Don’t Allow a Fixed Mindset to be Your Major Setback! Invest in Your Growth!
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One afternoon I joined a meeting with some entrepreneurs on a forum type call. The conversation was about fixed mindsets vs growth mindsets. Before this meeting, I had never heard of those terms before. So, I researched what a fixed mindset was? During my research I came across a book called Mindset by Carol Dweck at Stanford University. In her book Mindset the professor described a fixed mindset as “someone who sees their qualities as “fixed” and they believe because of that they cannot change.” I looked at this quote right before the meeting, but I was very interested to see what the others on the call thought about the subject.
The meeting began and the woman leading the discussion began to speak about fixed mindsets. She broke the term down for us and said, “Sometimes we allow our surroundings to shape our minds into thinking that we cannot change.” For example, if the doctor mentions that you need to lose some weight, and you say to the doctor “My mom, aunt, and uncle were overweight, so I was going to be overweight anyway, but ill try to go walking this week,” the person in this example can’t see themselves losing weight, and don’t believe they can change due to their environment, what they were exposed to, and they perceptions about weight and weight loss.
I listened to that example and thought about myself and thought about the countless times I said that I couldn’t change because of my situation. Years ago, I used to blame family about not teaching me what I needed to know to prepare me for adulthood. One of my friends asked me one day “What are you going to do about your situation? You have the ability to change and better your future. You just have to take ownership and stop being so fixed on family. You are responsible for you.”
At first, I was a bit sour towards my friend, but later I thought about something that still keeps me going to this day. I thought to myself “If I keep the same mindset and attitude, I will have a very uncomfortable time explaining why I didn’t improve and grow to my children.” How can I as a father tell my child the reason that we are financially unstable was because of things that I was not taught when I could have learned on my own. I couldn’t imagine having that mindset and having to give an explanation for why I was still in that fixed mindset to my children. Also, how could I require my children to not have a fixed mindset when I myself still had one.
Sometimes it’s easier to blame someone else rather than take matters into our own hands to change. Now, I do understand that you may have a lack of resources but trust me when I tell you there is always a way. It may seem tedious to change and difficult to become comfortable with a new approach, but it can be done, and it is worth it. When we allow our circumstances to create fixed mindsets and hold us in the same place mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally; we are blocking our own blessings and opportunities.
Our meeting continued and many entrepreneurs spoke about having a fixed mindset affecting their businesses. One entrepreneur mentioned that she almost lost her business because she didn’t want to change her business structure. In her mind, she felt that the business plan worked before and it will work again. Her employees voiced their concern and asked if she could make some changes, but she was so fixed on what she had been doing and what got her to the point she was at, and she was not thinking about growth, being innovative, and the potential of where her business could be. Change was uncomfortable for her but if she did not change her business would fail. She decided to change her structure and focus more on serving customers, investing in shipping, and expanding her products. With the help of her team and some new hires, her business sales went through the roof. She got very emotional while sharing, but it was something all of us on the call could learn from.
A growth mindset can help us to not stay stagnant and not let our circumstances have us believe that we can’t change. Being innovative and looking for ways to improve ourselves will keep us in a mindset to keep learning. A lot of us have a desire to be successful. Continuing to learn and develop ourselves is important and essential for achieving success. If you are interested in the book Mindset by Carol Dweck. I will link the book here.
Thank you for reading my post “Don’t allow a fixed mindset to be your major setback! Invest in Growth!” I hope that my post helped to give you inspiration and also help guide those who have never heard about a fixed mindset. Some of us have had moments with a fixed mindset and may not realize that if gone unchecked it can cause some issues for us. Have you heard about a fixed mindset before? Where did you find out about it? If you had a fixed mindset, what did you do to change? How has that change impacted you? Please comment and share below. If you are new to Millennial Oaks, please subscribe 😊!