A New Mindset for a New Year

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.” How we define the parts we play shapes the daily drama of our lives. Are we puppets, dancing to someone else’s tune or actors with a dynamic sense of agency, creating new possibilities in our lives?

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck has found that our sense of self and our success in life are related to our “mindset.” People with a “set mindset” are stuck in the status quo, believing that their intelligence cannot be changed, while those with a “growth mindset” believe that their intelligence increases as they embrace new challenges.

Neuroscience research affirms a growth mindset, for our brains develop throughout our lives, growing new neural connections in response to stimulation. If you cannot use a new computer program or play a musical instrument today, regular practice will stimulate your brain to develop new connections. And after a series of clumsy attempts, suddenly one day it all comes together: you can do it. Stimulated by all that effort, your brain has formed new connections.

The two mindsets have appeared throughout history. In the Renaissance, both Martin Luther and John Calvin believed that all people had vocations. But Luther saw the world as set, with the social order created by God—if your father was a butcher, a baker, or glove maker, you were destined to follow his trade. Calvin looked at the social injustice around him and concluded that not God, but human beings had constructed the social order. He encouraged people to find their vocations by discovering their talents and using them to create new possibilities. With this growth mindset, a glove maker’s son from Stratford found his calling on the London stage as William Shakespeare.

One view of life is dynamic, the other static; one mindset leads to conformity, the other to creative change. The 18th century gave rise to two views of patriotism: 1) obedience to the status quo or 2) ideals that led to a new form of government, moving from monarchy to democracy, government of the people under a new constitution.

We can also find growth and set mindsets in our work. Recently, when I questioned a longstanding policy, some people at work said “but we’ve always done it that way.” Yet just because we’ve done something for years doesn’t make it right or rule out better alternatives. If our country had followed a set mindset, there would be no progress, no airplanes, electricity, phones, or computers; women couldn’t vote and some people would still be slaves.

Progress—in science, art, politics, and life—flows from a growth mindset.

How can you apply a growth mindset to the year ahead?

Reference

Dweck, Carol. S. (2006). Mindset. New York, NY: Ballentine Books.

***********************************

Diane Dreher is a best-selling author, positive psychology coach, and professor at Santa Clara University. Her latest book is Your Personal Renaissance: 12 Steps to Finding Your Life’s True Calling.

Visit her web site at www.dianedreher.com