Growth vs. Fixed Mindset: One of Life’s Most Important Concepts

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I believe that having a growth mindset is one of the most important things in life.

What is a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset?

The idea of a fixed mindset is that you’re born a certain way and that is fixed. For example, some people are good at math, some people are good at writing, some people are good at podcasting, etc. And these are natural abilities that can’t easily be improved.

The idea of a growth mindset is that (while everyone is born with different baseline skill levels) you can control how good you become at anything. The core belief is that effort=results=improvement.

Why is this important?

Once you realize that hard work will lead to results and improved skills, it empowers you to take ownership over your life.

Too many people get hung up on not being naturally good at certain things instead of focusing on honing their skills via hard work.

Examples:

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, is a perfect example of someone with an extreme growth mindset. He didn’t study electric cars or rockets in college and he certainly wasn’t born with that knowledge.

Rather he read books and networked with the smartest minds in the world. And yes, he’s a brilliant mind and an exceptional human, but his work ethic is exceptional.

Hard work = results

If you want to become a good conversationalist, a good writer, a good cook, or anything else, the path to getting there is by practicing and working hard.

I’ve spent a lot of time honing the skill of learning new things via the internet. And this has changed everything for me because we live in an era with unprecedented access to information.

By practicing, I’ve become significantly better at sales, meeting new people, building websites, organizing my thoughts, writing, making videos, managing people, working out, eating healthy, math, etc.

I can’t stress enough how critical this concept is if you want to live a successful and empowered life.

It’s one of a few key lessons that I’ll deeply engrain into my future children’s minds!

Related post: The Two Best Resources If You’re Looking To Improve Your Life

For more on this topic, listen to the world authority on growth mindset, Carol Dweck or read her book, Mindset:

You can watch the full video here:

Image credit: Ideapod.

I've been building digital businesses, wandering the world, and writing about optimizing life for freedom since early 2017. My mission is to lower the barrier for people who want to live with more freedom: whether that be as an entrepreneur, a digital nomad, an early retiree, or just as someone who wants to live a happiness-driven life.