Everyone keeps preaching how a growth mindset is important to business success. How is a growth mindset for business success developed?
First, you may be asking yourself “What exactly is a growth mindset?” Well, a growth mindset is an actual, demonstrable psychological phenomenon. It turns out that many long-term successful individuals possess certain characteristics that they share with other long-term successful individuals. This set of characteristics has been termed a “growth mindset”.
Now, some people, who tend to achieve less than their full potential, also possess a set of characteristics that they share with other under-achievers. This set of traits has been dubbed the “fixed mindset”. Most people, more or less, fall in one camp or the other.
Characteristics of Growth Mindset
People with a growth mindset tend to have a desire to learn from life. This desire leads to the ability to:
- embrace challenges
- overcome setbacks
- see effort as worth the results
- accept criticism
- admire and learn from the successes of others
These behaviors allow native intelligence to grow throughout a lifetime. (Hence, the name.) People with a growth mindset are believers in free will and this belief allows them to achieve their goals time and time again.
People who possess growth mindset are well suited to business and the world of entrepreneurship. The determination and grit required by entrepreneurship requires the skills of the growth mindset.
Growth mindset encompasses the ability to fail and press on. Learning from the failure and using those lessons to improve and find success.
Characteristics of Fixed Mindset
People with a fixed mindset tend to have a desire to appear smart, with a corresponding fear of looking foolish. Their desire leads them to:
- avoid challenges
- give up easily
- perceive extra effort as wasted
- ignore or reject criticism
- often envy and begrudge the success of others
These behaviors tend to limit native intelligence to a fixed amount. (Again, hence the name.) People with a fixed mindset often plateau early in life and fail to have, let alone reach, fixed goals.
Moving From Fixed to Growth Mindset
The good news is that a growth mindset can be cultivated easily by changing some critical behaviors.
First, you need to become more comfortable with imperfection. If you refuse to take risks and leave your comfort zone it is difficult to learn new skills.
Choose growth over stagnation. You must be willing to take positive action and begin to accept challenges and criticism and learning from both.
An excellent way to begin working towards a growth mindset is by developing the philosophy of “yet”. This simple step simple attaches the word “yet” to the end of every negative thought, as in “That will never work, yet…” or “It’s probably not worth going, yet…” This simple trick opens the possibility for growth and that possibility leads to changed behavior that helps cultivate the growth mindset.
How Growth Mindset Helps Entrepreneurs Be Successful
If you have a growth mindset, you are less likely to give up when confronted with obstacles. You won’t allow set-backs to impact your drive or confidence. Instead, you use those set-backs to improve your business.
Entrepreneurs with a growth mindset seek to define their own success and don’t allow external influences or outside forces to define their business. If you have a fixed mindset and you take up entrepreneurship, you have work to do. If you fail to cultivate a growth mindset, it may negatively impact your business and you may succumb to set-backs or criticism.
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