What Is A Mindset?
by Daryl Daughtry
– Listen to this article here.
Success in life requires that you engage in the process of your personal growth at all times. And of all the things in life, what you believe about yourself can impact your success or failure the most. Your mindset can be your biggest asset.
People who believe that their abilities can be improved through their work and dedication typically move ahead and take action without coming up with excuses. These same people also demonstrate an open mind, are willing to learn, and have been seen as mostly successful in different aspects of their life.
You might say that your mindset is the ultimate force behind getting you where you want to go.
So, what is a Mindset?
Your mind is a very powerful thing and the way it thinks makes you who you are as a person. Also known as mindset, your thinking patterns or your frame of mind impacts how you make sense of the world as well as of yourself.
In other words, a mindset is a set of beliefs and thoughts which influence the way you handle any given situation. It pretty much dictates your demeanor and helps you sort out what’s going on around you and what you should do about it.
So, how are mindsets formed?
Well, since the beginning of time, people have thought and acted differently from one another. For the most part, these differences arise from the variances in people’s backgrounds, learning experiences, and training. While those experiences are all external, even internal ones like genetic makeup also have a part to play. Your life experiences, environment, and genetics together help frame your attitude and beliefs.
First off, your attitude to something is how you think or feel about it and that shows up in the way you behave. Your attitude has different components such as a cognitive component which is how or what you believe or think about the subject. Those thoughts then form an emotional component or how something or someone makes you feel. This is finally followed by the behavioral component which is how you act or behave when confronted by the subject.
Again, this all starts with our beliefs and thoughts that form thinking habits or patterns which form your mindset or your attitude. Perhaps the most common and well known example of a mindset is when people talk about seeing the glass as either “half empty” or “half full”.
There are different types of mindsets that can either help you unleash your best and their opposites which diminish your potential. There are lots of them, but here are 3 sets that are very common:
1. Abundance Mindset vs Scarcity Mindset
2. Productive Mindset vs Defensive Mindset
3. Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset
The abundance, productive, and growth mindsets will always serve you well. The negative or passive mindsets offer limiting views on believing that you are either good at something or you just aren’t or you believe things can’t change and you’re stuck.
On the other hand, abundance, productive, and growth mindsets are hopeful, learning mindsets with dynamic views. These mindsets allow you to believe that you can change, you can improve, you can prosper, and you can get better at anything through learning or seeking out appropriate solutions.
It’s fairly easy to see that these positive mindsets allow you to explore, to grow, and to be more positive. Those limiting mindsets will only hold you back from achieving your full potential.
So, I’ve said all of this to encourage you to challenge and correct any scarce, defensive, or fixed negative thinking patterns you may have created. Replace those beliefs with curious, hopeful, and solution-minded attitudes.
Your mindset is formed over time. Therefore, it can also be reformed over time. So, why not begin to reform or renew your mind today by understanding and believing that it’s possible. Doing so will make the rest of your life the best of your life.
