There is nothing stopping you from succeeding but you — Eric Worre
What is Mindset?
Do you believe that the way you visualize success has an impact on your career or personal development? According to a study conducted by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, mindset is one of the most crucial factors of defining success. By definition, the mindset is a person’s way of thinking and their opinions (Cambridge Dictionary), but Dweck claims that are two types of mindset – fixed and growth.
The fixed mindset is based on the belief that our abilities are inborn and there is nothing we can do to change that, whereas the growth mindset relies on the understanding that with enough practice and effort we can develop our talents, improve our abilities and simply achieve anything we want to. The way we perceive success is rooted in our early childhood, says Dweck. The fixed mindset is a product of ‘labeled praising’. For example, if a child is labeled as ‘smart’ that might contribute to the formation of a fixed mindset. However ‘process praising’ will encourage the effort and all the steps the child took. The fixed mindset can limit us from expanding our full potential and settle down for less, whereas the growth mindset would rather keep us motivated and determined to develop and achieve more in life.
Can we fix the fixed mindset?
According to Dweck, there is certainly a way to fix the way we perceive the world surrounding us. It is crucial to establish whether and to what extent we have a fixed mindset. Then we ought to make some changes such as start appreciating the journey rather than being eager for the result. It is also important to be patient with ourselves and swap the I can’t do that with I have the chance to learn how to do that. By controlling our thoughts and allowing ourselves to think positive we can indeed reshape our mindset or at least push it in the right direction. Taking on challenges and getting out of our comfort zone is the best way to learn more and question our fixed mindset. And last but not least, we should start thinking outside of the box! Once we learn how to master our thoughts and realize that defining our time as a commodity might be a huge disadvantage only then we can expand our full potential.
Think like an Entrepreneur
Worldwide known entrepreneur and speaker Eric Worre has a specific point of view on the topic of mindset. He believes that from a very early age we are taught to fit in into someone else’s dreams, to be afraid of failure and consequences, which in other words forms a very strong fixed mindset. He distinguishes between two types of mindsets, namely the one of an employee and the one of an entrepreneur. The employees are not willing to take risks and seek immediate rewards, whereas entrepreneurs are open to risks and understand that the reward might come later. Additionally, reward and success have different meanings and values for employees and entrepreneurs, but so does failure. For the latter group is clear that success and failure go together hand in hand, whereas the first avoid failure at any cost. As Eric Worre says, ‘for entrepreneurs, failure does not define them, it is merely a step towards success’. He also urges everyone not to sit and wait for a direction but to take action and actively work on their mindset and career development.
Entrepreneurs are a different breed of people, and that’s okay because we create value, rescue people from desperate lives, and we are victorious. – Eric Worre
Sources:
Cambridge University Press 2014. “Mindset.”, Cambridge University Press,n.d, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/mindset.
Dweck CS. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Updated Edition. Ballantine Books; 2007.
Worre, Eric. “What’s Your Mindset?.”, networkmarketingpro, 28.04.2017, https://networkmarketingpro.com/whats-your-mindset/.
