MINDSET: WHAT IS IT & WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Your Mindset Sets the Stage
Your mindset is what compels you to take a certain action or leads you to refrain from acting on something. Your mindset influences how you see yourself and those around you. There are (at least) two types of mindsets – Fixed Mindsets or Growth Mindsets. Each mindset has distinguishing characteristics.
Fixed or Growth – What Kind of Mindset do You Have?
Finding your type of mindset is key to understanding how you approach life and function or operate in every single area of your life.
Fixed Mindset: If you have a fixed mindset, you tend to believe your skills or qualities are set and cannot be changed. You have a set belief about many things including your intelligence level, personality, or personal character. These people tend to limit themselves and focus on proving themselves and their worth to others.
Some Fixed Mindset Behavioral Characteristics Include:
- Blaming others for things that are wrong
- Developing lazy habits
- Relying on addictions
- Having an insatiable “appetite” and always wanting more of everything
- Being self-absorbed and rarely taking other people into consideration
- Not taking the proactive initiative to achieve
- Obsessing about what others are thinking, doing, or saying (about you or anything/anyone)
- Wasting time
- Coming across to others in a negative way
Some of the sub-mindsets of a fixed mindset include:
- Fear mindset
- Lazy mindset
- Envy mindset
- Greed mindset
- Short-term mindset
- Angry mindset
- Follower mindset
Growth Mindset: If you have a growth mindset you are apt to believe you have a basic set of qualities that can be cultivated through your efforts, strategies, and help from others.
Some Growth Mindset Behavioral Characteristics include:
1. Willing to help others
2. Approaching life with a problem-solving attitude
3. Thinking big and knowing what you want
4. Feeling gratitude for what you have
5. Having a consistent eagerness to learn
6. Dedicating your life to personal/professional growth
7. Having an ability to change, adjust, flex, and develop new skills
8. Embracing life’s challenges
9. Learning from failures
Some of the sub-mindsets of a growth mindset include:
- Social mindset
- Business mindset
- Dreamer mindset
- Gratitude mindset
- Confident mindset
- Creative mindset
Action Steps:
What type of mindset is the basis of your thoughts and actions? Do you believe that you are just this way and cannot change? Do you believe you can change, and things can be different for you? The good news is you can change your mindset to one of growth and abundance.
Consider doing some journaling about these ideas. Take some time to understand your current mindset and how you might work to make needed shifts.
~ In this blog, I write about various practices that I have found helpful to my personal and professional development. My hope is that this blog will support all readers, especially clinical social workers, clinical supervisors and their supervisees, and therapy or coaching clients. My hope is that readers might integrate these practices into their personal and professional lives.
Find a journal that works for you
~ Find soft-cover, matte finish lined journals and journals with writing prompts at Think in Possibilities Amazon Shop – Click here: Think in Possibilities Journals @ Amazon