One of my favorite authors is Carol Dweck. Carol is a professor of the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Chair of Social Psychology at Stanford University. She is the creator of the concept “Growth Mindset”, which she presented in her renowned book “Mindset”.
Dweck is a firm defender of the capacity that we humans have to learn and grow. In this sense, she highlights the power of the word “Yet,” as the central axis of this capacity for improvement and growth. Thinking that you can grow, that you can improve is essential. The word “yet” will help you in this sense. If you add it to many of your sentences, it will help you think that you can improve. If someone asks you if you speak one language, if you have already lost weight, or if you know a certain technology and it is not the case, instead of answering no, add the word yet. That is, “No, yet.” It means that for now you have not yet achieved it, but you can achieve it in the future. THINKING THAT YOU CAN CHANGE, THAT YOU HAVE THIS GROWTH MINDSET, IS KEY TO STARTING ANY PROCESS OF CHANGE AND LEARNING.
Deck identifies 2 TYPES OF MINDSETS.
- The fixed mindset means that people think that their intelligence and talents are fixed, that they are determined and set. Engraved in stone. These people with a fixed mindset see challenges as threats and failures as evidence of their limitations.
- The growth mindset think that intelligence and talents can be developed through effort and learning. These people take on challenges as opportunities for growth and see failures as stones on the road to improvement.
Deck’s research shows that A GROWTH MINDSET CAN LEAD PEOPLE TO ACHIEVE EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS. For example, students who adopt this mindset are more resilient, persevere despite difficulties, and ultimately achieve higher levels of learning and personal growth.
Dweck offers the following TIPS FOR CULTIVATING A GROWTH MINDSET:
- Focus on the process, not the product. Praise effort, strategies, and perseverance over innate talent or innate ability.
- Embrace challenges. View them as opportunities to learn and grow, not obstacles. As well-known actor Morgan Freeman often says, “Challenge yourself—it’s the only path that will lead to growth.”
- Reframe mistakes. View them as steppingstones, not failures. They provide valuable insight into what needs to be improved. As American personal development writer Denis Waitley says, “There are no mistakes or failures, only lessons.”
- Celebrate effort and progress. Recognize and appreciate the hard work you’ve put in, not just the final result. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Satisfaction lies in effort, not in achievement. Total effort is total victory.”
In this way, by adopting a growth mindset you can unlock your potential and continue learning and growing throughout your life. And remember to add “yet” to your life. When someone asks you something, don’t say “I can’t” or “I don’t know.” Say, “I can’t, yet” or “I don’t know, yet.” It will surely help you enhance your growth mindset.
I will end with a quote from Carol Dweck that I love and perfectly sums up her philosophy:
“Becoming is better than being.”
