Understanding Mindset in Responding to External Change

Written by Eimear Quigley, Clinical Psychologist

Graphics made with Napkin AI

Change is an inevitable part of life. In the first article in this series, I explained contexts of change, the emotions associated with change, presented my favourite model of transition/change, and the difference between internal and external change. You can have a read here – Change article. In this second article, I will delve into externally driven change and the different mindsets that can help us or hinder us in our change journey.

I recently bought a new car. It has all the bells and whistles and was a huge step up from my previous car. Although I chose to change my car, I did not anticipate that this change would bring out lots of reflections about adopted different mindsets. To put it simply, I missed how my old car felt, how comfortable it was for me, and how used to it I had become. Although my new car was theoretically “better” than my old car, I had to cope with multiple cameras and beepers making noise whenever I parked, cruise control that wanted to slow my car down for me when the car in front of me slowed down, and accidentally setting a speed limit that meant my car wouldn’t go above 70km/hour. I noticed myself getting stuck in a fixed mindset where I simply wanted my new car to feel like my old car. I then noticed the closed nature of my thinking and adopted a more growth mindset, focusing on how learning about my new car would make my driving life easier. Once I made that mindset shift, I started to look around more and notice the clouds in the sky, the flow of traffic around me, and the crispness of the music through the speakers. And I started to feel gratitude and enjoyment.

A life truth is that change happens, and we can’t do anything about that. We can, however, do plenty about how we choose to think, feel and respond to the change. Here I outline three mindsets that limit how we adapt to change – fixed, scarcity and self-critical mindsets. I also present three alternative mindsets that can see us flourish through change – the growth, abundance and self-compassionate mindset.

What is externally drive change?

Externally driven change refers to those aspects of our lives that change because of external factors. Some examples are when a partner ends a relationship, when we lose a job, or more globally, when a pandemic affects the world’s population. It can also include things we choose to change, like buying a new car, moving to a new part of the world, or changing careers. Once a change occurs to us, or is chosen by us, we can focus on things we can do internally to renegotiate our relationship with the changes. We can do this by shifting our mindset. When we shift our mindset to a growth, abundance or self-compassionate mindset, we process the information about the external change in a way that can lead to feeling hopeful or rewarded, rather than defeated and hopeless. Next, I will describe three different mindset continuums and provide some ideas on how we can cultivate the mindset we want.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

The growth and fixed mindset theory was first described in 2006 in the context of learning theories. At that time, Carol Dweck proposed the idea that people hold different mindsets regarding how they explain intelligent behaviour. People with a fixed mindset are seen to believe that a person’s traits, including intelligence, are set in stone, or fixed, and cannot be practiced or developed. People with a growth mindset, on the other hand, believe that effort and training can change a person’s traits. Since 2006, fixed/growth mindset has been adapted and used in many different areas including business, sports/coaching, and personal development.

A growth mindset loves learning and involves using resilience to get through change to achieve greatness. When we activate a growth mindset, we move towards viewing challenges in life as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than viewing challenges as obstacles that we can’t get past. Adopting a growth mindset generally involves embracing the inevitability of change, viewing change from a positive perspective and generally leads to adapting to change more quickly and less painfully.

By cultivating a growth mindset, individuals can better navigate externally driven changes. They can learn to see these changes as opportunities for personal development and growth, rather than as threats to their stability. This shift in perspective can significantly improve one's ability to adapt and thrive in the face of change.

A fixed mindset is generally viewed as the “opposite” of a growth mindset. I like to think of them both at the ends of a continuum and acknowledge that at different times, under different circumstances in different places we adopt a more fixed or a more growth mindset. ?When our fixed mindset is activated, we may avoid challenges, give up on things easily and feel threatened by other people’s success. Adopting a fixed mindset generally involves feeling overwhelmed by change and feeling unable to cope with new situations.

Scarcity Mindset vs Abundance Mindset

A scarcity mindset sees everything from a limited perspective, focusing on what is lacking in a person, relationship or situation, rather than what exists and is present. This mindset can lead to competitiveness, feelings of fear, and difficulty seeing opportunities in change. Adopting a scarcity mindset can lead to being so preoccupied with losses that the person doesn’t see the potential gains. People who have a strong scarcity mindset usually struggle with adapting to change.

An abundance mindset is generally viewed as the “opposite” of a scarcity mindset. Like the fixed/growth mindset, I view scarcity and abundance on two oppositive ends of a continuum and acknowledge that different circumstances and situations lead us to move closer to the scarcity or abundance end of the continuum.

An abundance mindset is the belief that there are enough resources and opportunities for everyone. This mindset encourages a focus on possibilities, potential, and the positive aspects of situations. People with an abundance mindset are more likely to be optimistic, generous, and open to collaboration. They view change as an opportunity to explore new avenues and create value, rather than as a threat to their existing resources.

An abundance mindset can significantly enhance one's ability to navigate external changes. By focusing on the potential benefits and opportunities that change can bring, individuals with an abundance mindset are better equipped to adapt and thrive. They are more likely to embrace new challenges, seek out creative solutions, and maintain a positive outlook even in the face of uncertainty.

Self-Critical Mindset vs. Self-Compassion Mindset

Another important mindset in understanding how we adapt to change is the self-critical vs self-compassionate mindset. The human mind has evolved to be self-critical, because it is constantly problem-solving ways to adapt, including highlighting the negatives of our own behaviour, and filtering out the positive aspects of how we see ourselves. Self-compassion, on the other hand, is not an automatic process for humans. We have evolved to be compassionate and nurturing towards others, not to ourselves.

As I alluded to above, we are all self-critical, we make harsh evaluations of ourselves, and we focus on our personal flaws and mistakes. When the self-critical mindset is very strong, a person will often get stuck focusing on their negative qualities, shortcomings and failures. They will judge themselves very harshly, be overly critical of themselves and often engage in very negative self-talk (that internal voice that we all have). Finaly, a self-critical mindset may lead to a fear of failure and avoiding tasks or change because they are afraid of making mistakes. Change can be more difficult with a self-critical mindset, because the focus is on personal inadequacies and avoiding feeling like they are getting things wrong/making mistakes. Change can also bring increased stress and anxiety as the self-critical mindset interprets things as if they have failed and are at fault.

A self-compassionate mindset is the antidote to the self-critical mindset. It focused on self-kindness and understanding, especially during challenging times and periods of change. When we switch on our self-compassionate mindset, we treat ourselves with the same care as we would offer a close friend; we acknowledge that suffering and imperfections are part of being human; and we maintain a mindful awareness of our emotions (comfortable and uncomfortable) without overly judging them or identifying heavily with them. A self-compassionate mindset helps to adapt in a more positive way to change because the person acknowledges that their struggles are part of being human and act in a kind and caring way towards themselves.

Two Key Strategies to Encourage a Growth, Abundance, and Self-Compassionate Mindset During Periods of Change

Whenever we want to re-balance something in our lives, there are things we can do in our day-to-day life to help with overall re-balance, and things we can do in the moment when we need a quick go-to rebalance strategy.

1. Daily Habits:

Adopt habits in your life that encourage growth, abundance and self-compassionate mindset:

Daily Habits for a Growth Mindset

• Reflect on Learning: Keep a learning journal and spend a few minutes each evening writing a response to these questions – “what did I learn today form my successes” and “what did I learn today from my mistakes”.
• Seek Feedback: Regularly ask for constructive feedback from colleagues, friends, or mentors to identify areas for improvement. Listen to feedback with an open mind and an open heart – seek to learn something from how other people experience you.

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Daily Habits for an Abundance Mindset

• Practice Gratitude: Keep a gratitude journal and start or end your day by writing down three things you are grateful for. Set up a gratitude group on what’s app or Facebook messenger with some friends – post photos of things that bring you gratitude each day, or just post what you are grateful for each day.
• Share Generously: Offer your time, knowledge, or resources to others. Volunteer to give back to your community. Acts of generosity reinforce the belief in abundance.
• Surround Yourself with What You Seek: Listen to podcasts created by people who inspire you. Read books about things that make your heart sing. Catch up with friends that fill your emotional cup. ?

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Daily Habits for a Self-Compassionate Mindset

• Self-Care Routine: Incorporate activities that nurture your well-being, such as exercise, meditation, or hobbies you enjoy. Take a compassionate approach to these activities – instead of seeing them as a chore, look at them as a gift to yourself that you deserve.
• Balanced Self-Talk: Treat yourself with the same care and love you would offer a close friend by talking to yourself with compassion.
• Mindfulness Practice: Spend a few minutes each day practicing mindfulness or meditation to stay present. You can literally create a mindful practice with any object (e.g., a lit candle, a picture, the sky, the ocean, the dishes in the sink as you wash them). Stay focused on the object. When you mind wanders off, and it will, notice this, thank your mind, and return to focusing on the object. Repeat for as long as you need!

2. In the moment:

The “catch it, check it, change it” is a strategy from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that can be used to notice when you are slipping down the continuum towards a fixed, scarcity or self-critical mindset and helps you to turn your mindset towards growth, abundance or self-compassion instead. Here is a short YouTube video on the strategy – Catch it, Check it, Change it YouTube

• Catch it: Listen to your thoughts and notice if they are telling you negative things about yourself, others, or the world. Catch any thoughts about the change you are going through that sound like they come from a more fixed, scarcity or self-critical mindset.
• Check it: Stop for a moment and reflect on what you’re thinking. Perhaps think about what you would say to a close friend if they told you they were thinking in this way. You could ask yourself how true this thought is on a scale of 0 to 100%.
• Change it: Switch on a compassionate mindset and be kind to your mind that is getting hooked into self-criticism, scarcity or fixed thinking. Ask what a growth, abundance or self-compassionate mindset would say instead.

Conclusion:

Life is full of change. How we approach and interact with changes can make a huge difference on the impact they have on our lives. I hope you have gotten something from reading about different mindsets. My next article will be about internally driven change and will build on the mindset approach to external change.

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Reference

Dweck, C. S. (2006).?Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.?