Fixed Mindset or Growth Mindset? Who are you?
While listening to this week’s session of my online soft skills class, I found out that I’ve been once a part of a fixed mindset. That’s what almost every one of us has been once. Isn’t it? When we tried to give our destiny and fate the reason for our failures? “ Oh, I was meant to fail. It was fate. I can’t do anything, etc etc.” Instead of going towards the reasons for failure, and trying to improve, we tried to let go of it with such expressions. But, did it let us grow then? Nope. Never. At least not for me! In fact, it made me dive into a dark pit where there was no escape.
That’s when I got this amazing book by Haemin Sunim i.e. Love for imperfect things”. And I’d recommend it to you too. Such a lovely self-help book it is. One of its quote that made me stand up again, and made me look upon my mistakes, and what I’m doing:
If you want to succeed, be more self-aware about your values, interests, strengths, and limitations, and explore professions beyond those you are familiar with.
Yes, I realized, I was going on the wrong side since the start. And so, I started doing what I loved. I started learning to understand things instead of just learning to clear the stages of my life. I started putting effort into my work. I started working harder for my goals instead of just giving up after every failure.
While discussing with our course instructor about the differences between fixed and growth mindset, I was sure that I’m now part of a growth mindset. Yes, because I am leading my life, not with regrets of failures but rather coping up and learning from those failures. Because I now know that it’s not that I wasn’t intelligent, but it was just that I wasn't working on the right path.
I’d urge you to find out more about yourself. And if you’re from a fixed mindset, then try to get yourself out of it. Because I’m quite sure that it won’t be letting you live your life to the fullest and you’ll be having quite some regrets-filled pockets. Empty them now and make a restart because it's never too late to do start afresh. Oh, and do read the book I recommended. I hope you’d like it. 😉
Rather than choosing a life in which you do nothing for fear of making a mistake, choose a life that improves through failure and pain.
Love for imperfect things ~ Haemin Sunim
