Develop the Growth Mindset

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Where success is concerned, growth and fixed mindset aren't an either/or proposition. Instead, you need a bit of both.

According to research on achievement and success by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, most people embrace -- whether consciously or not -- one of two mental perspectives where talent is concerned:

Fixed mindset: The belief that intelligence, ability, and talent are inborn and relatively fixed.

Someone with a fixed mindset might think, "Numbers have never been my thing... so I probably shouldn't try to start a business."

Growth mindset: The belief that intelligence, ability, and talent can be learned and improved with effort.

Someone with a growth mindset might think, you're likely to think things like, "I didn't do well in math in school, but with a little time and effort I can understand the financial side of running a business."

Clearly, embracing a growth mindset is advantageous.

Assume you are what you are, and you can't change what you are -- that you aren't smart, or aren't talented, or aren't a natural leader, etc. -- and when the going gets tough and you start to struggle, you almost immediately feel overwhelmed and even helpless, because what you "are" just isn't good enough.

So you stop trying. (Or you never started trying in the first place, because you assumed that you're just not cut out for whatever you imagined achieving.)

But here's the thing. While fixed and growth mindset are usually considered as opposites -- you possess either one or the other -- fixed and growth mindset are separate mindsets.

You can have both. In fact, you want to have both.  READ MORE...