Can the way you think about yourself affect what you achieve?
The answer is a solid “yes.” Your mindset matters in all you do, whether it’s at work or in your personal life. And the way you think about your intellect, talents, and skills determines whether you remain mired in old habits or stretch, grow, and develop new ones.
The key is to adopt a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset.
Everyone Can Grow
If you have a fixed mindset, you tend to believe that your level of intelligence is something you were born with – and there’s nothing you can do to change it. With a growth mindset, by contrast, you don’t accept that your intelligence and abilities are fixed, but rather that they can grow and improve throughout your life. In building a growth mindset, you stop settling for less than the best in yourself.
Here’s how to begin creating a growth mindset for your career:
- Fully internalize the growth concept: the idea that you are truly able to improve and enhance your intelligence and skill levels. This is a mindset shift in itself. It will help set the foundation for continuous learning throughout your life and equally important, relieve the sting that comes with failures along the way.
- Acknowledge that while talent definitely counts, it’s only one part of an overall package. As noted by personal development expert Zig Ziglar, “your attitude determines your altitude.” A key to developing a growth mindset is to continuously check your positivity barometer: think and act positively and with confidence. It won’t always be easy, but then, many of life’s best things come only as a result of hard work and practice.
- Keep your mind open. Like an umbrella keeping the rain away or a parachute not only saving your life but enabling an awesome, albeit pretty scary-at-first experience, this is when your mind works best.
The 90/90/1 Rule
Another leadership expert, Robin Sharma, developed the 90/90/1 rule as a means of finding the time to work on priorities, including the shift from a fixed to a growth mindset. In Sharma’s own words, following the 90/90/1 rule works like this: “For the next 90 days, devote the first 90 minutes of your day to the one best opportunity in your life. Nothing else. Zero distractions. Just get that project done. Period.”
- This may mean signing out of email, silencing your phone, closing your office door, or whatever else it takes to make sure you’re not interrupted. Then, for an hour and a half, focus solely on whatever project, idea or vision is your number-one priority. Do this for a period of three months, and chances are you’ll make significant progress toward achieving that goal.
- If 90 minutes- or 90 days – sounds daunting, adapt the rule to 45/45/1 or 30/30/1. Because any goal has to be realistic in order to work.
Looking to Take Your Career To the Next Level?
For more tips on your personal and professional development, contact PrideStaff today. We’re here to help you realize your full growth mindset and make this your best year yet, at work and in life.
