Definition of a Growth Mindset and How To Develop It

The definition of a growth mindset is the knowledge of students when they can understand their abilities can be developed and improved on. 

Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset and Stanford professor, explains a growth mindset can be defined by those who believe that success is a result of time and effort, as opposed to natural born talent. The growth mindset by Carol Dweck shows us that although we are all born with different strengths, and initially this could be an advantage, the principle of growth mindset believes that those with less natural born ability can improve, and even surpass those with natural talent and ability.

Those with a growth mindset have the belief that they can improve at something through dedication, energy, time, commitment, and effort. A flaw or lack of initial ability can be worked on, to result in the desired outcome of success.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

On the other side of a growth mindset, is a fixed mindset. The definition of fixed mindsets are those that believe they cannot change their ability. A fixed mindset would believe that talent is enough to achieve success, and excessive work or effort is not needed to improve on their talents. An example would be a rugby player who believes their strength and speed is enough, and to not partake in additional training to improve on these talents.

How to develop growth mindset

It’s obvious to see that a growth mindset is far more beneficial than a fixed mindset in any area of life. We should all strive to improve in whatever we do. The below strategies can be used to develop a growth mindset.

• Find purpose - Finding your clear purpose in any task will help create a determined and strong outlook into completing it. You will look to improve your ability in obtaining success.
• Reflection - If you have failed, then reflection is a powerful way to learn from this, and in turn increase your chances of succeeding next time.
• Goal setting - Writing down goals is a common trait with those who have a growth mindset. Creating a clear goal gives us something to work towards.
• Feedback - Ask those around you for feedback on your actions. Learning from this feedback will help you to improve on what you are already doing.
• Attitude - Forming a positive attitude towards tasks improves our chances of succeeding. Positivity can harbour a can do attitude, which is infectious to those around us. Attempting a task with a negative attitude is unlikely to give us the result we want, and we will become frustrated when this happens.