How to Develop a Growth Mindset During Childhood
In a society as competitive as ours, you can feel frustrated about your life. But giving up or thinking you’ll never be successful has no place in a growth mindset. This is a fairly recent concept and it means trusting in yourself and your abilities to develop and improve.
“What can I learn from this? What will I do next time I’m in this situation?”
–Carol Dweck–
What is a growth mindset?
If you think that talent is something you’re born with and that you can’t improve your abilities, then that’s a fixed mindset. However, if you believe that you can develop your abilities and skills, as well as your talent, then you have a growth mindset.
After 30 years, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck developed the concept of a growth mindset.
People with a growth mindset believe they can develop new skills and improve their abilities through hard work and dedication. According to Dweck, our brains and talent are just a starting point. This vision will help you develop a desire to learn, which is essential to get better in life.
How does a growth mindset affect us?
To teach a growth mindset means to motivate productivity in our lives in many aspects, such as education, work, sports, etc.
Children with a growth mindset will learn to accept criticism. This attitude will help them learn from experience, crafting strategies that help them improve whatever they’re lacking. Even though they make mistakes, they know that, with hard work, they can find a way to get better.
4 Simple ways to develop a growth mindset
- Teach your children to face challenges, not avoid them. Help them understand that they can fail, but they have to try again. If they’re having problems with a classmate, encourage them to start a conversation with their classmate, not just let it slide.
- Encourage them to be persistent. A person with a growth mindset doesn’t give up easily. For example, if your children have problems understanding math, let them know that this isn’t their fault and that it’s a subject that needs a lot of effort.
- Show them to use criticism to their advantage. Someone with a fixed mindset tends to ignore criticism, even if it’s constructive. Help your children learn from it and to make criticism useful.
- Encourage your children to be inspired by other people’s success. Instead of feeling threatened by other people’s success, help them feel inspired by it.
“Becoming is better than being.”
–Carol Dweck–
Carol Dweck states that everybody has both mindsets – we can go back and forth between the two. Even though you might usually feel confident about your skills and abilities, it’s possible that at times you’ll feel inadequate. This is common.
Thus, it’s important to teach children to embrace the benefits of having a growth mindset. This way, little by little, they’ll start appreciating life’s challenges, knowing they’re part of the learning process and growth in general.
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- Dweck, C.S. (2016). Mindset. La actitud del éxito. Sirio. España.