How Can You Achieve Your Goals?
Not everything that can be changed, should be changed. Change is only worthwhile when maintaining a fixed mindset is stopping you from achieving or pursuing goals that are important to you.
Developing a growth mindset can be a challenge but as we have learned, biologically it’s possible because of brain plasticity.
Changing your mindset doesn’t mean that the old beliefs aren’t still there, but that the new ones can get alongside them, maybe even be louder sometimes, giving you a different way to think, feel and act.
Cognitive therapy may work with ‘fixed mindset’ by identifying thoughts and encouraging the client to challenge these specific beliefs and assumptions. However, Dweck points out that this means that the underlying assumption, that traits are fixed, is never challenged.
The strategy of learning to identify ‘fixed mindset thinking’ and then talk back in growth mindset and take action, leads to people challenging these assumptions more directly.
Changing your mindset
There are 5 steps that you can take to try and challenge your fixed mindset thinking as it is happening.
Step 1
Learn to hear your fixed mindset. What might you hear? e.g. I can’t do this, this doesn’t come naturally to me, it’s too hard, what is the point in even trying?
Step 2
Recognise you have a choice. e.g. Maybe I am thinking about this in a fixed mindset and it’s
stopping me from reaching my goal.
Step 3
Talk back in a growth-mindset voice.
e.g. If I try and practice a lot then maybe I can do this, I expect to struggle with it but I am hopeful I can make progress towards my goal.
Step 4
Take growth-mindset actions.
e.g. I will use positive affirmations that I can do it and take positive actions towards my goal.
Step 5
Make a plan and imagine it being carried out.
e.g. Tomorrow I will call the art teacher and see if I can go along and try an art class. I’ll be as open minded as I can and expect the other people in the group will be better than me, they might help me whilst I learn the basics.
Summary
Through practice and effort you can change your mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This will enable you to plan and work towards achieving goals or learning any new skills that you would like to.