Man : Life Outlook (Mindset)

According to Professor Carol S. Dweck,  a primary research interests in motivation, personality, and development. A guru psychologist of achievement and change: there are 2 kinds of mindsets,

    a.       fixed mindset

    b.      growth mindset.

Which one you embrace will essentially determines the course of your life.

The fixed mindset holds you back, and the growth mindset propels you forward, in what you think and do, personally and professionally.

Why mindset matters

Mindset forms the basis for how we perceive ourselves, the world, and how we function in it. Specifically, it’s our mindset that drives the very factors that determine what we make happen in our lives, things like:

           i.        Willingness to try new things and stretch ourselves;

          ii.         Planning and evolving our strategies along the way;

         iii.        Facing the consequences of setbacks and progress;

         iv.        The feeling about making mistakes and being wrong;

          v.        Defining success and failure;

         vi.        Interacting and connecting with others, and treating ourselves;

        vii.        Doing things for validation, or love for the process; and

       viii.         Creativity in accomplishing what’s important to us.

Where does our mindset come from?

Everyone is born with a love of learning. Babies learn to walk or talk. They have failed many times before they get it right. A mindset that is not fixed but a changed mindset.

The fixed mindset can serve a useful purpose at some point in a person’s life: in the future what they wanted to be (a smart, talented child) and how to be that (perform well). A formula for self-esteem and a path to love and respect from others. Crucial for children, where the fixed mindset may offer a simple and straightforward route to being valued and loved. Over time, this mindset may become the ‘default’ state.

a.   Education

Mindset originates from parents, teachers and coaches and their development. Education has a big influence on mindsets for every word or action: a message that can be either judgmental or developmental. The majority of the parents, teachers and coaches think for what is best for the child, without realizing that they are doing exactly the opposite.

A teacher or parent promotes a growth mindset over a fixed mindset – encouraging learning and improvement rather than praising talent and discouraging failure – this will have a lasting influence on how the kids view themselves.

Sometimes, by praising children, they diminish them. Praise should be given to effort and persistence rather than intelligence or talent. For example, if a child worked hard on his homework then he must be recognized, but if another child did the homework without much effort at all, but achieved the expected results, instead of praising him, you should give him a more difficult task. So telling children they’re smart, in the end, made them feels dumber and act dumber, but claim they were smarter.

The growth mindset in education focuses on expanding the students' knowledge and ways of thinking and investigating the world. Grades are not seen as an end in themselves, but as a means to grow. The best thing to do is to teach children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.

“Praise should deal, not with the child's personality attributes, but with his efforts and achievements“. - Haim Ginott.

b.   Sports

In sports, mindsets have a bigger role than most realize. Often we look at ‘the greats', `the success` as excel. Talent and being 'natural' can only get you so far. The most importantly is hard work and dedication, necessary to fulfill your potential.

People with a growth mindset realize this and push themselves to achieve and maintain this high level of accomplishment. On the other hand, people with a fixed mindset believe that you possess certain skills and that any attempt to go beyond this natural talent is not only useless, but is looked down upon. Many examples are given including Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan. All of these people met with difficulty early in their careers that gave each of them more than enough reason to give up, but instead they all had the growth mindset that allowed them to train and improve their skills, leading each of them to become champions in their own right.

There are 3 main things that sports researchers found between the athletes that exhibited the most character or heart (growth mindset):

1.   success in doing their best, in learning and improving,

2.  found setbacks motivating because they're informative and are a wake-up call, and

3.    sports took charge of the processes that bring success and maintain it.

This is not to say that natural talent means nothing and cannot take a person far, but it is to say that the growth mindset, and the motivation and dedication that comes with it, can take a person farther.

c.    Relationships

Relationship to human with the growth mindset will be more understanding and wish to learn and are able to heal and move on. Those with fixed mindset, with the human relationship setback experience will scar them and prevent them from forming satisfying relationships in the future. They want to get revenge after a break up. They feel permanently branded/labeled.

In any relationships, two more subjects enter into your mindset; your partner and the relationship as a whole. This means that three things are able to be "fixed" now. The person with a growth mindset would believe that these three things are able to change.

d.   Personal Change

Perhaps the most important message is that your mindset is not permanent. The growth mindset is based on the belief in change and it is important to know that no matter what stage you are at in life, it is not too late to make a change.

This change is a challenge, possible to act and will be worth it. Human's beliefs are more than of their emotions and actions. By becoming conscious of your own mindset, then you can begin to pay attention to what your self-talk and if necessary, change that inner monologue so that your beliefs will support your goals instead of hindering their attainment.

Often this change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is difficult because it requires people to 'give up'  or “letting go” on using personal (fixed) traits as a source of self-esteem, and instead derive their self-esteem from effort and embrace things formerly thought of as threatening, such as challenge, struggle, criticism, and setbacks.

How Your Mindset Forms

Research disciplines including physics, neurology, psychology and education, mindset is formed by the combined interaction of habitual thoughts and their corresponding images and emotions. Candace Pert, PhD, former head of Brain Biochemistry at NIH for 13 years, pioneered the studies that examined the link between our body and our mind.

           Pert mapped how positive thoughts and emotions like love and appreciation trigger one set of biochemical reactions in the body; and negative thoughts and emotions like criticism and anger trigger a different set of reactions. After decades of research, Pert finally made clear how biochemicals were the physical manifestation of thoughts and emotion.

                        Once your thoughts and emotions become habitual, they form a neural network that keeps the mindset habitually in place. It keeps you, literally, on automatic. That’s why when you master a habit, like riding a bicycle or operating the software on your computer, you don’t have to think about it much anymore. You’ve mastered the habit. The neural network is in place, like a groove in a record.

The mindset and its neural network continues developing and becoming stronger with REPETITION and PRACTICE. The more habitual your thoughts, the stronger the neural network. The stronger the neural network, the stronger the mindset regardless of whether

The Glue That Holds the Mindset in Place

i.      These neural networks hold the mindset together and have unique characteristics. One characteristic is that they literally grow larger and stronger the more repetitive your thoughts and emotions.

For example, if you are in the habit of believing you are a victim of your work schedule, you are likely to feel resentful and critical, that you are trapped, and there is nothing you can do. You’re likely to complain to your friends about it, using it as justification why you can’t change. It becomes your “story” that you repeat to yourself over and over. You believe it. The more you habitually do this, the stronger and larger the neural network becomes, and the weaker the mindset that you can do anything about it.

 When you feel resistance to change, it’s not that you're not good enough, it's the strength of the neural network that has you feel like you are up against a wall.

ii.    Pert also found a second characteristic of neural networks and that is they remember every time they are reinforced, AND preferentially select for those same thoughts and emotions. This is how beliefs and memory form, and how our stories about who we are and our life develop.

 iii.   The third characteristic is that neural networks come to serve as a mental lens, filtering how we see and interpret what happens to us, and around us. You now see what you want to see. Whatever you believe, you prove yourself right over and over based on your filter. Change your mindset, and you will change your life.

Most people have one mindset or the other, according to Dweck. Some have a combination. The good news is that we can all adopt a growth mindset, simply by (as she says) putting ourselves in one. I explain how in this post, but you should read the book as well – it provides compelling details and examples that will make clear to you how a growth mindset puts us on track for being our best selves and living our best lives.

Mindset mode

It’s easy to change your mindset, there are only two mindsets. Spot the thoughts, words, and actions change the fixed mode into growth mode

a.  The fixed mindset

    Fixed mindset thoughts:

Limitation to what we’re born with in terms of intelligence, skill, and qualities. It can’t be developed much. It is possible to learn new things, but new learning doesn’t change our basic level of intelligence.

It’s possible to practice new skills, but natural ability is really what’s determinative. Human are born “naturals” and “it’s genetic.” Not a lot can be done and spend our energy doing what we’re inherently good at.

    Fixed mindset words sound:

“I am not athletic.” “I am bad at math.” “I can’t spell.” “I can’t [lose weight, exercise, save money, manage my time, or whatever] because I’m just not disciplined” or “I don’t have the willpower” or “I tried that already and it didn’t work.”

    Fixed mindset actions look:

Doing naturally what you’re already good at; not doing what you haven’t tried yet or doesn’t come easily; staying where you are in terms of skill level (because you’re afraid of risk, mistakes, and looking bad) – (Dweck explains why: “fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you’ll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving.”)

b. The growth mindset

    Growth mindset thoughts sound:

We’re born with Intelligence, skill, and qualities, are the key foundation for development. It can grow through learning and hard work. Human can do certain things well with little or no training or practice, but others learn to do those same things, just as well or better, with training and practice.

    Growth mindset words sound :

“I have the rest of the semester to pull up my grade.” “I realized I had a choice. I could sit in my misery or I could do something about it.” “All my life I’ve been playing up, meaning I’ve challenged myself with players … older, bigger, more skillful, and more experienced.” “I don’t walk on water; I [just] work harder than a lot of people.”

    Growth mindset actions look:

Trying new things; experimenting; making mistakes and correcting them along the way; rejecting what doesn’t work; finding what does work; tweaking, iterating, and maintaining an upward trajectory in effort and progress.

 

How do I keep learning?

“Simulations enable highest retention rates”

Understanding and adopting new or different behaviors and skills can be effective to human learning and development skill. Training and development interventions should inculcate adoption of new skills and behaviors. Mindsets need to be changed!

Human changed behaviors when their beliefs change, and in order to have impact: human mindsets. Human beings tend to resist change and that is why any learning intervention must be able to effectively change mindsets in order to facilitate a change in behavior.

It is not about new theories; you also need to change their mindsets so they can adopt these new skills.

3 Steps To Mindset Change

#1. Awareness of the Mind:

Before attempting steps to change thought patterns, be aware of our mindset and beliefs: feel or think.

The self-aware of paying attention and curious about your own experience in a non-judgmental, non-resistance and non-critical way.  What makes you believe in a certain way and start applying tools and process to change the beliefs?

a.    Practicing mindfulness and tuning into our inner beliefs,

b.    full focus of ourselves and our being, and “see” more insights into why things are happening. 

This takes practice.  For example, say you feel panic and fear standing up and speaking in public, practice catching yourself when it happens, breathe deeply and without judging, ask the question inside you – “why are you shivering? what is it that you are afraid of?”

c.    Listen for the inner voices, what messages come up.  Do not expect to hear them on the first try; also do not be surprised as you keep doing this, one day you hear a voice or message, giving you the hint to the next puzzle to unfold.

#2 Releasing Old Beliefs or Mindset:

From our past experienced, beliefs are formed haphazardly throughout our life.  Modeling from our upbringing and other especially our parents. Unexpected conflict, trauma or confusion, and to serenity, joyous and momentous life.

This beliefs give us freedom, choice and open possibilities, others may be disempowering, negativity and closing down choice.  Acting on these beliefs as if they were true makes you and others miserable.  Beliefs are often expressed in the form:

‘I can…’

‘I can’t…’

‘I should…’

‘I shouldn’t…’

Repeated old patterns show us our needs.  For every habit we have, for every experience we go through over and over, there is a NEED WITHIN US for it.  The need corresponds to some belief we have.  If there were not a need, we wouldn’t have it, do it, or be it.  There is something within us that needs the poor relationships, the failures, the cigarettes, the anger, the poverty, the abuse, whatever there is that’s a problem for us.  Work on this release: work on the WILLINGNESS TO RELEASE THE NEED.

So for example, if one of my outer expressions is procrastination, it is an outer expression of the inner problem, the NEED of this within me, the inner thoughts or pattern could be that “I am unworthy”.

a.    After all, procrastination is one way to keep us from getting where we say we want to go.  

b.    When you can recognize this need, you create the environment and consciousness to surface this need with an emotional or physical release. 

c.    Make a daily affirmation “I see these repeated patterns and need as something to release. 

They have no power over me.  I am in control of my mind.  I am the power in my world.  I flow with the changes taking place in my life with ease.  I approve of and love myself and the way I am changing.”

#3 Create the Mindset You Want:

Your mind is a tool.  There is much more to your mind. The way you now use your mind is only a habit, and habits, any habits can be changed if we want to do so, or even if we only know it is possible to do so.

Chatter of your mind for a moment, and really think about this concept: YOUR MIND IS A TOOL YOU CAN CHOOSE TO USE ANY WAY YOU WISH.

Excerpt with thanks from :

By Ali Luke

By Kate Powers

By Susan