The Power of Mindset
By Ellen I Lowery, D.V.M, PhD, M.B.A
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” Henry Ford
Mindset – the established set of attitudes held by someone; a person’s way of thinking and their opinions. Literature defines two basic mindsets that shape us. Marilee Adams refers to the judger vs. the learner mindsets; Carol Dweck refers to the fixed vs. the growth mindsets. Both agree that we typically have one dominant mindset (often the judger or the fixed mindset) and that with purposeful thought and practice we have the ability to choose our mindset, thus our reactions, choices and behaviors, in life situations. Understanding our dominant mindset, being aware of our typical attitudes or beliefs, being mindful of the power of our beliefs, and choosing to change our approach to situations can have a profound impact.
Adams uses a great visual tool, the choice map. This map is an illustration of the paths a judger and a learner mindset take from the perspective of external circumstances to internal thoughts and reactions. As with many paths there comes a cross road, and the traveler has options or choices. With mindsets, this represents the opportunity to switch the internal dialogue from judger questions such as why am I such a failure, why do bad things always happen to me, or I’m not good enough to learner questions such as why am I reacting this way, what can I learn from this, and what could I do differently next time. These thoughts go very quickly, moment to moment, and we have the ability to switch thoughts from limiting beliefs to unlimited possibilities. Want to learn more? Watch Marilee Adams discuss the judger vs. the learner mindsets on you tube and you can download the choice map at http://inquiryinstitute.com.
Carol Dweck’s research led her to understanding the power of ‘not yet’. A fixed mindset believes intelligence is static, a growth mindset believes intelligence can be developed. A fixed mindset avoids challenges, gives up easily, ignores feedback, and feels threatened by others success. A growth mindset embraces challenges, persists despite setbacks, listens to and learns from feedback, and supports others successes. Success may not have happened ‘yet’, however it’s not a failure, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow. Her research reminds me of one of my favorite sayings ‘fail forward’, because failure is inevitable; what we choose to learn from, and do, as a result of that failure is our choice to own.
A favorite movie of mine is A Knight’s Tale. I enjoy the story, the resilience of the characters, the comedic perspective, the music, and I have a crush on Paul Bettany. In the story, the main characters father, John Thatcher, tells his son to ‘change his stars and live a better life.’ That’s mindset, choosing, despite external circumstances and internal dialogue, to have a passion for learning, growing and being your best self.