The Power of our Mindset
The irony is that the way we think affects every single aspect of our life and still we rarely see ourselves as someone who is capable of making a great change. In the past decade there has been loads of studies which were trying to analyse what are successful people doing differently than the rest. And one of biggest successes in this field was definitely a book by Dr Carol S. Dweck (Mindset), while the book is a million-copy bestseller.
What makes it interesting is that we all like to read motivational books, watch motivational videos and listen to motivational music but the ugly truth is that people with Growth mindset are still in a great minority.
In theory we would all want to have a Growth mindset and a lot of people believes that they have it but unfortunately it is a bit more complicated.
If you watched the two videos on the facebook page (if not do check them out, I'll put the link at the end of this post) the theory behind Growth and Fixed mindset is relatively simple. People who believe that improvement is always possible usually have a Growth mindset. People who believe you are born/raised with specific talents believe that your abilities are already there and more work input will not make an improvement. Now as humans we are complicated beings so non of us is an extreme of one or another mindset. We usually have a combination of both which depends of our cultural background, life experience, family patterns and our individual character. The secret of successful people is that even though their subconscious would like to stay in a fixed mindset, their consciousnes turns it into a growth mindset. And now you could ask why? Why is our own brain sabotaging us if we know that the growth mindset is most likely to bring us success in life?
The reason is relatively simple and we can thank evolution for that. Our brain and especially subconscious is designed to keep us alive. And that does not mean living life to the fullest or being the best as you can be. It means being as safe as possible.
Usually the path toward success is not safe. It is full of doubts, mean people, situations you can not influence etc. So when our brain is doing their job their first thought will be, it is better we do not try because we can not fail. Which means it will not get better, but it also means it will not get worse. Now for everyone who would understand that as going completely against your survival instinct that is probably not a good idea. Having a growth mindset means that you believe in improvement but it also means you have a functionate plan/strategy (with a backup) that you intend to stick to. Of course you always need to be prepared to improvise a little bit but planning and accumulating knowledge (in and outside your main interests) is definitely a good start.
Researchers are not completely unified when it comes to defining if we are born with a certain mindset or if we are raised into one but lucky for us with enough understanding of ourselves and the world around us our mindset can and does change.
I would warmly recommend the previously mentioned book for everyone who would like to get a quick sneek peak in their own head. Because sometimes we are the biggest liars to ourselves (hello procrastination, my old friend) but more that we know, more we are aware that there is still so much to learn and to achieve.
And all of this is just a small drop into the sea of very interesting psychology facts which can be applied to not just music but to every aspect of your life.
'Never stop learning and be aware.'
Anonymous
*Don't miss our next Motivational Monday where we will talk about the 'quiet' leaders.
