Win at Life
Growth Mindset (noun):
The belief that your abilities aren’t set in stone.
They can be developed with effort, learning, and strategy.
“You are not a finished product. You are a process.”
What it is
Growth Mindset is not about being relentlessly, annoyingly upbeat or pretending talent doesn’t matter. It’s about what you believe causes positive change in your life. The opposite is a Fixed Mindset.
A ‘growth mindset’, a term coined by psychologist Carol Dweck, is the idea that intelligence, skill and performance aren’t set in stone but can be improved. You’re not ‘just bad at maths’ or ‘not the sporty one’, or ‘not an artsy person’ – you just haven’t got there yet.
Why does that matter?
Because how you see success and failure… shapes what you do next.
If you think your ability is fixed, then falling short feels personal, like proof you don’t have what it takes. ‘Not being good enough’ becomes your default position. But if you believe you can improve, a setback becomes a nudge. An invitation. A clue. A direction to go in. Not a dead end. Periodt.
This shift in thinking gives you breathing space and strips away the drama and shame. It takes the emotion and negative mental chatter out of the equation and puts you back in charge. Struggling isn’t a signal to stop; it just means you have to double down.
Most people claim to love learning new things, but not all of them are willing to put the effort in and do what needs to be done.
A Growth Mindset is how you put your money where your mouth is.
What it looks like in real life
Someone with a fixed mindset says things like:
- “I’m just not creative.”
- “I’m not cut out for public speaking.”
- “I’m terrible with money.”
All statements dressed up as facts ^, but in reality, they are all decisions.
Usually old ones that haven’t been revisited for a while.
By contrast, a growth mindset sounds more like:
- “I haven’t learned how to do that yet.”
- “That didn’t go to plan – what can I tweak for next time?”
- “It’s hard, but I can get better.”
It’s not magical thinking.
It’s a refusal to ‘freeze’ yourself in space and time, on the matter.
This is a common theme in coaching.
Someone will tell me that they’re easily overwhelmed, or chaotic, or just not ‘that type of person’, and we often ask: “Is that a fact… or a habit?” Often with a bit of digging, it’s habit dressed up as truth (with a dash of fear thrown in for good measure).
We delve into this further in Neutralise Your Overwhelm, particularly in the Locus of Control exercise. That’s where we take a look at which parts of life you can influence, and which ones you’re giving too much airtime to.
Spoiler alert: there’s usually more within reach than you think.
Something to Think About
- When did you last decide you “just weren’t good at” something, and let it stay that way?
- What’s one belief you’ve held about your limitations that might actually be a well-rehearsed excuse?
- If you imagined your mindset was contagious, what are the people around you catching?
- When something doesn’t go to plan, do you tend to pivot or pull back?
- Can you spot the moment you usually label yourself (I’m not organised / I’m not techy / I’m not consistent) – and try pausing before the full stop?
Optional Challenge
Pick one thing you’ve written off about yourself.
Maybe it’s public speaking.
Healthy habits.
Or managing your money. Maybe finishing what you start.
Now, just for today, the challenge is to act as if that’s not a fixed trait, but a skill.
A trainable, stretchable bit of cognitive plasticine.
Find a micro-action that edges you forward with that thing. Watch a tutorial. Block ten minutes to start. Ask a question. Break it into chunks.
Don’t aim for amazing.
Just prove to yourself it isn’t set in stone, and you can move forward with it today, even if in tiny increments.
Logic suggests that next time you could move even further still.
And so on.
A Buddh-ish Take
A seed doesn’t look like a tree.
But it knows how to become one.
The job isn’t to force the outcome; it’s to nurture the conditions.
Water. Light. Space. Time.
Your job isn’t to be the thing yet – it’s to pave the way to grow in the direction of it.
The rest takes care of itself.
“Be patient with yourself. Nothing in nature blooms all year.”
– Zen saying