By Dr. Jackie Pacella, PsyD

Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m just not a math person” or “I’m a bad public speaker”? If so, you may be limiting yourself without even realizing it. Mindset can have a big impact on how you think of your abilities and your potential. Luckily, you can learn to shift your mindset in ways that help increase self-confidence, creativity, and overall well-being.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

A fixed mindset means you believe that your abilities and qualities are set in stone. A growth mindset means you believe you can change and develop your abilities through hard work, practice, and learning new strategies.[1] Many people hold a fixed mindset; however, we know from research on neuroplasticity that we can influence our abilities and skills through practice.

How Can Shifting to a Growth Mindset Benefit You?

Mindset can influence a person’s motivation and learning throughout their life. This is because mindset influences one’s goals, beliefs about the value of effort, and reactions to setbacks.[2]

For example, there is a big difference between thinking about successes and failures as saying something about your identity (e.g., “I failed this exam because I am stupid”) and thinking about them as one-time events (e.g., “I failed this particular exam”). When we tie successes and failures to our identities (that is, hold a fixed mindset), we are much more likely to react to failure with feelings of worthlessness and self-doubt. On the other hand, if you believe successes and failures are a one-time event, you know one failure does not define you and/or your abilities.[3]  In short, it lowers the stakes of each individual task you attempt. Just imagine what would you be willing to try if you did not feel like the stakes were so high!

How to Move Toward a Growth Mindset

Just as our skills and abilities can change and develop, so can our mindsets! Here are 4 proven steps toward developing a growth mindset[1]:

1. Embrace your fixed mindset. It may be surprising that the first step is to meet yourself where you are. Accepting that you have both a fixed and a growth mindset in different areas of your life (that is, you are human) is not shameful, and we cannot change anything unless we acknowledge and accept our starting point.

2. Learn to recognize the triggers that lead you to fall into a fixed mindset. When does your fixed mindset show up? It may be when you are struggling with something or preparing to take on a new challenge. It could also be when you experience failure or have a disagreement with someone you care about. The easiest way to notice that you may be using a fixed mindset is to look at how you are speaking to yourself about the situation. Are you being kind, or are you telling yourself you will never be good enough?

3. Name your fixed mindset persona. Thinking of your fixed mindset as a persona helps separate it out from the rest of you. It reminds you that there is more to you than the fixed mindset. If the internal voice that comes with your fixed mindset persona reminds you of a person from your life or of a movie or TV character, you can start there. You may also prefer to give it a name you do not like to remind you there is more to you than the fixed mindset. This is entirely up to you!

4. Invite your fixed mindset persona to join you on your growth journey. Whenever you notice your fixed mindset persona showing up, remember that it is there to protect you, AND that you do not need it to. Rather than listening to what it is telling you, ask it to trust that you have things under control and to be open to a new way of doing things. Over time, you (and your fixed mindset persona) will shift toward a growth mindset.

Shifting to a growth mindset can be difficult, and you may find that you want or need support in making the change. If you are interested in shifting mindsets but struggling to do it on your own, therapy is a wonderful way to get support in this journey and to gain a better understanding of why you are holding onto a fixed mindset despite wanting to change!

[1] Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.

[2] Brummelman, E., & Thomaes, S. (2017). The Origins of Children’s Growth and Fixed Mindsets: New Research and a New Proposal.

[3] Gál, É., & Szamosközi, I. (2021). Fixed intelligence mindset prospectively predicts students’ self-esteem. Journal of Individual Differences.