Embrace a Growth Mindset
In the spirit of Women’s History Month and this past Monday’s International Women’s Day that asks us to #ChoosetoChallenge, I’m inspired to suggest we choose to challenge our own perceptions of ourselves and what we can take on next.
I think as we become adults and get further along in our careers we forget what it is like to learn something new. We assume that all our past experiences are going to make us good at this new endeavor in front of us. I’m sure we will be better than someone who had zero experience, but the reality in those moments is that we are on a new growth curve.
Carol Dweck is well known for her writing on growth mindset as it relates to children, but we forget this applies to us adults, too. According to this Bloomberg article, passion, grit, and a growth mindset impact our success. And, later in life, growth mindset dwindles. But regardless of our age, I think it is important to note that maintaining a growth mindset at any age is critical, especially in today’s marketplace that requires continual learning. We can learn new things!
So, I encourage you to challenge the convention that we can’t continually learn as we move our way up. Instead, call on your grit to embrace a beginner’s mindset and get ready to ride new growth curves. And, embrace the art of practice, as I write about in this past blog post.
It seems important to also give ourselves some grace. When starting something new, you aren’t meant to know it all yet. As my friend Philip VanDusen says and shared in Episode #6 of The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, “Dare to suck!” And take faith in the fact that you have all your past experience and natural strengths and talents to bring to the next adventure.
I hope you’ll get inspired, too, to #ChoosetoChallenge biases against others and also against ourselves. Let’s see ourselves as being able to be bigger and more capable than we think we are.
//
Want to sign-up for Sustainable Ambition™ Forum, our newsletter? Join here!