How to Have a Growth Mindset as a Business Owner in 8 Easy Steps
How do you expect everybody to believe you when you don’t believe in yourself?
Mark Manson shared a tip in his book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”, about not giving other people the chance to change your state of mind. Another author named Jen Sincero also shared in the book entitled “You Are a Badass at Making Money” that your limiting beliefs can be a hindrance in getting the money you want.
When these experts talk about mindsets, they are referring to your personal beliefs and how they play a role in helping or distracting you while you are trying to find success and satisfaction.
Let’s talk a bit about the opposite of growth mindset first. It is called the fixed mindset and it is usually characterized by a self-imposed limitation. Carol Dweck defined a fixed mindset in her book that “it assumes that our character, intelligence and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way.”
Dweck also defined the growth mindset as “the tendency to believe that you can grow.” This is what you want to have, especially when you are an entrepreneur. So, how do you develop a growth mindset? Take a look at these helpful tips.
1. Eliminate your existing fixed mindset.
Before you start developing a growth mindset, you have to accept that you are currently having a fixed mindset right now.
People who have a fixed mindset believe that they do not need to exert effort to succeed because their intellect is unchangeable. They believe that the current skills and talent they possess right now can bring them to ultimate success.
People with a growth mindset acknowledge their failure and use it to learn and adjust their skills through experiments. To them, the experience is important because it helps them realize what needs to be improved.
The secret to changing your mindset is to recognize your current state of mind and then make the decision to think differently.
2. Know your weaknesses.
If you just stay in your comfort zone, you won’t be able to discover more of what you can do. If you want to have a better mindset, you have to stop making excuses first. You’ll only be stuck inside your comfort zone if you keep making them.
Let’s say you got a series of bad grades in your math test. Instead of saying that you are not a math person, you should acknowledge that you are currently struggling with math but you know you can be better if you practice more.
This mindset will give you a more specific reason to get out of your limiting beliefs. But, there is more to the process of developing a growth mindset than accepting your weakness.
3. Consider challenges as opportunities.
If you have a growth mindset, you start viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow instead of it being a hindrance. You will not be afraid to push yourself out of your comfort zone because you see this as an opportunity to learn something new.
Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Instead, you should be excited. The best thing that could happen is that you’ll get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you fail, at least, you still get the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and use that to improve yourself and your business next time.
4. Accept that there will be times you’ll fail.
Nobody is perfect and even if you did your best, you can still fail. Just like accepting challenges as opportunities, you should also accept failures and consider it as a learning point. Things don’t always turn out the way you want them to be and that is okay.
Here’s something to think about: J.K. Rowling, the author of the best-selling book series “Harry Potter” was rejected by 12 publishers. What if she stopped submitting her manuscript? She wouldn’t be able to sell more than 500 million copies all over the world.
Failing at something doesn’t mean that it is the end. In fact, it could even be the start of something new and successful. Be brave and start taking risks.
5. Focus on learning and don’t ask for approval.
If you have a fixed mindset, you always have this worry about what others will say about your skills and talent. If you want to have a growth mindset, you have to stop being anxious about what others will think. Honestly, you don’t need the approval of others.
Concentrate on getting as many learnings as you can. Don’t think about other people. Put yourself first and spend time thinking about how you can improve yourself for your own benefit.
6. Learn to accept criticisms.
A lot of people will get offended when others criticize them. It’s a perfectly normal reaction because sometimes it hurts to hear that there is something bad in what we do. It takes a lot of strength to be able to accept criticisms but you should try. Start by thinking that criticisms are not a bad thing. They are opportunities for you to improve and learn.
In fact, you should be the one encouraging your customers to make reviews, feedback, and ratings. If there are negative ones, take note of them so you can make further improvements.
7. Be process-driven instead of being results-oriented.
Don’t think about what the result may be. You’ll only be wasting your time trying to worry about whether the result is something you want or not. Enjoy the process and don’t hesitate to seek out ideas for improvements and adjustments.
8. Set aside to reflect on how your day went.
At the end of each day, set aside a few minutes to process about what happened the whole day. Identify what went well and what did not go your way. This is one of the easiest ways to learn. If you identify your successes and failures each day, you can’t think about how you can improve.
Doing this on a daily basis also allows you to identify potential problems and solve them before they become a major issue.
Ultimately, it’s you who can decide what you can and cannot do. Nobody else can tell you about your skills and talent. The process of transitioning from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is not easy but it is doable. Start now and you’ll enjoy the process with all the things you will learn!