Each one of us can walk through life in one of two ways. The first option is having a fixed mindset and the second is having a growth mindset. If you didn’t already know this; only one group actually finds success and fulfillment. Having a growth mindset means seeing that talent and genes alone form only one part of the equation. People with a growth mindset believe that through hardwork and dedication – the sky is the limit. This article will focus on that group of people. During the course of this post – you will learn the secret of applying a growth mindset to achieve success.
We all want to experience success in our lives. Google defines success as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. So in a way; success can be associated with happiness. The more internally validated you feel, the happier you get. Pay attention to the word “internally” because success should never be associated with external validation. You need to define your own happiness or in other words success; and this is one of the many success tips you will learn as you mature. If you choose a career that your parents wanted you to do and excel at it – is this really success? To the outside world it may be- but internally it may not. So the first step of applying a growth mindset is to achieve success by defining it.
We all know though that success can be one sided. You could have success in your career but fail dismally at every other part of your life. So the key here is obviously balance. Think of time and energy as finite resource. You need to allocate these accordingly to reach the success you want in all faculties of your life. In the sections to follow, time will be spent discussing how to navigate through the different areas of one’s life – applying a growth mindset to achieve success along the way. Typically people will find themselves navigating being in college or school, being in a relationship, studying at college, working or being an entrepreneur. This article will touch on each of these areas.
Relationships
Humans are social creatures and this is evident by the longest study done by Harvard University. According to the Ted Talk: What makes a good life? lessons from the longest study on happiness; the study shows that those participants in the study that were the most happy and who lived longer; belonged to the group of people that had the healthiest relationships up until their death. You may take your friendships or family for granted; however studies show that the number of quality relationships you have decrease as you get older. So you may want to start learning how to make friends quickly.
There are many reason why people tend to lose relationships such as not effectively using the emotional bank account to form better relationships as outlined in the book: The 7 habits of highly effective people. Therefore time needs to be spent nurturing the relationships in your life just as you would your career or own wellbeing.
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The age factor is just one detriment to developing healthy relationships. The other factor comes down to personality types. Finding the right type of friends to compliment you as well as overcoming shyness prone personality types like introversion can hinder your relationship forming capabilities.
There are a variety of ways to overcome this such as meeting people through shared interests e.g. through sports clubs. In addition, shyness or introversion is just a matter of a perspective shift. We are influenced by our belief system and thoughts. If we hold onto the fact that we are shy and afraid then we will never overcome the obstacle of approaching new people. A handy tip in this regard would be to live in the present moment. If you are able to stop the destructive thoughts then you will realize that it is much easier to overcome fearful thoughts. Another useful trick is to not feeding the shyness belief system. If you are suffering from social anxiety, you need to put yourself out there. Desensitize yourself to the thing that fears you the most. Speak to strangers, approach new people and make new friends.
Career
When it comes to having a successful career hard-work, talent and education are important factors; however knowing how to strategically navigate through the workplace is also of equal importance. Every decision you make from whether to choose your career over your passion to how to make a good first impression at work is of key importance to your success at work. You will find that the work place is a dynamic terrain that requires persistence and the ability to deal with change in the workplace on a consistent basis.
If you are keen on getting that next promotion; then there are many ways to get promoted at work and to avoid the pitfalls of deadly career mistakes. However, you need to once again define your success. Some people prefer having a work life balance and moving all the way up the corporate ladder isn’t on the cards for them. It’s all about what you can handle as well as your own intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
The following are steps to follow as you start applying a growth mindset to achieve success in the work place:
- Lose the illusory superiority complex when you are starting of. It will get you in more trouble than it is actually worth. Read: Illusory Superiority Quotes To Avoid Ignorance.
- Start learning soft skills immediately and value it as much as technical abilities. It will also allow you to more effectively win arguments and to gain respect at work.
- Sometimes being intelligent can have it’s disadvantages like making you feel like you are trapped in certain career fields. Therefore it is important to continuously invent yourself through a career growth plan until you find a career than makes you happy. Read: Fun careers in business that will grow your mind.
- Learn new skills to stay ahead of your field. Stand out from the crowd. Read: Efficient Excel Spreadsheet Design: Best Practices and How to effectively do data analysis for better decision making
- Find ways to make yourself indispensable in a company. If you are the go to person for certain skills; then no one will question your abilities or importance.
- Try to avoid job hopping unless for the following reasons
- Learn to be tolerant and understand what people from different age groups bring to the table. E.g. Read: Millennials And Technology: What they bring to the table
- If you find that you are smarter than your boss; don’t rub it on his/her face. Make his/her life easier in a non-threatening way and you will be met with least resistance
- Find a mentor that can guide and develop you. Here’s what to look for in a mentor.
- There’s a lot that can be said about first day of work advice however the key taking is to make a good impression, listen and show respect.
- Choose a career that compliments your abilities. If you are a logical thinker for example, choose a career that let’s you practice first principles thinking. Here’some tips on how to determine the perfect career for you.
- If you are unemployed, try to stay positive. Make it your job to find a job. Here are 10 job search tips to never forget.
- Be aware of the Peter Principle when getting promotions. Sometimes you are just not destined for that promotion.
- Understand the difference between a leader and a follower. You will be faced with the decision sooner than later as to which path to follow.
- Realize the work environment you are getting into. Sometimes just having a passion for the subject isn’t enough. E.g. will you be working from home, remotely or in a corporate environment. Does this make you happy? read: How to stay motivated working from home and how to stay motivated at work
- Understand that working hard alone will not guarantee you getting a promotion at work fast; careful attention needs to be paid to career advancement strategies.
- Not getting a promotion is not the end of the world. See it as an opportunity to grow. There will be other opportunities along the way. Learn how to defy the odds and get that dream promotion.
- Avoid conflict as much as you can. Try to practice emphatic listening with a synergistic approach. If you do have to have an argument, here’s how to win an argument everytime… guaranteed!
- Be aware of backstabbers in the workplace and how to deal with them. Often it is a risky business trusting people in the work setting. People either want your job or are envious of what you already have. Tread carefully.
- Understand the value of Tacit knowledge and how to gain it fast. True knowledge comes from practicing your trait. Sometimes you need to just jump straight into a task and then learn what you need to move forward. We can sometimes get bogged down with getting the theory perfect and end up never actually starting a project.
- When preparing for interviews – understand the interview type first and prepare accordingly. Read: How to prepare for job interview questions correctly and how to prepare for case interviews the right way
- The ultimate goal is being headhunted for your dream job. Find out what you can do to get headhunted today.
- Choose the company you work for wisely. Before deciding, check if your company satisfies your requirements. You may find that you will have to change your mindset to fit your company’s work culture. This can either be good or bad depending on your personal value system.
- Plan for retirement when you are young. Also experiment with mini-retirements to give you perspective.
- Learn different thinking styles to make you dynamic across fields e.g. read these systems thinking quotes to gain an idea of holistic thinking
- Understand that dealing with organizational change is normal and we should embrace it. There are numerous benefits to dealing with change in the workplace – we just need to learn how to leverage the changes to our advantage.
Entrepreneurship
Sometimes people are just not cut out for a normal career and opt for the entrepreneurial root instead- you can somewhat call these people entrepreneur superheroes. They are the people never stopping in the face of adversity. There comes a certain freedom and exhilaration with starting your own venture and calling it yours. But even with all the excitement comes immense risk. Sometimes this risk comes because of the toss up of creativity vs innovation – to succeed means coming up with something untested and still getting the buy in from your target audience. This is fundamentally why businesses that utilize the disruptive innovative framework either succeed or fall to the ground. Therefore to really succeed means having a driving passion and the development of an entrepreneurial mindset. Here are some great starters for your entrepreneurial journey:
- If you want to succeed in a certain field; the key is networking. Find other people that have succeeded in your field and ask for advice.
- If you are starting off and are not sure where to begin; the key is to generate as many ideas and possible. One of them will surely be a winner!
- To succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to flex that entrepreneurial mindset. Here are five mental skills that all entrepreneurs need.
- Intelligent people talk about their business ideas to those they trust. This will give you an idea of flaws in your business plan or possible to avenues to explore.
- Always approach business with the win- win strategy. Have the abundance mentality. There will always be a way for both parties to get what they want ( in this case, you and your customer).
Studying
Studying is a pivotal path in most people’s lives. Whether it is to grow in your career, start up a side hustle or just fulfill that new year resolution of learning something new. Whatever the case, here are some golden rules for applying the growth mindset for success in your studies:
- Deciding on what to study in college can be daunting and will often set the path for your future. Don’t beat yourself up though if you end up getting things wrong. We often change as we get older and start to find out what we really love and enjoy. The key is to continue inventing ourselves until we find that sweet spot.
- Stay motivated by realizing the reasons for studying in the first place and the type of life and purpose you will have after completion of your studies. This is key to overcoming the “I need motivation to study” mentality that most student’s experience.
- Learn coping strategies from other successful college students; this will prevent you from making their same mistakes
- Make use of technology and embrace online learning to up-skill your abilities or just learn a new subject. Read: Online learning disadvantages and how to avoid them
- Identify and understand what makes you learn the most effectively. Are you a visual learner or maybe nocturnal learner. Whatever it is, find what gives you the maximum output with minimal effort.
- Understand the importance of a balance when studying. Yes, as study life balance for student does exist!
- Find ways to overcome the “I need motivation to study” dilemma that most student face
Applying a growth mindset to achieve success in all areas of your life isn’t easy; you will require the will and determination to persist until you reach happiness and balance. The key isn’t to beat yourself up when things seems to being going in the wrong direction but instead reflect and determine how to set yourself on the right path. Use this post as a guiding pillar to help you along the way.
