
Thanks! But remember that while mindset is the beginning of the journey, and sets everything up. At the end of the day it's the action you take that makes all the difference. Mindset-->beliefs/values--->action. Positive action leads to a better mindset :-). See you round this place.
Absolutely, I agree. When I have the proper mindset, a more inspired action tends to follow.
Thank you so much for sharing these charts. I’ve lately found myself in a more productive than usual phase, and have been tracking the positive mental habits that are likely leading to my success. My poorest habit is persistence — I was raised to believe that obstacles were signs that I was heading in the wrong direction, so it’s a real practice for me to see larger and more ambitious projects through to completion.
Thanks - I think sometimes the path of least resistance is the best way, then other times we need to overcome our own inertia with some momentum & persistence. It takes experience (and perhaps a few failures) to work out which is which.
You speak nothing but truth. This is a place where I will meditate in order to program in greater discernment. Discussing it has brought it into greater clarity -- thanks again :)