In summary
Would you like to know what kind of mindset you have? Is your mindset more fixated or growth-oriented? Like many of us, I find myself somewhere in between. I am constantly trying to understand and refine my mindset. In this blog post, I invite you to learn about how I approach mindset. This journey oscillates between fixed and growth perspectives and the surprises it has brought.
The Fixed Facet
I have moments when I tend toward a fixed mindset, especially when confronted with daunting challenges or unrealistic expectations. The tendency to protect my self-image as someone who can meet every expectation is a telltale sign of a fixed mindset. In the past, I have often given up too easily when their expectations exceeded what I believed I could accomplish.
Growth mindset resurgence is discussed in this section
A key part of this journey, however, has been accepting change and impermanence. In accepting that nothing is permanent, I have been able to rediscover a growth-oriented mindset. As a result, I have adopted a guiding principle in my life approach.
Testing and Embracing Mistakes
My mindset includes an openness to making mistakes. It has become clear to me that making mistakes is not a sign of incompetence, but an essential part of learning and growing. Without the fear of failure, I am free to test new ideas and approaches. You’ll be surprised at just how liberating this can be once you fully embrace the growth mindset.
My thoughts on my findings
It is a constant balancing act between the fixed mindset’s tendency to protect my ego and the growth mindset’s encouragement to embrace challenges, change, and learning.
The awareness of my duality is a significant step toward my personal development. It entails understanding the context in which each mindset dominates and choosing the one that best serves me.
A journey that never ends.
We can empower ourselves to choose the perspective that aligns with our aspirations and goals by an understanding that our mindset is not fixed.
During the battle of Mahabharata; Arjun said to Krishna;
The mind is truly very unstable, forceful and strong. It is just as difficult to control as the flow of the wind.
Lord Krishna replied;
Dear Arjuna, undoubtedly, the mind, as you say, is difficult to control, yet with paractice, determination and detachment, it can be controlled.
Resources
- Clark, A. and Sousa, B. (2018). Your biggest asset for academic career success? A growth mindset. [online] Times Higher Education (THE). Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/your-biggest-asset-academic-career-success-growth-mindset.
- Dweck, C.S. and Yeager, D.S. (2019). Mindsets: A View From Two Eras. Perspectives on Psychological Science, [online] 14(3), pp.481–496. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166.
- Mukundananda, S. (n.d.). Chapter 6, Verse 34 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda. [online] www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org. Available at: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/6/verse/34.
- Mukundananda, S. (n.d.). Chapter 6, Verse 35 – Bhagavad Gita, The Song of God – Swami Mukundananda. [online] www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org. Available at: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/chapter/6/verse/35.
