A Growth Mindset is the pathway to “thriving”, a characteristic of resilient people. The Think To DO Institute Mindset research continues. The terms resilient and thriving are now more commonly used. During these stressful times, the ability to thrive is critical to the health of individuals, organizations, and societies. One of the key findings of mindset research globally is that thriving is based in the way a person sees him or herself. Mindset influences the way the person sees the world and the way the person lives. Recognizing these characteristics and trying to development them can lead to less stress and better life outcomes.
An individual’s mindset is the way a person sees their qualities and abilities. This influences an individual’s thoughts and actions. It affects the approach the person takes to life and affects the life outcomes of the person. People with fixed mindsets believe their skills, talents and personalities are predetermined and unchangeable. People with growth mindsets view themselves as work “a work in progress”, and they believe that they can change with learning, effort, and input from others.
One of the reasons that individuals with growth mindsets thrive is because they look for opportunities to push and stretch themselves, even if it means they may fail. They believe the abilities they were born with are just the starting point for future growth; and they believe they can grow and change through effort and experience. For them, learning is “live-long” and never-ending. People with a growth mindset do not spend time convincing themselves and others how good they are, but instead spend time trying to get better and improve their quality of life.
In contrast, individuals with a fixed mindset have a compulsive need to prove themselves and to “show off” their qualities (their abilities, their intelligence, their morals, to be specific) to hide their shortcomings. Fixed mindseted individuals seek out opportunities to confirm their superiority in their personal relationships, their schools, and workplaces.
Thriving societies organize their schools to include mindset curricula that provides students with opportunities to learn and develop a growth mindset and these life-long thriving abilities. Resilient and thriving societies value and promote learning new things, learning from others, and modeling best practice examples they see and learn about.