How Does Your Mindset Affect Your Success?

If I asked you what determines success, what would be your answer? Maybe you want to say that it depends on a person’s talent, intelligence or education. Maybe you think the key is to have access to good opportunities. Beyond all this, however, evidence suggests that your mindset is the key.

It sounds naive to say things like “If you believe in yourself, you can achieve anything “. We know that people’s circumstances and resources play a role. Nevertheless, Carol S. Dweck, a researcher with a doctorate in developmental psychology, reached this conclusion. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success , she explores how faith greatly affects your performance. In today’s article we will look at the main arguments of this best selling book.

How does your mindset affect your success?

A mindset is a set of thoughts you have about yourself and how the world works. In general, the mindset is the basis of your behavior. Thus, what you believe is true causes you to act in one way or another, which ultimately determines what happens in your life.

Dweck reached this conclusion after observing the responses of four-year-old children when faced with a challenge. Researchers gave children the opportunity to put together a simple puzzle or try to complete a more difficult one. Some of the children chose the simple puzzle, while others took on the challenge. Why? What determined how they made their decision?

Ultimately, the difference was not in their abilities, but in their mindset and their basic beliefs instead. Therefore, Dweck identified two concepts that determine people’s development and success: fixed mindset and mindset for growth.

Locked mindset

People with a fixed mindset believe, consciously or unconsciously, that intelligence is unchanged. They believe that you are born with a certain degree of intellect and that your talents and qualities are stable and impossible to change. This mindset leads to very specific behaviors:

• To constantly try to prove oneself and seem intelligent and qualified.
• Avoiding challenges at all costs because mistakes will mean they are unable to do them.
• To become defensive when obstacles appear and quickly give up challenging tasks.
• To think that making an effort in the first place is useless, and that mistakes are unacceptable. They are perfectionists.
• Finding others’ success and constructive criticism threatening.

Mindset for growth

On the other hand, people with a mindset for growth believe that with hard work and effort you can develop your talents and abilities. Even though they understand that everyone has to start somewhere, they think that what actually matters is what you do with what you have. This mentality leads to the following behaviors:

• To feel enthusiastic about learning, growing and expanding your horizons.
• To accept challenges and grow with them. They see obstacles as opportunities for improvement.
• To consider mistakes as part of their journey. Far from letting obstacles get in the way, they persevere.
• To look at effort as the only way to mastery instead of proof of inability.
• To learn from constructive criticism and be inspired by the success of others.

Reach your maximum potential with your mindset

It is clear that your mindset and the attitudes that follow from this mindset determine what you will be able to achieve. People who have a fixed mindset believe that their qualities are innate and immutable, which means they are not trying to improve. On the other hand, people with a mindset for growth that focuses on effort and perseverance, according to Dweck’s theory, will continue to grow until they reach their potential.

If you have a mindset for growth, you will embrace challenges, learn from your mistakes and steer your life on a new path. You will be able to expand and reach your potential. On the other hand , a fixed mindset leads you to establish yourself on a certain level. You will never get ahead because you are afraid of failure.

Fortunately, you have the power to decide which mindset you want. Stop praising yourself for your qualities and personality. Instead, congratulate yourself on your efforts, resilience, and perseverance. Sometimes, after all, mistakes are the first step on the road to reaching your maximum potential.