4 Key Strategies to Develop a Growth Mindset

The most important mindset that you can develop in life is a growth mindset.  When you have a growth mindset, you know that you aren’t stuck where you are today.  Rather, you know that with time and dedication, you can improve yourself.  You can expand your existing abilities.  You can develop new skills.   In short, you know that you have the ability to change yourself and your life for the better. 

All of that sounds obvious, doesn’t it?  And yet, there are so many folks who don’t have a growth mindset.  They mistakenly think that they can’t improve themselves beyond where they are in this moment.

Why do they some people have this wrong-headed idea that they are stuck?  Well, usually it’s because they mistakenly listen to other people.  Unfortunately, the world is full of discouragers. There are plenty of people out there who will gladly tell you what you can’t accomplish in life.

So, if you want to develop a growth mindset, the first thing that you need to do is to put on your blinders and ignore the discouragers.  I’ll concede that’s hard to do.  If a parent, teacher or other influential person tells you, “You can’t do that,” it’s hard to overcome that message.  But that’s exactly what you need to do if you want to start believing in yourself and in your ability to grow and improve.

Read below about strategies to develop a growth mindset.  Then use the growth mindset to change yourself and your life for the better!

Choose to Embrace Challenges

People who have growth mindsets don’t view challenges as problems.  Instead, they view challenges as opportunities to become learn something new. 

Now, I’ll concede that challenges are a hassle.  Every time I’m faced with a challenge, I think to myself, “Good grief.  How am I going to figure this out!”  But my aggravation doesn’t stop me.  Instead, I choose to tackle my problems head on and figure out solutions.

What I’ve learned over the years is that if I can just face my challenge and figure out a solution, I’m always in a better place afterward.  Because through that “figuring out” process, I end up learning something new.  And my brain gets sharper.

Frankly, I’m much sharper now than I was in my twenties.  And I’m not merely sharper due to the wisdom that comes with age.  Rather, I’m cognitively shaper.  That’s because I’ve spent the past couple of decades facing problems, figuring out solutions and implementing those solutions.  Tackling all kinds of challenges over the years has given my brain such a workout that I now have a sharpness that I simply didn’t have in my younger years.

Now, I’ve also seen folks go in the other direction.  I’ve seen people who shy away from problems and challenges.  I know people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond who simply don’t want to be challenged in life.  And their brains are mushy because their brains don’t get any exercise!

The good news is that if you consistently attack your challenges in life, you’ll develop a growth mindset.  That’s because when you conquer challenges, you learn that you are capable of solving problems.  And you realize that while your first reaction to any problem may be, “I can’t,” that reaction isn’t accurate.  Rather, you learn that if you tackle any problem, you’ll ultimately be able to solve it and learn from it.

So, don’t shy away from challenges.  They’re an important part of your regime to develop your growth mindset!

Learn Continuously

There are many folks who think that learning ends after high school or college.  However, I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth!  In fact, I’d argue that after your formal education ends, your real education begins.

In my own experience, the books I was given to read in public school and in university were mind-numbing.  You could read these books and be left with the very wrong-headed idea that books about academic subjects like history or science are boring.  But the reality is that there are fascinating, well-written books out there, on every academic topic that you can think of. 

So, don’t allow your formal education to discourage you from reading about important subjects!  Instead, scour your bookstore and library for books on topics that interest you.  Find books written by authors who write in an engaging manner. Then, become an expert in an area by reading everything about that topic that you can get your hands on. 

Not only should you continually be increasing your knowledge, but you also should be working to increase your skills.  For instance, my husband and I love learning about different cultures. So, to expand our understanding of other cultures, we are working on our foreign language skills.  My husband studies Spanish, and I study both Spanish and French.  We also regularly work at expanding our cooking skills.  We’re both avid cooks, and we’re always trying out new recipes from different areas of the world. 

The good news is that every time you learn something new, you reinforce the idea in your brain that, “Yes, I can keep getting better!  I can keep becoming more knowledgeable and more skilled.”  In short, through continuous learning, you reinforce the growth mindset.

Adopt a Positive Attitude

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in this world who’ve been trained to be negative.  Their parents decided that the best gift that they could give their children is the gift of “realism.”  I can’t think of a worse legacy to leave your children. 

As a parent, my message to my daughter always has been this: “You can achieve anything that you are willing to work for.  And I’m here to support you in every way possible to help you achieve your goals.”  That message has paid off.  Recently, my daughter graduated from university.  She finished with straight As and received a multitude of awards.  Even at her young age, she has developed a growth mindset. She knows that with time and hard work, she can achieve anything that she sets her mind to achieve. 

Unfortunately, not everyone gets that kind of encouragement when they are growing up.  I didn’t.  And if you didn’t either, then you need to overcome any of the negative messages that you may have received as a young person, so that you can learn to believe in yourself and in your ability to succeed.  The only way to do that it to commit to having a positive, can-do attitude. 

If you want to develop a can-do attitude, I’d suggest taking some time to look at the successful people around you.  What you’ll discover is that those folks aren’t any smarter than you are.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but the only difference between a Harvard student and a community college student is that the Harvard student either had richer parents, a better home and school environment, or better luck (or all three).  But the Harvard student isn’t inherently smarter or more capable than the community college student.  The Harvard student just had better life circumstances.

What does all that mean?  Well, it means that your attitude is everything in this life.  So, take what you have today and run with it.  If you had crappy parents, forget about them.  Succeed in spite of them.  Choose to outwork everyone you meet.  And forget about luck.  Hard work trumps luck every time.

When you adopt a positive attitude and truly believe in your capacity to grow and improve, nothing can stop you from achieving great things.

Surround Yourself with Growth-Minded People

One of the most important choices that you will make in this life is to choose the right kind of people to hang out with.  If you spend your time with the right people, they will encourage you and inspire you to keep growing as an individual. 

Now, the folks you don’t want in your inner circle are those who will discourage you from growing.  They are the folks who don’t want to achieve anything themselves.  They just want to hang out.  And they want you to hang out too! 

I’ll concede that there’s nothing inherently wrong with hanging out.  On occasion.  But people with a growth mindset don’t spend the majority of their time hanging out.  They spend their time on self-improvement.  They spend their weekends reading books.  And they use their free time to learn new skills.

I’ve known people over the years who had a growth mindset.  And they were all lifelong learners. These folks had varied interests.  They loved music, art and cooking.  They loved history and philosophy.  Growth minded people are renaissance people.

What I’ve learned is that if you surround yourself with these renaissance types, you too will be inspired!  Years ago, I had a boss who was an avid reader.  And he regularly gave me lists of books to read.  I admired him so much, that I just accepted his reading lists, trotted down to the bookstore and read everything that he recommended.  And as a result, I became exposed to exceptional authors who I would never have discovered without him. We all need renaissance tutors like him.

So, to develop your growth mindset, seek out people who are committed to growing their knowledge and skills.  If you surround yourself with people who love to learn and improve, you will be inspired to do the same!

I encourage you to develop a growth mindset.  Believe in yourself and your ability to improve!  Know that if you put in the time and effort, each year you can grow, improve, and become the amazing person that you were meant to be! (To read about 5 thoughts that can transform your life, click here.)