Watty Piper, who is the author of the children’s book, “The Little Engine that Could,” radicate the mantra “I think I can” into the minds of the young generation, educating us about the most vital lessons we must all be willing to learn, that attaining success in any investment needs perseverance and a strong belief in one’s abilities.
This same perseverance, confidence, and belief portrayed by the Little Engine in 1930 is the bedrock of growth mindset, which can be clearly said to be the new pattern of thinking, which is now flooding the cooperate culture.
As an entrepreneur trying to build a digital content business, you must understand and adopt the principle of a growth mindset.
Growth Mindset: The Master Key.
According to Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at the University of Stanford, who first formed the phrase “Growth mindset,”. In its meaning, possessing a growth mindset signifies having a radical belief that intelligence is not predetermined or fixed. Possessing this mindset of growth is possessing the potential to acknowledge that the human brain is not static but plastic. The human brain has the potential to improve through learning.
A growth mindset is a set of behaviors and attitudes that reveal the belief that an individual’s talents are not set in stone. It shows that ability can be expanded, and intelligence can be facilitated. Innovation and creativity can be boosted. Leaders can arise as human beings possess high potentials.
Why a Growth Mindset Helps Digital Entrepreneurs
When you, as an entrepreneur venturing into digital content business operate with a mindset of growth, then it means you crave challenges and will embrace failure not as a disadvantage but as a positive aspect of the growth processes and learning. A business establishment that embraces a growth mindset has a substantial advantage to succeed.
An entrepreneur with a growth mindset also develops and encourages a psyche of growth in their organizations, stimulating their employees to push themselves and learn with a growth acquainted company policy and culture.
Employees within a business organization need to possess the ability to learn, grow, and develop. It is also noteworthy that organizations with a strong belief about the growth mindset seek people who exhibit the potential for such growth. A business venture that is willing to help people improve, progress in their position, embrace more leadership qualifications, and frequently develop their thinking and skills will ultimately succeed.
Growth Mindset the Key to Learning
A Growth mindset remains a crucial key to continual learning, active leadership, and innovation. These are the secrets to thriving business empires. So, for a digital content business to progress, then learning and leadership must be promoted.
A growth mindset does not stigmatize failure; it instead embraces failure as an essential part of progress.
Growing, developing, and mastering whatever abilities and skills you desire in life remain one of the key attributes of entrepreneurs with a growth mindset.
Growth mindset vs. Fixed mindset.
Carol Dweck carried out research that analyzed that there are two sides to mindsets. A growth mindset and a fixed mindset.
In a fixed mindset, people’s qualities are believed to be fixed traits and cannot be modified. These people with a fixed mindset ascertain their talents and intelligence rather than acting to improve and develop them.
A fixed mindset will keep you back from bringing about positive changes to your business. If there is this belief that a trait cannot be altered, features such as your weight, intelligence, or bad habits, this will lead you to resist the conditions that could bring about changes to be impossible or useless. You should accept that your practices are not stagnant. Then you will believe the most crucial step to bringing about a substantial change in your life.
Unlike a mindset of growth, a fixed mindset doesn’t promote any of these intents. The features that are associated with this mindset (Fixed mindset) include;
- It doesn’t enable employees to grow and develop.
- It does not allow new leaders to emerge.
- Fixed Mindset doesn’t take any risk.
- There is no room for total freedom.
- No room for collaboration
- There will also be less admission of failure.
It is important to note that every behavioral indication of a fixed mindset can be damaging to business. So, it is essential to step out of the fixed mindset, where it is straightforward to be stuck. Stepping and accepting the growth mindset allows you to discern everything you need to achieve success, as there seems to be a solution to every problem.
In summary,
Growth mindset: There is a belief that the most fundamental potentials can be improved through commitment and hard work. This belief develops a love of resilience and learning.
Fixed mindset: There is a belief that the most fundamental qualities, like talent and intelligence, are completely fixed traits. That talent alone builds success without any application of effort.
Growth Mindset Misconceptions.
As more entrepreneurs began to understand the growth mindset, some confusion also started to set in. Some commentary and comments made by some people bring about the misconceptions and complexity of a growth mindset practice and research. So, it is essential to point out some misconceptions and confusion about a growth mindset.
Confusion #1: What a growth mindset is.
There are frequently different answers when people are asked about what they think the growth mindset is. Many answers, such as having high expectations, working hard, or being resilient as proof of having a growth mindset, were given. However, a growth mindset is none of the above.
This kind of confusion about a growth mindset has led some entrepreneurs to believe that taking on challenges, working harder, and persevering in the face of hardship, which of truth makes people excellent learners. But, this very confusion does not adequately address the fact that it is difficult to change a fixed mindset without getting to alter the underlying awareness of the nature of abilities.
Confusion #2: To boost a growth mindset, simply praise rising entrepreneurs for their hard work.
According to research, confiding in rising entrepreneurs that they are smart and indicating that their success hinges on it only build up a fixed mindset. Later in life, when these rising entrepreneurs encounter difficulties, they tend to assume that their ability is not high after all. So they tend also to lose confidence.
So, this is evidence that praising them is an exact opposite of our intention. Building a growth mindset is an incremental process of accepting responsibilities of any outcome as they unfold. So that you can keep on with the learning and growth curve.
Confusion #3: Growth mindset is about changing a business starter only.
Recent critiques have portrayed a growth mindset work as only for starting entrepreneurs. This is a great misunderstanding. It is vital to ensure a growth mindset across all phases of a business. This could be at the start-up or scale-up stage. You mustn’t limit the development of your growth mindset to just the starting stage of your business. This is because you may do and say things that your fixed mindset believes at the early stage. So you will help yourself if you open up to the continuous development of your mind and business.
Seizing The Advantages Of A Growth mindset
A growth mindset is associated with enjoying learning, having better relationships, improving your business, and many more. A growth mindset has an immediate impact on your relationship, careers, happiness, health, and success.
Your perspective about yourself is determined by the kind of mindset you possess and whether your traits can change.
The tremendous benefits attached to having a growth mindset supersedes that of a fixed mindset.
It is important to note that the benefits of a growth mindset can be taken to influence certain aspects of personal and general lives.
Below are some of the ways you can seize advantage of a growth mindset:
1. To develop Your Self-Esteem and Self-Insight
Many research studies indicate people are horrible at rating their abilities. In addition to these research works carried out by Dweck, it has been proved that those with a fixed mindset cannot account for their inaccuracy. While those with a growth mindset are amazing at accounting for accuracy.
Howard Gardner, the author of Extraordinary Minds, also portrayed this result in his book that extraordinary people are particularly talented at recognizing their weaknesses and strength.
2. To Never to Feel Stupid during Learning
People ranging from young adults to grade-schoolers were asked a question during research carried out by Dweck and his colleagues. They asked people, “When do you feel smart?”
Individuals with a fixed mindset gave “it is when I don’t make any mistake” as an answer, meaning that they are perfect. In contrast, individuals with a growth mindset gave “When working on something for an extended time and I begin to figure it out.” Meaning that during the process of learning, more understanding is exposed to bring about a correction to mistakes.
3. To Lower Your Risk of Depression
In a research study carried out by Baer and Grant (2016), it has been discovered that people with a fixed mindset had a higher level of depression. Mainly, because they brood continuously over setbacks and problems.
4. To View a Single Events As Just That
A person with a fixed mindset will assess his or her whole self-worth on a single event. For example, his/her yield from a particular venture, a downturn from customers, or proposals failing approval. This is outrageous.
A person with a growth mindset perfectly understands that these events do not define the whole of their self-worth.
5. To Improve Your Relationships
Partners with a fixed mindset desire for a perfect mate. They want them to set them on a pedestal, to cherish and make them feel complete.
A business fellow with this mindset can influence their partners to think and feel they can read each other’s mind, or that there shouldn’t be any disagreement on anything, which is not likely to happen.
But, a partner with a growth mindset desires an ideal mate to see his/her flaws or faults. Then assist them to work on themselves and to push them to become a better person. To motivate them to know new things. This often results in a happier result and a healthier relationship.
Methods to Develop, Create Or Improve A Growth Mindset
Transforming your mindset as a digital content entrepreneur from a fixed to a growth mindset may look like an impossible task. Take these steps wisely, you too can build a growth mindset.
Below are some of the strategies for developing a growth mindset:
1. Accept and embrace your weaknesses.
The solution to any problem begins when the source is identified. Accepting your weaknesses is the very first step to building a growth mindset.
If you reckon that you are lazy and always push crucial things until the last minute. Then, strive to plan ahead by making logical goals and giving yourself a reasonable amount of time to achieve them. One of the significant ways to conquer your weaknesses is to be candid with yourself about your constraints and attack them head-on. Making use of the example above about Laziness, if you notice you always tend to procrastinate, then one of the ways to develop a growth mindset is to establish certain habits that will assist you in attacking such lazy nature.
2. Always see challenges as opportunities.
We are often bombarded with crucial decisions, such as to travel abroad or accept a new job offer. Facing these challenges is a significant part of growing up as a person. There are many more opportunities if you can challenge yourself. New challenges create new opportunities. It might be tough to embark on a new trial due to the risk and reality of failure. This might tempt you to stick to the usual path by trying to avoid further problems. The truth remains that staying in your comfort zone because you’re afraid to venture out and explore can be uncomfortable. You will not be able to access opportunities to grow and learn if you are not embracing new challenges. Instead, you only will be worried about the fact that things are wrong.
3. Understand your learning technique and utilize the right learning strategies.
If you can recognize the best way you can learn, then you will be able to optimize your time attending classes and researching. Several learning styles can work for people who have a growth mindset. These learning styles help you blend and combine your intelligence into different patterns. These learning styles are the different approaches to learning that you find to be most effective. So, once these patterns are identified, you can feel that your knowledge is broadening. You are also becoming better at the things you’re studying.
4. Rank learning over seeking approval.
When you are engrossed in receiving approval from people rather than learning new things, you are ceding your potential to grow.
You shouldn’t worry too much about others’ opinions but concentrate on improving yourself for your benefit.
Concentrate and spend nothing less than 10 minutes minimum on re-education, to master at least one new thing.
5. Concentrate on the process, not on the end result.
People with a growth mindset are often engrossed with their willingness and intelligence to learn. They reckon that growth is a process that will help them create their process objectives. This will also help them get to the end result of the process. They have learned to work and move to subsequent levels of the process. It is essential to appreciate the learning process so that you can acquire much out of it and be open to the procedure. This will continue even beyond the anticipated time frame.
People who have a growth mindset are often very in tune with their intelligence and willingness to learn. They understand that any growth is going to be a process and make their own process goals to get results. It is essential to enjoy the learning process. So that you can get the most out of it and be open to the process continuing beyond the expected time frame. You can pick up an unexpected lesson during the process of learning. This also is the importance of committing to the process.
6. Develop a sense of purpose.
Entrepreneurs with a growth mindset are more likely to view long term goals. They also have a broader sense of purpose for their businesses. It is crucial to keep the goal at mind and also to look at the big picture. It is also essential to, regularly, ask yourself a question of the purpose of the work you’re doing. Is it part of the goal or because you enjoy doing it? Always ensure you work with a sense of purpose so that there can be motivation to keep on working.
7. Be Always Eager to Learn From Other’s mistakes
Don’t always compare yourself to others, but it is essential to learn from their mistake continually. When you see anyone, make a mistake and later understood how it should be correctly done, observe, and memorize the processes so that you can effectively apply it whenever you find yourself in that same situation. You can also imagine yourself been in their shoe for a moment, making the same mistake. This will enable you to learn very fast from the situation.
8. See learning as brain training.
The more you learn, the more you are grooming your brain to function in a certain way and make several connections. You will be ideally positioned to continue learning through life if you can subject your mind to training. You will need to submit your mind to training without ceasing to adapt to the evolving systems of the business world. It is essential to train your brain to keep up with trendy ideas.
9. Recall that it takes time to learn.
There are no essential things that are worth doing, which will come easily and quickly. You will need to be reasonable with the time it will cost you to learn the detailed information you are interested into the point of satisfaction. It may take various learning methods and apply a new technique until you become a master at it.
10. Recall that the brain can change throughout life.
When you are faced with a new environment or the brain forms a new alliance that enables it to make adjustments. Neuroplasticity is a study that analyses how the brain can be retained, and it also shows that there are rooms for growth. If you are aware that your mind is often changing, you can embrace a growth mindset.
11. Seek to learn well, not only learning fast.
Learning is not a process you can rush through, you will need to pass through inevitable mistakes for you to find success, and no outstanding achievement will come quickly and easily.
12. Learn to receive and give constructive criticism.
See criticism as one of the ways to learning. If someone can point out to you your area of weakness, rather than being angry, see it as a privilege to be conscious of your shortcomings, which will enable you to be focused on improving on them.
If you desire to improve your growth mindset, you will learn to listen carefully to others’ constructive criticism.
The Life You Desire.
As an entrepreneur trying to build a digital content business, a growth mindset will give you the life you desire to foster your business’s growth.
A growth mindset will have a severe effect on your life. You will experience more self-confidence, happiness, better memory, and financial breakthrough.
A quick look at some of the things a growth mindset will do to your life;
1. It keeps You Mentally Keen
Learning is like an exercise of the brain that will keep your mind sharp. The more you learn, the better the results. A growth mindset gives you a retentive memory. And a well-functioning brain will result in a productive life.
2. It Improves your Self-Confidence
Self-confidence is essential in marketing your business. A growth mindset is consistent with learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge that will improve your self-esteem as an entrepreneur tremendously. A confident life will also dare things, and the unimagined can always break forth.
3. Increased Financial Success
One of the advantages of a growth mindset is that it enables you to achieve greater success and earn more profit in your business. The self-confidence, the skills, and other additional benefits of learning make your business a valuable asset.
Another long-term benefit of a growth mindset is that you can earn more money and achieve greater success. All the skills, self-confidence, and other benefits of a learning mindset make you a valuable asset as the new skills will boost your work performance.
Truthfully, the growth mindset isn’t all it takes or that is required of you to succeed as an entrepreneur, but possessing it goes a long way in supporting your business success. If Dweck’s book and research have shown anything, it’s that a growth mindset can give you a much more productive and fulfilling life, all while improving your abilities and chances of success.
Conclusion.
If you want to be a productive digital content entrepreneur, a growth mindset is inevitable. When you dedicate yourself to a lifetime of improving through learning, you will gradually and consistently evolve into a better person who will also have a tremendous effect on your business.
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