3 science-backed ways to train your brain to have a growth mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that a trait (like intelligence or resilience) is malleable and can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and the ability to receive and integrate thoughtful feedback.
Like all human traits, this character trait is partly inherited and partly developed through individual action and environmental support. While some people naturally approach life with a growth mindset, others are naturally more inclined to experience life with a fixed mindset.
Carol Dweck, the researcher well-known for her work on growth mindset, suggests that if you have a fixed mindset, you tend to think that intelligence and other traits are static. Based on this view, you’re more likely to avoid challenges, get defensive, give up easily, perceive significant exertion toward a goal as a sign that you’re not talented, ignore constructive criticism, and feel threatened by others’ accomplishments. In sum, you are very likely to achieve less than your potential.
Whereas, if you’re naturally predisposed to a growth mindset, it’s typically the opposite. The good news is, regardless of where you land on the growth-to-fixed mindset continuum based on your genes, you have the ability to increase how often you experience life with a growth mindset. All it takes is awareness and careful action.
According to Dweck, simply learning about the concept of a growth mindset can begin to impact how often you adopt it. Awareness of this trait can begin to change your approach to challenging situations, receiving feedback, and your willingness to try something new where you know you’ll feel out of your depth.
I remember my disappointment when I received my first graded paper soon after I had started my MAPP graduate degree. At that point, it had been two decades since I had last been in grad school and written an academic paper. I’d invested immense effort to write a good, strong paper, and I was excited to get mine back from the professor. When I received my graded paper and saw how many comments and notes of constructive criticism were covering its text, I teared up. It took one of my wise classmates to remind me that all those comments were actually a sign that my grader saw potential in me and invested his effort to help me become a better writer.
In that moment, I was reminded that I could choose to have a fixed mindset (seeking to prove that I was smart by getting nothing but congratulatory comments) or I could choose a growth mindset (open to receiving feedback that would help me become an even better, more powerful writer). We all have that choice every day.
If you have a growth mindset, where you view intelligence and other advantageous traits as qualities that can be developed, you’re more likely to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, appreciate effort as essential for mastery, value constructive criticism as an opportunity to learn, be inspired by others’ achievements, and, thus, work toward higher and higher levels of personal accomplishment.
Here is a short, three-question survey designed by Dweck to help you assess where you land on the fixed- to growth mindset continuum. I encourage you to take it now: Using a 6-point scale (1 = Strongly Agree; 6 = Strongly Disagree), rate how you feel about each of the following statements:
■ You have a certain amount of intelligence, and you can’t really do much to change it. (Your Answer_______)
■ Your intelligence is something about you that you can’t change very much. (Your Answer_______)
■ You can learn new things, but you can’t really change your basic intelligence. (Your Answer_______)
Add up your answers. A lower overall score leans more toward fixed mindset and a higher score leans more toward growth mindset. Where do you land? Try not to judge your answer—understanding where you’re at today is an important part of being able to make changes to who you want to become tomorrow. If your score is on the lower end, or the description of a fixed mindset lands uncomfortably close to home, don’t fret. Here are a few simple steps you can take to form habits that support a growth mindset:
ACTIVELY SEEK FEEDBACK
Ask teachers, bosses, advisers, and family members, “How am I doing? Where do you see that I could improve?” And when someone tells you something you don’t want to hear, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that the people who really care about you will invest in you by giving you feedback. It’s a gift, and you can receive it as such.
LEARN TO LOVE THE PROCESS OF LEARNING
Sometimes learning feels . . . hard. It’s work. Learn to recognize that when something gets hard it doesn’t mean that you’re not capable. It means that this is what learning feels like. Celebrate it!
DON’T SHY AWAY FROM DIFFICULTY
Just because you’ve never done something before doesn’t mean you don’t try. Want to play a new position on your lacrosse team? Ask for the chance. Interested in graduate school? Put yourself out there and apply. Want to try for the open seat on your family’s board of directors? Throw your name in the hat. Opportunities come to those who ready themselves and know when to act. Learning to take on difficulty will help you be ready when the opportunities you desire arise.
Since a growth mindset is a key link between helplessness and mastery, it’s worth figuring out how to embrace feedback and keep putting yourself in situations where you are challenged and learning.