What is a growth mindset? What are the ways to build a growth mindset? If asked, how would you answer this question? How do you perceive having a growth mindset? What is the lifestyle of those people? How do they think, act and live? What are your views on this?

Having a growth mindset is all about self-belief. If you are determined to do something and you can stay focused and consistent to achieve it, despite all the distractions, this shows that you have developed a growth mindset. It shows that you have the skills and the thought process required to continue growing in life with your hard work, the right strategies, and advice (or criticism) from others. 

This blog will explain the meaning of a growth mindset. It will share 15 ways to build a growth mindset within yourself and continue moving forward in life. 

What is a Growth mindset? 15 ways to build a growth mindset

Before we jump into discussing the different ways in which you can build a growth mindset, it is important to learn and understand the definition and true meaning of a growth mindset.

What is a Growth Mindset?

With a growth mindset, you understand the importance of effort and dedication in life. You don’t talk in the air and run behind overnight success. You know that real growth is gradual and it happens with time and not in a flash of seconds. When you find ways to build a growth mindset, you don’t sit in vain thinking about obstacles instead you seek opportunities. Whether expected or unexpected, you become open to analyzing every opportunity that comes your way on how it will help you grow in life. 

Your growth mindset makes you aware that life will test you at different points and going through these tests is the only you can get yourself out of it. Having a growth mindset is vital to face the odds life throws at you instead of getting intimidated by them. 

A person has either of two mindsets: a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset holds you strong to the past beliefs that are holding you back from growing in life. But, a growth mindset holds you strong to the positive beliefs that you are meant to grow despite the difficulties and not stay stagnant in life. 

Your growth mindset lets you see an opportunity in adversity. If you fail, yes you feel bad but you don’t stick to that feeling for too long. With a growth mindset, you learn to move on. Failures teach you lessons just like success does. But, is it so easy to build a growth mindset? What does it take to understand the ways to build a growth mindset? Come, let’s find some answers today! 

15 Ways to Build a Growth Mindset:

1. Self-reflection 

Acknowledging where you are and how you want to move forward in life is the most important trait of having a growth mindset. Self-reflection isn’t about accepting your success stories and glorifying them. It also includes having an awareness of your weakness and embracing your downfalls. When you are aware of the hurdle in your journey, you are more likely to improve yourself. Practicing self-reflection rewards you with a thought process that cultivates success in the long term and doesn’t get intimidated by small roadblocks in your journey. 

2. Find your purpose 

Discovering your purpose and understanding what it is that you want makes it easy for you to build a growth mindset. When you have found your passion and purpose, you become inevitable to take the next step. You know that you don’t have to figure out the entire journey in one go, knowing the next step and preparing for it is enough at a time. Your purpose doesn’t let you feel remorse about a failure for too long. When you are aware of your purpose, you find ways to make it to the other end despite all the negativity around and inside you.  

3. Accept Challenges  

The discussion about “ways to build a growth mindset” is incomplete without talking about the challenges. What’s life without challenges after all? Whether you want them or don’t, they are meant to happen to you. That’s what life is. And what differentiates you from having a growth mindset is your dignity to accept these challenges. Challenges let you face your fear. Thus, if you want to build a growth mindset, you must develop a viewpoint where you see these challenges as fruitful experiences that leave you with important lessons but nothing else. 

4. Cultivate grit 

Going back to the second point here! Awareness of your passion is important because it cultivates grit. When you know your purpose you refuse to kneel in front of the circumstances and cut through the storm despite all the problems. This thought process and your ability to persevere during tough times to fulfill your purpose are called grit. The little voice inside your head that doesn’t let you give up despite all the odds, that’s grit. Grit is the essence of building a growth mindset. You can’t have one without the other.   

5. Become resilient 

Just like nature, there are seasons in life too. You cannot expect a linear road to success. These are pauses too, and sometimes stepbacks. No matter how fast you run towards your goal, life will throw in a curveball to slow you down. Sometimes these curveballs are minor. Sometimes, they are huge. Irrespective of their size, they are important because they make you resilient. Building resilience is another pillar in the ways you can develop a growth mindset. It’s important to cultivate it because it teaches you to overcome difficulties and get back to the game.  

6. Write your goals 

If you haven’t yet understood the power of writing your goals yet, you are leaving a lot behind. Writing your goals helps you to plan your vision step by step. It’s a way to lay out a ladder of actions to reach your goals. Creating clear goals in alignment with your purpose is one of the most important ways to build a growth mindset. By writing your goals, you trick your mind into focusing on one thing at a time. You fuel yourself with short-term motivation and excitement to choose specific and measurable goals that will serve your purpose in the long run. 

7. Don’t obsess over results 

When you have a growth mindset, you start enjoying the work process. And even though you have a time limit to achieve your goals, it doesn’t affect you too deeply when results show up a little late. You are intelligent to acknowledge the efforts you are putting in. You begin to understand that sometimes things happen at an extended time frame and there’s nothing wrong with that. You can help yourself not obsess over results by creating small, everyday tasks that take you to your goals instead of fretting over accomplishing those goals.      

8. Replace your goals 

No, it is not what it sounds like. Growth is a journey and never a destination. So, when I ask you to replace your goals, I mean to create a new goal for every completed goal. Learning is never enough. Just because you have accomplished a goal that doesn’t have to stop you from moving ahead and doing the next best thing in line. People with a growth mindset are well aware of how goal accomplishment works. They know there’s no definite end to this. You build a growth mindset when you understand this too and keep yourself stimulated to do the next thing.  

9. Stop seeking approval 

Yes, some people are doing things better than you. Some people have “figured it out”. But that doesn’t mean you must seek their approval for your journey. Prioritizing other people’s opinions over your experiences and learning is the biggest mistake you can make to hamper your growth. Validation from others is the easiest way to sacrifice your potential and capabilities. Also, seeking approval from people who have no idea what you are doing is the easiest way to fall for negativity around you, you must move past it to rise higher. 

10. Think Critically

When you build a growth mindset you start thinking critically. No, it’s not that you always think critically. That isn’t possible. Because we cannot analyze every situation with a critical perspective. However, building a habit to think critically will save you from unnecessary drama and unwanted consequences in life. Critical thinking helps you by reviewing and analyzing the circumstances and making better decisions. It saves you from being an impulsive decision-maker and doing what’s right with a logical and unbiased approach.

11. Take constructive criticism 

Accepting constructive criticism is equally significant among all the ways you can develop a growth mindset. Not everyone can do it. People with rigid and fixed mindsets give room to negative thoughts and question their worth based on the criticism they get. But, when you have developed a mindset that compels you to think about moving forward in life, you accept the criticism to improve what you lack and not attach your worth to it. All this happens when you know the power of positivity and self-belief. 

12. Practice mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness is based on individual choices and decisions. From mental health care to physical activities, from skincare to haircare, from home decor to other self-care habits, it varies from person to person. But, it’s a very important piece of the ways to build a growth mindset. Mindfulness is about being present at the moment. It is about acknowledging your feelings at the moment, accepting them, and bringing clarity to your thoughts. Some other ways to be mindful are meditation, walking, journaling, and working out. 

13. Choose growth over speed

The digital age makes it so easy to compare yourself to everyone around you. While everyone is sharing their wins and success story, all of this can easily make you anxious about where you are in your life. But, choosing growth over speed and not falling into the deep pit of self-comparison is vital to build a growth mindset. When you understand that it’s your journey and only you can make it better, you also leave no room for comparison. You learn to appreciate doing things at your pace.  

14. Celebrate your growth with others  

When you have a growth mindset, you don’t shy away from celebrating your growth with others. You are not insecure to share your failures with people. The need to share your growth and progress with others comes from inside. You don’t hold yourself back from revealing your growth secrets. You have a sense of purpose and security where you appreciate your growth and understand that there are people who are trying to achieve the same and so you want to share your experience and lay a blueprint in front of them without expecting anything in return. 

15. Appreciate your journey 

We cannot talk about all these ways to build a growth mindset and leave your journey behind. A growth mindset makes you appreciate the little things in life. It lets you appreciate how far you have come, where you are, and where you are headed with all your learning and experiences. Appreciating your journey means you acknowledge the struggles you have been through. But most importantly, it means that you have carried those lessons from your past with you. You value the way things have happened to you and you find it beautiful. 

Conclusion

These were the main 15 ways in which you can develop a growth mindset. You don’t get this mindset overnight. Sometimes, you make a conscious effort to become a person with a growth mindset and sometimes life happens to teach you these ways in the form of lessons and experiences.

A growth mindset develops after a lot of back and forth between your fears and yourself. As much as you wish to build a thought process that reflects a growth mindset, you also have to overcome the feeling of overwhelm and conquer your inhibitions to achieve it. All of this happens with time as your mind evolves after going through different life experiences.  

I have been following all the points I mentioned in this blog to develop my growth mindset. And, I am happy to admit that I have developed it more in the past two years than I ever did in my life before that. My journey to becoming a professional writer has shaped my mind and life in a lot of positive ways. 

So, I hope that you found these ways to build a growth mindset both helpful and practical. I’d love to learn about your experiences and hear back from you if you have any story that shows your transformation from having a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. 

Let me know your stories in the comments below. I’ll see you soon in the next week!