How many times did you hear the phrase “practice makes perfect” growing up? I know I certainly did. Especially anytime I struggled with something; playing an instrument, learning spellings or algebra, speaking a new language. Something about it never sat easily with me though. What if I didn’t know the best way to practise? Or what if I didn’t really feel motivated? What if I felt I wasn’t really that good at something so there wasn’t any point?

This uneasiness has stayed with me into adulthood and I’d wager a lot of us still ask ourselves these questions when we run into the more difficult aspects of our lives. When we meet a challenge in our marriage, our friendships, parenting or our professional work.

Embrace challenges - big and small

This is where cultivating a “growth mindset” can come in. The work of Stanford University professor Carol Dweck, the psychology behind the idea of a growth mindset can be an effective tool in helping us to understand what limiting beliefs we have about ourselves and more importantly, what we can do to challenge those beliefs and conquer them.

Fixed mindset versus growth mindset: what’s the difference?

Simply put, a growth mindset is the belief that a person's talents and capabilities can be improved over time. A fixed mindset, on the other hand, views talents and gifts as innate, or believes that we may be more predisposed to developing a particular skill.

However, having a growth mindset is about much more than ‘believing’ we can improve. That belief has to be accompanied by effort and deliberate practice and that’s where a growth mindset differs from the fixed. There are three key differences and they have to do with how we view effort, challenge and feedback from mistakes.

What are the benefits of a growth mindset?

The differences might seem arduous - and in truth effort, challenge and feedback do involve work - but this brings benefits. 

When we have a growth mindset, we recognise that effort is very much a part of the process. If we want to improve ourselves in any way, then we are willing to put in the work in order to commit to our goals.

We all meet challenges everyday and if we have a fixed mindset we may be inclined to avoid them in any way possible. Perhaps it’s the fear of failure, or concerns about what others may think if we fail, that means we shy away from embracing a challenge. But a person with a growth mindset understands that even in failure, there is some success because we can learn valuable lessons from our mistakes.

The final difference is our attitude to feedback from mistakes. Feedback can be hard to hear for a person with a fixed mindset as they tend to take criticism personally, possibly becoming defensive. Mistakes and the subsequent feedback are an opportunity to learn for the person with a growth mindset. Feedback is a chance for them to grow and develop their skills.

Developing a growth mindset can lead to a whole range of virtues and skills - tenacity, resilience, patience and compassion with ourselves when things are tough.

How can I develop a growth mindset?

There are many ways to develop a growth mindset but here are 3 very simple simple things you can start today.

1. Examine your thoughts

   As you go about your day-to-day business what’s your internal voice saying to you? Especially when you find something difficult or when something goes wrong? If they are overly negative then the first step to developing a growth mindset is to simply notice them. Just doing that allows you to ask yourself, where is this negativity coming from? Replacing your negative words and thoughts with more positive ones can help you build a growth mindset.

2. Reframe your challenges

   The next step to developing a growth mindset is to ask yourself how you view the difficulties and setbacks you face. Reframing our thoughts means we take the difficulty we have and shift our perspective. Instead of seeing it as an obstacle, we try to turn it into an opportunity to grow. That can be easier said than done, especially when we feel absolutely terrified, nervous, or when we have huge imposter syndrome! Perhaps part of the fear we feel is because we might not have strategies in place. However, it could be something as simple as coaching ourselves with a small mantra, trying to look at a situation as an outside observer or reminding ourselves of things we have done well in the past when faced with similar challenges.

3. Quit the comparisons 

   Comparison really is a thief of joy. If we are constantly comparing our talents, abilities or circumstances to others, then the time will inevitably come when we feel that we aren’t good enough. And that feeling is hardly encouraging! We can’t be something we’re not and learning to accept our own imperfections also means we should value our own talents too. Allowing ourselves to be truly authentic might take some work but with it comes a lot of freedom, and is another step to developing a growth mindset.

In all of this, we have to have a lot of patience with ourselves. Changes in our mindset don’t happen overnight. Any new skill takes time to develop and only comes when we are deliberate about it. Perhaps taking the opportunities to develop a growth mindset is the real “practice makes perfect.”