How to Develop a Growth Mindset to Boost Your Career

Does positive thinking really make a difference in the workplace?

The answer isn’t just “yes.” It’s “yes, and to a surprising extent.” Research shows that high-performing teams receive at least a 3:1 ratio of positive messages to negative ones. Another study found that high-performing teams receive six times more positive messages than negative, while low-performing teams were 20 times as likely to be negative.

If external negative or positive reinforcement is that powerful, imagine too how powerful your internal voice can be. Simply put: Your mindset matters. 

It’s in that spirit that Headspace, a mental health support company, and LinkedIn have teamed up to create Life Skills: Emotions at Work, a new immersive content experience that provides constructive, actionable tools to help you navigate everyday workplace challenges — from decision-making, to finding growth in feedback, to building connections with our colleagues. 

Every LinkedIn member is eligible for a free two months of Headspace — you can sign up here.

And to get you started, here are two free courses Headspace created for LinkedIn Learning:

• The Headspace Guide to Everyday Stress 
• The Headspace Guide to Mindful Workdays
  

As part of the partnership, LinkedIn Learning is also unlocking five powerful mini-courses on building a growth mindset and improving mental health in the workplace. Read on for a quick overview of the courses that can help turn your inner critic into your strongest champion. 

1. Get stress under control

Course: How to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed with Heidi Hanna

Workplace stress can be a major obstacle to a positive mindset. In this quick course, “Stress Detective” Heidi Hanna offers tips to help you manage those overwhelming feelings that come with excess stress.

The course addresses how to deal with an anxiety or stress flare-up and includes practical exercises you can take when you’re feeling overloaded. Ultimately, Hanna teaches viewers how to get to the core cause of feeling overwhelmed — and how to end that feeling for good.

2. Develop resilience against setbacks

Course: Building Resilience with Tatiana Kolovou

Part of cultivating a growth mindset is learning to deal with setbacks or rejection in a positive way. If your inner critic says a setback is catastrophic and you should throw in the towel, it’s hard to keep going. Resilience is the capacity to bounce back from the negative, with positive internal reinforcement and an optimistic mindset. 

Kolovou takes a holistic approach to resilience in this course, offering a blueprint for building resilience before and after an event that tests your resolve.

3. Identify your strengths and focus on the positive

Course: How to Find and Use Your Strengths with Pete Mockaitis

Another critical component of a positive mindset is focusing on and enhancing your strengths rather than dwelling on your weaknesses. This course can help identify your core strengths, amplify your inner champion, and minimize negativity.

Pete Mockaitis hosts the popular podcast “How to Be Awesome at Your Job,” and his positivity in this course is infectious.

4. Cultivate a growth mindset

Course: Nano Tips to Foster a Growth Mindset and Mental Agility with Shadé Zahrai

Ready to get scientific about self improvement? The final two courses in this list can help. Both offer quick tips from behavioral strategist Shadé Zahrai — with plenty of research packed into each short video.

Check this one out to learn how subtle changes to your inner monologue can make a big difference in your outlook and overall mindset.

5. Apply a growth mindset to achieve your goals

Course: Nano Tips to Accelerate Your Goals, with Shadé Zahrai

With the right mindset in place, you’re ready to set new goals and speed up your progress towards them. Zahrai offers tips for setting the right goals, documenting progress, and increasing your chances of success with accountability strategies.

Bring your best self to work

It shouldn’t be surprising that improving your mental health can lead to greater career success. Your mindset affects everything you do — at home and at work. If your inner critic is drowning out the positivity you need to succeed, these resources can help you turn them into a champion who is rooting for you to win.

Ready to get started? Click here to get two free months of Headspace and explore Life Skills: Embracing Emotions at Work to bring more growth to your professional world.