8 Habits to Achieve a Growth Mindset

While you might understand the benefits of having a growth mindset, you might be stuck on how to achieve a growth mindset. As I’ve mentioned, for many people, keeping a positive mindset is hard because things don’t always go as planned. Having a growth mindset helps you handle those bumps in the road on the way to success.

If you have a fixed mindset, you don’t really believe that change is possible (at least not for you). That kind of negative thinking prohibits you from having the motivation to seek change. Let’s look at some questions to ask yourself to see if you have a growth mindset.

Are you smart enough?

This is a tough one for a lot of people. If we look at kids, this is easier to see. Kids with a growth mindset believe that they can learn and practice and get smarter. Kids with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence is fixed or predetermined. Because of this, they don’t try and ultimately stay the same.

You need to ask yourself if you can become smarter. Look at the people around you who you consider successful or good at something you’d like to do. Are they smarter than you? Why do you think that? Can you learn what they know? (The answer is yes.)

Are you willing to put in the work?

People who have a fixed mindset believe change can’t happen, so they’re not willing to put in the work. Are there people who are smarter than you? Yep. Can you put in the effort to learn? Also, yep. I’m not going to lie and say that nothing is innate ability. But most things can be learned.

It just depends on how much time and effort you’re willing to give it.

Are you motivated?

If you have a growth mindset, you welcome challenges. You know that things are hard, but you can push through and grow as a person. They celebrate the successes of others because instead of being jealous, they can learn from those people.

A fixed mindset will tell you that by doing new things, you run the risk of being embarrassed because you can’t do it. When others succeed, envy creeps in with thoughts of “Why are they so lucky?” The fixed mindset person doesn’t see the work put in; they believe it’s all innate ability.

Those thoughts cause you to stagnate.

Do you believe failure is okay?

First, let me say that you can have a growth mindset and struggle with perfectionism, so you might look at this question and say “hell no!” However, it’s through failure that we learn the most. One of the first things I remember learning in my college classes as I studied to be a teacher is that learning doesn’t happen without struggle.

With a growth mindset, you understand that everything doesn’t always go smoothly. You can accept the losses along with the wins. Trying new things is exciting and failure is just another way of learning.

A fixed-mindset person either doesn’t try or gives up at the first sign of difficulty. Instead of assessing why something didn’t work and what changes they can make, they just assume that they’ll never be able to do it.

Developing a growth mindset starts with believing you can. You have to have faith in yourself and believe that you can change. Nothing happens overnight and there is no magic pill. There will be trial and error and more trial and more error. But believing in yourself is powerful enough to keep you motivated.

Here are 8 habits that will help you achieve a growth mindset:

1. You have to work on changing your limiting beliefs. Without that major change, everything else is going to be difficult. Those limiting beliefs are keeping you in a fixed mindset and they will drag you down. Believing in yourself will not only increase your growth, but it will also help you remain more positive when things get hard.
2. Hang out with positive people. You don’t have to be sunshiney all the time. Lord knows I’m not. But positive people tend to have a growth mindset. If you spend time with those people, you can begin to see the power of positivity and growth mindset.
3. Build a growth mindset library. However you like to consume information, look for it. Get books, listen to podcasts, and read online articles. The more you know, the more you expose yourself to ideas, the easier it will become to achieve a growth mindset.
4. Help others. When you give back, it increases positive chemicals in your body and you’ll feel happier. Seeing the positive impact you can have on others will make you feel good about yourself.
5. Try something new. Yes, this might be scary, especially if you’re the type of person who only does things you know you’ll be good at. Choose something low-stakes. Something you won’t feel bad about if you flop. Step out of your comfort zone. Doing new things will allow you to meet new people and create new relationships.
6. Think and speak positively. This is what we’re working toward, right? That positive mindset? Start by watching how you speak to others and how you speak to yourself. Put a positive spin on the words you choose. Retrain your brain. It might be easier to do this when talking to others. We’re usually nicer to others than we are to ourselves.
7. Reward yourself. As you build your new routines and habits, you deserve a reward when you get something right. It doesn’t have to be anything big or even cost money. It could be a night to watch a favorite movie. Or maybe you buy yourself some flowers or chocolate. You shouldn’t wait for someone else to recognize how awesome you are.
8. Laugh whenever you can. Laughter does so many great things for us. It can change your mood, lighten a situation, and just make us feel better. When we laugh, it’s hard to hold onto the doom and gloom. It will help you keep positivity in your life, which in turn, helps you achieve a growth mindset.

Achieving a growth mindset will set you on the path for success in whatever goals you set for yourself. Start today to change the way you think about yourself so that you can feel good as you grow and change.