How to Develop the Growth Mindset to Achieve Success and Happiness?
Ask any successful person why he is successful and more often they started with a dream, a vision, a mindset. Before their success became a reality, they had it already before in their minds.
Many people are asking what is the key to be successful. This is not an easy question to answer.
There are a thousand and one ways to be successful but are they really the keys to success? Unfortunately, the methods to be successful are less significant than the mindset behind them.
What is Mindset
What really differentiates the successful people from the seemingly losing people is very much not what they do but what drives them in their actions. Anyone can try and experiment with a myriad of ways to be successful but ultimately without a winning mindset, they will never succeed.
Mindset is your established set of attitudes that you hold dear. It starts with your beliefs.
Whatever our beliefs are, we act according to what our established beliefs tell us to behave. This set of actions or behaviors in turn becomes our habit – your set of regular actions and habitual attitude.
Why Does It Matter
Every endeavor that we set upon starts with an idea. The invention of the wheel, the design of computers, the first trip to the moon. All of these started out as an idea before becoming a reality. This is why it is so crucial for you to have a sense of who you want to be in life if you’re going to find success and happiness.
The mindset that you embrace is more important than your people skills, more important than your abilities, and more important than any other competency you may currently have or that you may develop in the future.
Your mindset is what will allow you to achieve your dreams and accomplish your goals. It can help you improve your surroundings, allowing you to become a happier person, attracting more positive people and situations to your life.
Unfortunately, for many, as they strive to achieve their goals and dreams, they struggle, getting caught up in the moment or becoming stuck in their failures. They end up losing track of why they are doing what they’re doing and find themselves merely going through the motions.
You don’t have to continue to live this way. Once you start to shift your mindset, you will notice that everything else in your life changes with it and you will begin to find greater success and live a happier life.
Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset
According to Carol Dweck, a renowned psychologist and psychology professor at Stanford, the beliefs, thoughts, and ideologies that you firmly believe in are what determines your quality of life. Your mindset is a mix of these elements and is the traditional set of different attitudes you nurture, as well as those that shape the rest of your life.
Her research into the human mind also established that there are two different types of mindsets; growth and fixed. It has been determined that if you possess a fixed mindset, you have the opinion that you are born with a specific set of qualities that can’t be changed.
You believe that the traits that you possess are fixed, and there is nothing that you can do to develop them further or improve them.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, is one that allows you to think differently. When you possess a growth mindset, you believe that you can become better. You know that you can always learn new things, build new skills, and work on your shortcomings. With a growth mindset, whatever you want in life is achievable.
Mindset Shift
What many people fail to recognize is that these two mindsets aren’t mutually exclusive, but they are in fact complementary to one another. Everyone starts out with a fixed mindset; you have particular talents and skills that you already possess, that you may think are unchangeable.
To transition into a growth mindset, you have to ask yourself to determine what you want to achieve in your life specifically. This leads to asking yourself how you are going to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B,’ or rather, how you’re going to change your ‘fixed’ abilities to reach your goal.
Making this subtle shift in thinking begins to transform your mindset from a fixed state into a growth state. You have figured out where you need to change and take the necessary steps to actively work on those areas, allowing you to mold your thought process into something that is positive and productive, giving you the capabilities to change your life.
The challenge for you now is identifying your current mindset and determining a goal for yourself that will allow you to implement growth strategies in your life that you can work toward achieving.
Transition Your Thoughts into Actions
Now that you’ve determined the kind of mindset you currently have, you now have a mental roadmap of everything that you will need to do to obtain greater success and happiness in your life.
While you may have set goals in the past, there is a substantial difference between setting goals and actively pursuing them. This includes all the steps you need to take to reach your goals.
Positive Change
Change is a natural part of life, but actively enforcing it in your daily life is going to be a challenge. This doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, or even that you should be worried about making the appropriate changes in your life, it merely means that you need to prepare yourself for some hard work.
Change is a gradual process that may take time. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t help it along a bit.
Limiting Beliefs
We all have goals and aims, and we all have an idea of what we would like our lives to be like. Despite this though, many of us fail to reach those goals or to actualize our dreams.
Why is this?
Or to put it another way, what is it that’s holding you back?
There’s a good chance that you already know what the answer is likely to be.
It’s you.
All of us have at some point been responsible for getting in our own way at one point or another. Either because of limiting beliefs or because of poor habits and lack of discipline.
How many times have you decided that you want to make a change in your life by getting into shape, or starting a new business, or starting a new job… only to then make zero progress in those areas?
What possible reason could you have for this?
Often it comes down to a lack of faith in yourself. It comes down to limiting beliefs about who you are, what you’re worth… even how you’re meant to behave!
Limiting beliefs are incredibly destructive, largely because we often don’t realize they’re affecting us. They sit quietly in our unconscious brains and gradually prevent us from fulfilling our full potential.
And more than that, they make us unhappy. They give us a sense of pessimism, which can color everything we do in unflattering tones.
These beliefs act as your reference point. They inform every decision and opinion you make. They form your “internal operating system.”
In other words, every feeling, thought, and experience that you have will effectively flow out of these beliefs. If you don’t replace them with positive ones, then you won’t be able to get the most out of life – or enjoy it even if you do.
The good news though, is that the brain is dynamic and has unlimited capacities. It is always changing and even our very thoughts are capable of changing the structure of our DNA! This incredible fact means that it’s entirely possible to transform the way you think… to reset that operating system as it were – and to thereby live a happier and more fulfilled life.
What Are Limiting Beliefs?
I’m going to start out by providing a few examples of limiting beliefs.
This can be a somewhat abstract concept to grasp, but when you see them laid out before you, it becomes much easier to understand.
The Person Who Can’t Start Their Own Business
Let’s say that you have a business idea. You’re going to provide coaching for small businesses and help them get up and started. You’ll charge a relatively low flat fee, but then the company will pay you a slightly larger fee a year later as long as their earnings have passed a certain threshold. Nice idea!
Your model involves selling directly to the customer, and the way you plan to do this is by looking for them on Instagram. You will find people who post about a business plan, then you’ll private message them and simply start chatting. If you spot an opportunity to sell, you’ll pounce. That’s the “soft sell” approach, and it means you can build a relationship and demonstrate your value before you charge.
Here’s the problem though: you’re too scared to contact anyone! Every day you put off messaging your clients out of the blue, and you can’t quite put your finger on why.
Chances are it comes down to some limiting beliefs:
· You don’t believe anyone would pay for your business idea
· You are worried that if you fail, you’ll lose something that has been keeping you motivated
· You are a “shy person” and don’t like to disturb people
Three limiting beliefs, holding you back from capitalizing on your dreams – perhaps even getting rich!
The Person Who Won’t Leave Their Current Job/Relationship
Let’s try another situation. Let’s say you’re in a job or a relationship that makes you unhappy. It really doesn’t matter which, but you know it won’t provide you fulfillment.
But you STAY THERE anyway! Why? Because you feel it’s the “best you’re going to get.” You think that if you terminate the relationship, you’ll end up loveless and alone.
Likewise, you’ll find yourself on the street if you quit your current job.
You don’t think you can get “better.” You effectively think you aren’t “worth” more than that and this is fuelling your self-doubts and plummets your self-esteem And this then leads you to make some terrible mistakes.
Some people will even stay in abusive relationships because they don’t feel that they will find anything better! Some even feel that they deserve the abuse they receive.
The Author Who Throws Away His Novel
Did you know that when Stephen King first wrote Carrie, he threw it in the trash? It was his wife who retrieved it for him and told him he was being crazy!
Turns out, that we often can’t recognize our own good work – or we’re too scared to believe in it!
Now compare this to someone like J.K. Rowling who persistently kept sending out her manuscript for Harry Potter despite it being rejected over and over! Imagine if Rowling had King’s lack of self-belief!
How To Develop A Growth Mindset
From time to time, each of us will find ourselves in a rut of boredom and disinterest. We seem to lose our zest for life and feel tired, irritable, and unmotivated. We want to hide under the covers rather than face the day. Perhaps you’re feeling overwhelmed by work, or sad about the pain and suffering in the world, or just bored with the routine of your daily life.
You are not alone. We all go through periods like this at some point. The good news is that we can do something about it. Here are some tips to help break out of the rut and feel excited about life again:
1) Desire to Achieve
The fuel to succeed is pretty much fired by what you want to gain in the end. What do you want to achieve in the end? Is it financial freedom? Or do you to want to have more time to spend with your family? Maybe you don’t want to be very rich; you just want to earn a decent amount of retirement fund but be able to travel the world. As the well-known motivational speaker Simon Sinek says in his book, start with your why.
2) Take a “Time Out”
Maybe you have been so stressed for a while. Prolonged stress can wear us down and zap any enthusiasm we once had. Before doing anything else, take a few minutes to breathe and just BE. Empty your mind of all stress and worry. This takes practice, but don’t give up! As thoughts come into your mind, gently push them back out and continue to keep your mind empty and calm. Take slow, deep breaths and let all of your muscles relax. Sit quietly and recharge your batteries. Pray and meditate. Hum your happy songs. Try to do this daily, or even twice daily (morning and night). We need quiet time as much as we need anything else in life. Give yourself the gift of inner peace.
3) Get Inspired
Read something motivational, inspirational or uplifting. Look at some beautiful nature photos, or read something humorous. Consciously move your thoughts to a more positive place. Focusing on nothing but work and our daily tasks in life can leave us feeling pretty uninspired. It’s easy to turn it around if we want to. We just have to seek out things that will lift our spirits and our moods. Make it a point to laugh, be happy, joyful and lighthearted each day. Don’t wait for inspiration to come knocking on your door, go out and find it, or create it. Conjure up some funny or touching memories. Write them in a journal so you can go back and read them when you’re feeling down.
4) Get Excited
Think about the things you have planned for the day, and rekindle the enthusiasm you once felt for them. When we first begin a new project or start a new job, we are excited about the possibilities and eager to get moving! Over time, we can lose that enthusiasm for a variety of reasons. Travel back in time for a moment, and think about what got you so excited at the beginning. What made your heart beat a little faster? Recapture that feeling and hang on to it! Even if your tasks aren’t anything to be really excited about, at least think of some positive benefits to doing them. For example, list the ways they will benefit your children, your spouse, yourself, your job, or your home. Identify the payoff, and focus on that. Even mundane tasks have some benefits. Sometimes it’s just a matter of switching our minds to see the positive side.
5) Take Baby Steps
Sometimes the hardest part is actually getting started. A project seems so monstrous that we cringe at the thought of all that time and energy we’ll have to expend. Instead of overwhelming yourself, start small. Set a timer for 5 minutes and just start working on it. Allow yourself to stop after 5 minutes if you really want to. But most often, once we actually start working on something, we won’t want to stop. Don’t focus on the big picture, look at the smaller details and take them on one at a time. Any large task seems manageable once we break it down into smaller steps.
6) Care of the Body
Sometimes our feelings of fatigue are caused by physical deficiencies, not mental. Be sure you are getting enough rest, eating food that nourishes your body, drinking enough water, getting enough exercise, etc. Especially when we’re very busy, we tend to grab the quickest, easiest meals, which aren’t always the best choice for our bodies. Eating a lot of highly processed foods and sugar is like putting watered-down gasoline into our cars. In order for our cars to run smoothly, we need to maintain them properly, and so it is with our bodies also. Remember, the body is the vehicle for the mind and soul!
7) Reward Yourself
Finally, remember to reward yourself from time to time, and be gentle with yourself! There will always be things that “need” to be done. But some of us take on way more than we can handle, and our lives turn into a pit of drudgery because of it. Try to eliminate the things that truly don’t bring you joy, or at least minimize the time you spend on them. Do what you can, and let the rest go. Or ask for help. Don’t feel you have to do everything yourself.
Remember that motivation, just like happiness, is something we CHOOSE. We may need to give ourselves a little push at the beginning, but once we get into the right mindset, it’s simple to stay there if we choose to.
How To Leverage Your Mindset For Success
Life, as in business is about influence or leverage. The first step in preparing your mind for success is to see yourself as a success. Another way of looking at this is that you must sell yourself first to your dream – of the possibility of becoming the best version of yourself.
Let’s compare your mind to a sales transaction. There are really two sales transactions that must take place. The first sale is the one you make for yourself. The second sale is the one that actually produces when others complete the sale with you.
Mindset To Attract Money
One of the common threads on the basics of money attraction is having a growth mindset. So what is the fundamental foundation to attract money and wealth? It is your thinking and mindset that will set the stage for attracting money. So in order to be able to attract money naturally, you must learn how to use mindset to attract money.
You need to train your mind into believing that you already have what you wanted, and then your life will miraculously change to reflect your new belief.
The following attracting money mindset tips may sound like hocus pocus to you, but they are common refrains from great money-making gurus. They constantly repeat these 5 tips to train their mind to attract wealth and money.
Tip 1 – Act and behave like you are already rich. You must act and believe what you have always wanted is already yours. In this instance, it is money. So act as if you already have the money you wish to have. Ask yourself, if I am already rich, what would I do, how would I act, how would I feel, and then act, feel and do it.
By behaving and acting rich, you are teaching your mind that you are expanding your limitations, and as you practice this you will begin to purchase more of the things you want in your life and the money will come to you to pay for them. Want to be rich, then do this. This is the law of the universe.
Tip 2 – Be thankful and show gratitude for any money you receive. To attract money, you must show gratitude for the money which is already in your life. Instead of complaining about how little money you have, be grateful that you already have money and will have more and give thanks to God.
The next time when you get some money, instead of barely noticing it, take a few moments to give thanks to God for bringing this money into your wallet or bank account. Every time you receive your paycheck or every time you earn some money do stop and appreciate the fact that money is flowing into your life. By being grateful for money flowing to you, more money will be attracted to you.
Tip 3 – Find a dime on the sidewalk, keep it. In order to attract money into your life, your subconscious mind must be open to the idea of money flowing to you. Somebody offered you a gift, receive it and be grateful. You must be open and receptive to any money coming to you from any moral source.
Do not disregard these small finds. Overcome your negativity and transform them into positive. Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between a dime and a million bucks. All that your mind registers is how you feel and that thought will be stashed somewhere in your subconscious mind that you do not want to attract money.
This mindset can also come in many other forms such as whenever you do not accept a gift or do not charge someone for work done or charge them way less than you should be or you sell a product for less than it is worth, you are creating the same emotions. So if you want to attract money, you must accept the money that is rightfully yours including that dime on the street.
Tip 4 – Be open to money-making opportunities
Ask yourself this question. Why is it that rich people always have money-making opportunities and that you don’t? The answer is that you are simply not looking for opportunities hard enough or when opportunities come along, you are too lazy to take them or are even skeptical.
The difference between rich and poor people is that rich people realize that new opportunities are always all around them. You simply need to keep a lookout for the opportunities, keep an open mind, and be prepared to take advantage when the opportunity comes knocking and do open the door when opportunities knock. In this way, you will attract wealth and money naturally.
Someone once said luck is when opportunity meets preparation. If you want to find money-making opportunities in your life then you must be prepared to take advantage of them when they come. By doing so, you will be blessed with more incredible luck than you have ever experienced. Still skeptical? If you are, then you will hardly have any money-making opportunities.
Tip 5 – Do something that makes you feel good
Do something that makes you feel good? I can hear you say that I don’t have to tell you this. Everyone also wants to do things that make them feel good. When you feel good, your energy and mood rise, you will feel optimistic and positive and these attitudes will attract more of the things into your life which makes you feel good such as money and wealth.
Conclusion
Now that you know the mindset on how to achieve your dream, attract wealth and money, keep these mindset tips in your mind and act on them daily. After a few weeks or months, just sit back and watch more and more success flowing toward you.
Think about this — what good is a dream if it stays in your head? You must give your dream legs. Thus, the second step is to take action on your dream of authoring your life. Don’t wait for life to slow down, because you know it won’t. Start making your dream a reality today.
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