The Quest for Happiness: How a growth mindset and good habits can increase your joy in life.
Having a growth mindset can change your life in positive ways. Just believing you can develop new skills and talents can guide you towards achieving your goals. A growth mindset starts with a passion for learning. It involves recognizing that with effort and consistency, you can acquire any new skill or habit. People are not born with either a growth or fixed mindset. It is developed and ever-evolving.
Below we will look at the two different mindsets and explore how embracing a growth mindset can promote happiness in your daily life.
Difference Between a Growth vs Fixed Mindset
When faced with a challenge, someone with a fixed mindset will think of ways to avoid it. They might say that something is too hard or think they lack the skills to solve the problem. These people believe you're either born with a skill or you're not.
A person with a growth mindset will look at a challenge and work on developing the skills needed to achieve success. They recognize that failure is possible. However, they also understand that if you never try, you'll never get better.
Dr. Carol Dweck, an American psychologist at Stanford University, introduced these terms in her research to explore how mindset influences your capacity for growth. Personally, I've embraced a growth mindset, which I credit for much of my success in life. I love learning new things in various subjects. Dr. Dweck's TED Talk delves into this concept. I recommend watching it to gain a deeper understanding of the two types of mindsets.
This is also a great video on fostering this mindset in children as parents or educators. To learn more about the concept, Dr. Dweck has a bestselling book I highly recommend called Mindset.
5 Tips for Developing a Growth Mindset
Tip 1: See your challenges as opportunities.
This is the first thing I changed when developing a growth mindset. When you start seeing difficult tasks as an opportunity to learn something new, you promote personal growth. By changing your perspective, problems become a positive challenge to solve instead of a setback to avoid. This helps you develop a more positive outlook to life's inevitable difficulties.
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." – Winston Churchill
Tip 2: Value the process more than the outcome.
Celebrate the effort you are putting in more than the end result. Learning something new takes commitment. For example, it's easy to look at a pro athlete and think they must have been born talented. When in reality, it was the years of dedication and commitment they put in to become the best. Every daily practice in their life got them to that outcome.
Reward yourself for the work you are putting in to achieve the end result. If you are realistic in your goal and stay consistent, the results will follow.
“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy.” ― James Clear, Atomic Habits
Tip 3: Stop worrying about what others think.
When you focus on what other people will think during the learning stage of an activity, you limit yourself. Focus on you and why you want to do something. Think about your purpose. Don't seek others approval or focus on what you think others want you to do. Only you know what will make you truly happy. Find your authentic self and focus on what matters to you.
While it is important not to worry about what others think, seeking guidance from trustworthy individuals who can support you along your path is invaluable. You could ask them how you can improve at your chosen activity. Being able to accept constructive criticism is a part of having a growth mindset.
Another way others can help you is through learning from their example. By studying others who have achieved your goal, you can find out what setbacks they faced and how they overcame them. Learn from the mistakes they made, so you can avoid them as you try to reach your goal.
Tip 4: Pay attention to your thoughts and attitude.
Having a positive attitude about any new challenge is important. Your thoughts can either propel you forward or hold you back in a fixed mindset. For example, instead of saying, "I'm not athletic enough to run a marathon," think, "I'm not prepared to run a marathon yet, but I'm eager to give it a shot." Simply viewing a goal as achievable rather than impossible fosters the positive mindset needed to accomplish it.
Tip 5: Stop trying to be perfect.
This one took time for me to learn, but as I get older it becomes easier and easier. My personality naturally makes me want to seek perfection, an impossible goal. That is not a good way to learn and grow. You will never be perfect. I had to train myself to accept and acknowledge that everyone has imperfections. From understanding that one fact, I learned to see the beauty in imperfection. Your imperfections are what make you unique, and that is truly what makes life interesting. Accepting imperfection is a key step to developing a growth mindset and finding happiness within your life.
Making a Plan for Growth
To start developing your plan, ask yourself these two questions:
What habits can I develop to improve my life?
Identifying the skills and habit changes that will help you achieve a balanced, happy life is your first step. Since that can feel like an overwhelming task, I recommend breaking it down into categories that create a good life.
Those are:
relationships and connections
meaningful goals and work life
health and well-being
happiness and personal growth
When these are balanced, it promotes a full and satisfying life. Think about these core categories to see which area may need improvement in your life. Are you focusing too much on one area while neglecting others?
What habits can you add to optimize an aspect of your life that is lacking? It doesn't have to be a life-changing habit. It can be one small thing done daily. Do you need to add an evening call with a friend each day to help feel more fulfilled in your relationships? Should you meditate for 10 minutes in the morning to help with your emotional well-being? Small habits done consistently can add up to big changes in your life over time.
How will I stay committed?
Having a why statement that defines your intentions helps you understand the reason for your habit change and stay committed. A good journal can keep you focused on your why and make you more aware of your thinking each day. Many will help you track your new habit, including our 100 Days to Change series. These guided journals were created to help you grow in each of the main areas of living well. Each journal starts with defining why you want to make this change and guides you in reaching your goal.
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