Get GRIT

A couple weeks ago, we began to look at the idea of growth, the “G” in our theme this year of “GRIT.” We began to study the research and new findings about the idea of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset and how much of a difference that can make in your life.

Hopefully, the introduction to this topic led you to want to learn more about having a growth mind set and ask the question – how do a develop or enhance a growth mindset in my life? Great question that I would like to try and answer. Here are some steps, taken from some articles from the web, that you can take to develop a growth mindset in yourself:

Read (learn more about what a growth mindset is)

• 25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset
• How to Change from a Fixed Mindset to a Growth Mindset
• How Your Beliefs Can Sabotage Your Behavior

Appreciate Effort – Focus on the process and effort and not just the end results.

Pursue Learning – Foster a mindset that is focused on learning, development and improvement, and not just on outdoing or outscoring a colleague or classmate.

Try Different Strategies – Ask yourself ‘what could I do differently?‘ This helps you avoid the trap of working hard but repeating the same mistakes.

Ask for Feedback – People with a growth mindset seek out and value feedback more than those with a fixed mindset. Feedback shouldn’t be scary neither should it put you on the defensive because you see it as part of the growth process.

Foster Persistence – The ability to persist and overcome setbacks is a key to GRIT and a life skill that can make the difference between success and failure.

Challenge Yourself – With a growth mindset, you see challenges as part of growth, a chance to stretch yourself and take some risks. (Innerdrive website)

Next week, we will take a look at steps we can take as parents to help foster a growth mindset in our children.