In the final instalment of May’s mindset month, I couldn’t ignore writing about the growth mindset, something that is really popular in the education world and is being adopted more and more in businesses too.

In 1988, Dr. Carol Dweck and colleagues studied students' attitudes on failure. They noticed that some students rebounded quickly while other students seemed knocked by even the smallest setbacks. After studying thousands of children’s behaviour, Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can become smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore, they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement. Those who believe their abilities are flexible are more likely to embrace challenges and persist despite failure. This model of the fixed vs growth mindset shows how cognitive, affective, and behavioural features are linked to one’s beliefs about the malleability of our intelligence.

Of course, some of this needs to be taken with a pinch of reality salt. I relate it to my desire to be one of Justin Timberlake’s backing dancers or one of Aretha Franklin’s backing singers. No matter how much effort I put in and how much I believe I can become one of these esteemed performers, it’s not realistic and isn’t going to happen. However, the notion of believing that I can achieve something realisable and that my brain is not a fixed state is the point: and perhaps it’s more about feeling that something is achievable than being able to achieve it whatever.

How can you help your mindset grow? Embrace challenges rather than avoid them. Keep trying, even in the face of setbacks, rather than giving up easily. Learn from criticism rather than ignore useful feedback. And, instead of feeling threatened by other people’s success, be inspired by them. This will lead to having a greater sense of free will and the ability to reach higher levels of achievement, not a deterministic view of the world.
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If you’re curious about your mindset, have a look at this: http://blog.mindsetworks.com/what-s-my-mindset.

Week 3 of mindset month already! This week’s focus is on trying a grateful mindset.

When things are difficult or we’re feeling a bit mopey and run down, it’s tricky to keep feeling grateful for how things are. It can feel clunky, false or a bit ‘worthy’ when we try to list the things for which we are grateful. But it’s the act of focusing on what you have already that is the trick, and you don’t even have to prefix it with a hashtag (‘Blessed!’ ‘Proud!’) for it to work.

If it feels like an uphill struggle, try asking yourself “What could I be grateful for?” Ideas will eventually come and the attitude of gratitude will become easier. The aim is to gently adjust a negative mindset, where you focus on the things that are wrong, to one of increased positivity and a better overall mood.
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I’ll start the ball rolling… I’m grateful for my family (one of whom is a very grown-up nine years old today!), friends, my interesting work, and how my body copes with all that I ask of it. Over to you! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In this week’s mindset blog, I’m thinking about how, when confronting a problem or a difficult situation, many of us face it with worry or negative thoughts. This is a well-trodden path and is really familiar, so we keep doing it. On the outside, it looks like the situation is being faced, when in reality on the inside it isn’t being dealt with effectively. And that is when it feels like ‘failing’.

Changing mindset here can really help, as the best way to deal with a situation is to start by calming the mind. Only a calm mind can find the answers to problems.
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As humans, we need to understand that every problem has an answer, and that when our minds are relaxed, we can rely on ourselves to find the answer that is already there.