A Secret About Growth Mindset That May Be Setting You Back

If you are reading this, it is likely you have a Growth Mindset.

These articles tend to challenge conventional beliefs, and dive into deep topics so that we can continue to grow to new heights.

However, there is something very interesting about having a "Growth Mindset" that can set you back.

The reality is, none of us have "One" Mindset.

What do I mean?

Let's take the belief that I have a "Growth Mindset".

Usually this means that we believe we can grow in our work, or with our passions.

However, this is just one small section of Mindsets that we have.

We actually have multiple sets of Mindsets, at least one for every aspect of our lives.

Within each aspect, it is true that we could have a Growth or a Fixed Mindset.

That means you can have both "Growth Mindsets" AND "Fixed Mindsets" in different aspects of your life at the same time!

To ask, "Do you have a Growth Mindset?" is the wrong question.

We should ask, "Do I have a Growth Mindset in THIS aspect of my life?"

When we believe there is only 1 Mindset, we may believe that we have a Growth Mindset in every aspect of our lives, but it may not actually be true.

Unconsciously, we may feel Fixed in certain parts of our lives.

This can become extremely frustrating in our lives.

I myself have felt this frustration in my life.

I "knew" I had a "Growth Mindset", but still felt other parts of my life were "Stuck".

How could I be "Stuck" if I had a "Growth Mindset"?!

It's because in my "Stuck" parts of life I actually had a Fixed Mindset.

Until I had this realization (thanks to a certification I went to), I had thought that maybe I was broken in those aspects of my life.

However, knowing that we can have Growth and Fixed Mindsets for different parts of our lives at the same time, we gain power.

When we come across a part of our lives where we feel "stuck", we can come to realize that maybe we need to adjust our mindset in that part of our life.

However, there's another secret within this secret!

"What the mind focuses on, it finds more of."

There is a flipside to this common quote - what the mind doesn't focus on, it tries to block out.

So, within this context, if we are focused on having a "Growth Mindset", our brains will actively look for where we do have a Growth Mindset.

In the same stroke, our brains will actively attempt to block out where we may have a "Fixed Mindset" in our lives.

Ah, a wonderful conundrum we have found!

How do you find what the brain is attempting to hide from us?

If we are to improve where we have a Fixed Mindset, we must find them first.

But that is incredibly difficult when our brains are actively working against that goal.

This is where having outside perspectives becomes extremely impactful in our lives.

Now, we can do this literally or we can fabricate this in our lives.

If we are to do it literally, there are a few easy ways.

You can seek out Family for help to identify these.

Often our Family is closest to us and know most of the best and worst parts of us.

However, our Families sometimes become "normed" to our tendencies, so they could miss them.

This is where having a Coach, Mentor, Teacher, or maybe even an Employee's perspective could become extremely helpful.

When one of these individuals understand how these Mindsets work, they can become a valuable resource.

However, we can also fabricate an "outside" perspective by ourselves!

The most popular way to do this is through journaling.

When we write down our thoughts, and then re-read them "as if" someone else wrote them (even better if you read it out loud), you can begin to see your life in a different way.

You could also do this in another form, such as through Video or Voice Memos.

I'm always a fan of using whatever format is most comfortable to use.

So when you think about your "Mindset", don't forget that there are really multiple "Mindsets" and each part of your life has one.

Always be open to questioning every aspect of your life, never think that you inherently have a "Growth Mindset" in all aspects of your life.