Having A Success Mindset

We may or may not have heard of the term ‘success mindset’ – it’s a term which I have heard from many leaders and I have often questioned: ‘What does this actually mean?’

In this article I will try to answer this – though as I will allude to throughout this piece, success is unique to each individual.

Now while success mindset is a known term, I much prefer to use the ‘growth mindset’ statement, as success means different things to different people.

Let’s start off by reflecting and asking: What does success look like for you?

For me success is more so ensuring that I am the best possible version of myself, I am constantly learning and also seeing others around me developing.

I am sure that my answer to this question will not be the same as yours.

Starting off, what are some of the characteristics of a growth mindset:

• Failure is an opportunity to grow.
• I can learn to do anything I want.
• Challenges help me to grow.
• Feedback is constructive.
• I like to try new things.

Even if we feel we cannot have a growth mindset, my challenge to you is to pick and attempt to take action on one of the above points. I’m sure it will broaden your mindset – thus making you happier.

Why don’t you learn something that you never knew you could do – maybe set yourself a stretch goal. For instance if you go for a daily walk, maybe walk just that bit further.

Now the opposite of a growth mindset is a ‘fixed mindset’, and this can be a hindrance to meeting your goals.

What are some of the characteristics of a fixed mindset:

• Failure is the limit of my abilities.
• I do not like to be challenged.
• My potential is predetermined.
• When I am frustrated, I give up.
• I stick to what I know.

It can be difficult at times to know that we are not in a position to be in a positive mindset. Some tips to unfix a fixed mindset:

• Focus on the journey.
• Pay attention to words and thoughts.
• Take on challenges.

I have fallen into a fixed mindset myself – what is key is that you accept that you are in this position and then you can work to take steps to mediate and work towards a growth mindset.

Back to achieving your goal, what are the key components which will help you to get there:

• Believe that success is possible.
• Take responsibility for where you are and where you want to be.
• Visualise success.
• Surround yourself with like minded people.

In the past I have asked myself questions which have helped me to plan out meeting my end goals. Some of the questions were:

How far can I go? How bad do you want it? What does success mean to you? What does fulfilment mean to you?

This may sound like an anti-pattern, but we should all be our own biggest fan. Success is your success and we do not need to compete with others. We should see that we are all unique.

Another key aspect for a growth mindset is to celebrate our wins – if something goes well, celebrate it, do a victory dance, or even like me treat yourself with a fizzy soft drink.

Leaving you with five tips to help you push towards a growth mindset:

• Your brain is a muscle, it can be trained.
• Our aim should be to learn new things daily.
• Choose challenging tasks rather than safe easy ones.
• If someone is better than you, do not see them as a threat, rather see it as an opportunity to learn.
• Welcome feedback, we can always learn. Always ask, what can I do better?
• Keep remembering your end goal – it is easy to get distracted.

Closing we can all be better versions of ourselves and we are all learning – what is key is that no journey is uniform and we are improving every day, while you may not be at your destination right now, I’m sure you are making steps to get there.

What is most important is that you enjoy the journey and ensure that you are learning along the way.