What makes people successful? This is a question that has fascinated researchers for centuries. While some people attain massive levels of success and achievements, others bite the dust.
How does one predict the success of an individual? Well, a fascinating study from Stanford research gives us the clue. Carol Dweck, Psychologist at Stanford, who has spent her entire career studying attitude & performance has revealed something quite startling. Your attitude is a better predictor of your success than your IQ.
The study found that people’s attitude fall into two categories, a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.
With a fixed mindset, you face hurdles to change. You believe who you are and cannot change it. It creates serious hurdles when confronted with new things. These people get overwhelmed and feel lost in the midst of challenges.
On the other hand people with growth mindset believe they can improve themselves with effort.
They constantly work hard to improve and adapt better when confronted with challenges. Intriguingly, they even outperform people who are more intelligent than they are, but have a fixed mindset. People with a growth mindset treat challenges as opportunity to learn and grow.
The inherent tendency of a person to put in efforts to enhance himself day in day out plays a huge role in determining his success. While some people stagnate, become overconfident and surrender to difficulties, others continue to grow, learn and use opportunities to succeed.
To succeed in life, one has to handle setbacks and failures. When presented with a hard task, the growth mindset people acquire skills, work hard and keep learning until they crack the code. The fixed mindset gives up early. They accept things as they are and find it hard to change themselves.
It is not uncommon for talented people with great ability to fail. But persistent people who learn continuously, embrace setbacks and difficult challenges find a way to succeed.
According to Dweck, successful people deal with failures better. She illustrates how people with growth mindset view failures. She says, “Failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, and I’m a problem solver, so I’ll try something else.”
Successful people are problem solvers. They persist until they find the solution. In the process, they acquire new skills and keep improving themselves. It’s your attitude and willingness to learn & adapt that shapes your destiny.
You can adopt a growth mindset to view challenges as stepping stones in your life. It makes a world of difference when you can continue to improve and grow in your life as opposed to staying with a fixed mindset.
Here we look at the three traits of people with growth mindset that help them accomplish success:
1. Turn Setbacks to Success:
People with a growth mindset are not afraid to be wrong. They constantly seek out ways to push their boundaries and learn when they can. They are not afraid to put their hand up and take initiative to try new things.
They view failures & setbacks as opportunities to learn, experiment and ultimately achieve what they want.
2. Work Hard:
In a world, that is constantly changing; you need to work hard to keep yourself up to date. Growth mindset requires a good work ethic, pushing yourself everyday and finding the solutions to problems.
By constantly pushing your limits, you can achieve anything you wish. Hard work helps you cultivate the skills and qualities for long-term success.
3. Persistence & Grit:
If there is one thing that makes a difference between success and failure, it is persistence. Successful people are persistent. People who have a growth mindset don’t give up. They try until they solve the problem. They are very gritty and determined.
The fixed mindset says, “I am not smart enough to solve it.” Whereas the growth mindset says, “I am not smart enough to solve it yet, but I will try until I solve it.” And when you approach the problems with this mindset, you invariably find a way to solve them.
Conclusion:
The people with growth mindset never give up, thrive under pressure and keep growing until they succeed. It’s the attitude with which you approach life that creates a difference & makes you successful. Don’t accept your limitations, if you want to surpass them.
