Why your mindset matters

I am Travia Steward, and I want to help you move past barriers and obstacles that are preventing you from getting what you want in life. This is Breakthrough. If you could change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Wayne Dyer. On this episode of the Quick Tip Breakthrough Podcast, we're looking at Carol Dweck's Mindset book. It's called mindset. Through research, it's been determined that our mindset shapes our beliefs in accomplishing something. And so right now, there are two types of mindset. It's a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. You see, a fixed mindset means that you believe intelligence, talent, and other qualities are innate and they're absolutely unchangeable. People with a fixed mindset believe they are naturally gifted at doing something but incapable of doing other things. If you're not good at something, you typically— they typically think they will never be good at it. People with a fixed mindset view failure as permanent. They see comments that people give them as critical attacks on them and their character, and they feel judged I'm not going to be affected by this. And then fixed mindsetters give up more easily. They also believe that how smart or how incompetent they are, or other people are, will never change. With a fixed mindset, you see failure as evidence that it'll never work out. You keep going back over and over and over to that same thing. Fixed mindsetters make excuses or lose interest and, you know, move on to something else. Well, I'm just not good at that thing. Never work to improve it. There's also thinking that exists where a fixed mindset thinks that they need others' opinions to validate them. We're constantly seeking approval from others. Yeah, fixed mindset, it's not all bad. Number one, it protects us. It protects us from failure because, because of that fixed mindset, we're not going to put ourselves out there in a way that challenges us. We're always going to be safe and need certainty in order to do the thing. Remember I talked about confidence? Couple weeks ago, fixed mindset, right? So if we don't have that, that urge, that push, that innate ability, that desire to go out and do it in spite of how you're feeling, right? So you are protected from failing and falling on your face and looking, you know, making it mean— making that failure mean that you're not good enough, you know? So we don't put ourselves out there in a way that challenges us. On the other hand, a growth mindset. A growth mindset means that you believe intelligence and talent can be developed with practice and effort. You know, that people with a growth mindset continue to grow throughout their lives. And for growth mindsetters, life is ever-changing and always evolving, and they're ready for it. They're excited for it. With a growth mindset, you're more likely to embrace more challenging tasks. You know, we all hear about the example of Michael Jordan, who was not a good basketball player when he first started, right? And had he, you know, gone through his whole career with a fixed mindset, he never would have become the most famous basketball— the best basketball player in the history of the NBA. Still my opinion, I think so. And so he worked on the things that he wasn't good at. He worked on the shots that he missed, right? He was constantly working to improve his game. So growth mindsetters believe that they can always learn from their mistakes and their failures, and they see failures as an opportunity, endless opportunities. I remember when I first started doing this, this, this work on myself, my coaching work, And I found Carol Dweck's book. And Shelly and I both read the book. And I remember I came into the kitchen or something, and we talked about if either one of us, where we thought we fell. And so I said, oh, oh, I'm definitely— I got a growth mindset, definitely a growth mindset. And Shelly laughed at me, and she's like, really? Right? I was like, absolutely, because that was what I thought I had. But in actuality, I didn't always have a growth mindset. I had a fixed mindset. I was that person who was like making excuses for why I didn't finish something. I was that person who was staying safe on the shore while other people went and had a good time. I was that person who was scared to try something outside of her comfort zone. And so you've heard me talk about in other episodes that our environment, our families play a huge role in our upbringing, especially in our mindset, in our mindset development. You see, when we're born, we automatically enter the world with a growth mindset. We automatically enter the world happy and full of joy. And it's our environment and our families that influence whether or not we maintain that desire to continually grow. Founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, attributes her tenacity to keep going and achieving and fulfilling her potential to her father. As an early child, her dad always encouraged them to fail, the kids, her, to fail. And so at dinner, he would ask, you know, how was your day and what did you fail at today? And so failure became a norm for her so that when she grew up and wanted to start this business, it was like a walk in the park. Even if she failed, she kept going. Why? Because she nurtured me. She grew that muscle And just like Sara Blakely, just like Michael Jordan, our mindsets can change. Our brains can train. We can train our brains just like we train other muscles. By first becoming aware of the fixed thinking is the first place to start. Then we change those thoughts one by one. Now, this is work, but it's work that's possible, and it's work work that can open you up to living a life of endless possibilities. Then next, if we want to begin to develop a growth mindset, let's think about something that you want to improve. Let's say it's a skill. Decide what that outcome— define what that outcome is going to look like. And now we go and we do some research, we buy books, we define specifically what it's going to look like, right? We buy books, we get mentors, we listen to podcasts, and maybe like this one, we do online trainings. All the things that can help you master that skill, because success leaves clues. Once you've defined the outcome, you put a plan of action in motion, put a date on it, and then you practice, practice, practice. So to move and pivot from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset so that you can live a life creating possibility after possibility instead of watching your life from the bleachers, from the sidelines, from the shore while everybody else is playing full out. Become aware of that fixed thinking to begin with. Decide that there's something you want to improve or fix or become great at. Do the research, buy the books, develop a plan, put a date on it, and what exactly it's going to look like when you achieve it. And then practice, practice, practice. If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. Wayne Dyer. Thank you so much for listening to the podcast, and I hope you're finding this information valuable and helpful to help you create your best life, to break through those barriers. If you're enjoying this podcast, I would love it if you would like and subscribe to Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast, whether that's on Spotify or Google Playlists. And also on my YouTube channel, if you like seeing the videos of these podcasts, please click below to the subscribe button so you don't miss an episode. All right, my peeps, take care.