Answer the following questions for me...
Do you seek out or avoid challenges?
Do you give up easily or persist in the face of adversity?
Do you perceive effort as fruitless or the key to success?
Do you see criticism as negative or constructive?
Are you threatened by other success or do you see it as inspirational?
How did you do?
Depending on how you answered the above questions, I will be able to tell if you are achieving your goals and experiencing success or lost in a confusing maze of failures and dead ends. If your answers primarily consisted of the former, I am pretty confident you are struggling to achieve and maintain your goals. If your answers consist primarily of the latter, then there's no real need to read any further (but I know you will, look at you you little go getter!).
If you are reading this blog, then there is a good chance, you are struggling right now or you are looking to make a drastic change to your life. So, let me reveal...
The Secret to Transforming your Life
According to Dr. Carol Dweck, L&V Eaton Professor of Psychology and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, there are two types of mindset and depending how you answered the above questions will determine which one you are currently operating with.
Now, don’t worry if your answers revealed that you are currently operating with the fixed mindset, because by simply adopting the growth mindset, you will profoundly change the way you approach life and in doing so, you will open up a whole new life experience.
First, let’s take a look at the mindsets
In a fixed mindset, people believe they are born with certain traits and qualities and that there is nothing they can do to change them. People operating within the fixed mindset tend to give up easily when faced with a challenge, when receiving feedback they get defensive and blame others if it is negative but when receiving positive feedback they take the credit. Essentially, they believe, you are born with an innate talent whereby effort is not required and this talent will, by itself, lead to success.
Whereas, those operating within the growth mindset, understand that there is a direct link between their level of intelligence, area of expertise and the effort and time they spend working on it. They believe there is always room for improvement, that challenges are merely locked doors between you and your goal and that effort is like the key to those doors. They understand that feedback, whether it is positive or negative is an opportunity to learn and improve and when rejected or faced with a setback, they realise they were not giving it their all the first time or were focused on the wrong aspect of their goal.
CAN MINDSET BE CHANGED?
So, why does this matter? Well, as Enda McNulty of McNulty Performance and author of Commit! Make your Mind and Body stronger and Unlock your full potential so eloquently puts it:
"A fixed mindset locks you into your current life"
Therefore if you want to want to change your current circumstances, then you need to begin operating with the growth mindset.
Why? If a fixed mindset makes you think that your skill level is fixed and there is nothing you can do to change it, then you are not going to try to effect change in your life.
Your fixed mindset is going to lead you to continue to think and behave in the same way, even if the best opportunity in the world comes along, you are going to be thinking "I don't know if I can do this..." and POOF!! the opportunity will be gone.
And to add insult to injury, people who operate with the Growth mindset are going to swoop in and take your opportunity.
“You must begin to think and behave as the person you wish to be would think and behave”
So there you have it, by simply believing that you can become smarter, run faster, lift heavier, this will lead you to change your attitude about yourself and you can begin making better choices. You will see the effort you put in is directly correlated with the level of success you experience and thus this will lead you to put in extra time and continue to learn and grow even further
For more training, nutrition and mindset tips, make sure you are following me on instagram and Clubhouse, where I post and host regular content and rooms to help you level up.
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