5 Psychological Mindsets You Need to Succeed

Having the right mindset is a sure path to being psychologically healthy. Here are five psychological mindsets that come from trusted research in psychology:

1. A positive reinforcement mindset. Classic psychological research on reinforcement theory clearly shows that positive reinforcement—rewarding desirable behavior—is superior to punishment in leading to successful outcomes. What does this mean in terms of a mindset? You can reinforce yourself when you accomplish a goal, by doing something positive—a treat, buying yourself something, calling a friend or loved one. This is far better than beating yourself up punitively when you haven’t accomplished your goal or you've made a mistake.
2. A learning orientation. Approach everything as if it is an opportunity to learn. Whether it is a new situation, being exposed to someone’s differing opinion, a mistake that you have made, or even an instance of success, try to extract a lesson from it. Psychologist Carol Dweck refers to this as having a “growth mindset.” One way to do this is to do an “after-event review.” Take some time to reflect on experiences. What did you learn from them? How can you leverage that learning to be more successful in the future? I try to do this after every consultation that I have with a leader or a work team, or even after a class. I’m always amazed at how much I’ve learned from working with others—about their perspectives on things, the problems they’ve encountered, etc. I always come away grateful, thinking to myself, “I get paid for the opportunity to learn more!”
3. A productivity mindset. A productivity mindset focuses on performance and getting things done. One’s eye is on achieving goals, but also with an eye toward quality, not just quantity, of output. A productivity mindset looks not only at what gets done but also at how it is accomplished. Creating an environment that promotes productivity is the key. When I wrote my first book, I was careful to set up my writing environment to maximize efficiency and productivity. I also set small goals, breaking the project down into defined pieces, and, using a positive reinforcement mindset, rewarded myself when I accomplished one of the mini-goals. A productivity mindset should also take into account work-life balance, so it is important to include time for you, friends, and family in your life.
4. Turning a stressor into a challenge. This is a lesson from psychological research on “hardiness.” One thing that differentiates hardy individuals from those who lack this characteristic is the way that they perceive stressful situations. Rather than allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the stressor, they cognitively reframe the threat and perceive it as a challenge that needs to be overcome. Rather than giving in to the stressor, think of ways to defeat it, resolve it, or at least get it under control.
5. A Pygmalion perspective. This last one is a tribute to the late, great psychologist Robert Rosenthal. The Pygmalion Effect is about holding positive expectations about another, and that positivity gets conveyed to the other individual through both verbal and, especially, nonverbal behavior. While the Pygmalion Effect focuses on others’ performance and outcomes, it also tells us to have positive expectations about our own ability and our chances for success.