10 Steps to Develop a Growth Mindset + QUIZ

Updated January 30, 2024

Reading time 14 min

Author: Kate Skurat

Former Clinical Product Manager at Calmerry

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Reading Time: 14 minutes

Have you ever noticed that some of your inner beliefs encouraged you to make “logical” decisions, but they didn’t resonate in your heart and led to total dissatisfaction with your life?

Or maybe, you can recall the moments when you bravely faced challenges, put effort into improving, and eventually thrived.

It’s interesting how our inner beliefs can guide our lives.

Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, has done extensive research on human motivation and self-conceptions, especially in the area of education. In her works, she discusses how our beliefs about learning and dealing with difficulties can affect our ability to succeed and introduces the concept of mindsets – a growth mindset and a fixed one.

A growth mindset is a term you may have heard thrown around in self-improvement circles. But what is it? Is it a secret ingredient to success that promotes better well-being and higher life satisfaction? And how can you develop one for yourself?

What is a growth mindset?

A growth mindset is a belief that intelligence, talents, traits, and abilities can be developed over time through hard work, determination, persistence, and reflection on constructive feedback. It’s about recognizing that these attributes are malleable and always evolving.

Ultimately, this belief leads to a love of learning and a willingness to take on challenges. Just take a closer look at these statements to recognize the growth mindset examples. Which of them resonates with you most?

“I’m 30 – too late to learn piano…”
“I’ll give it a go anytime I want.”
“With my poor social skills, I’ll never meet someone nice.”
“My manager said I should improve my public speaking skills. I’ll enroll in a course!”
“I was always terrible at painting, so why try?”
“Okay, for now, it’s far from a masterpiece. But with practice, it’ll improve.”

Some of these cases illustrate that, according to this concept, your mind is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Neuroscience supports this idea by relying on concepts like neuroplasticity – “…the capacity for our brain cells to change in response to our behavior.”

So people with a growth mindset embrace challenges and see failure as a step on the road to success – not as an indicator that they are unworthy or incompetent. Along the way, they often discover hidden talents and abilities that they never knew they had.

As Thomas Edison wisely said, “Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails forward towards success.”

Why is a growth mindset important?

As studies by MindsetMaker™ prove, a growth mindset plays a key role in maintaining many aspects of our lives at their best: education, workplace, relationships, creativity, self-concept, and mental well-being.

Yes, a growth mindset is an essential part of maintaining good mental health.

For example, many people delay seeking treatment because they believe their depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, so there’s nothing they can do to overcome it.

Similarly, a great number of clients give up on the treatment process when they don’t feel any improvements or as soon as sessions become tough. But here’s the somewhat harsh truth: the healing process requires your involvement, dedication, and effort, too. And that’s the approach of the growth mindset.

The good news: there are a whole lot of things you can do and skills you can learn to improve your mental well-being. And a growth mindset helps to find that inner power to keep moving on your path to healing and becoming the best version of yourself.

There are some other research-backed benefits of a growth mindset:

It has been linked with increased motivation, job satisfaction, and overall success
It’s associated with lower stress levels
It’s a predictor of healthy self-esteem
It helps to see your overwhelming emotions as a part of healing instead of considering them as something negative or dangerous and avoiding them
It provides resilience in the face of setbacks because you’ll know that they’re not permanent.
It can help you persevere through challenging situations and achieve your goals using more mastery-oriented learning strategies
Finally, having a growth mindset drives you to improve your relationships.

What is a fixed mindset?

People with a fixed mindset think of their abilities and traits as set in stone. They don’t think they can improve them, no matter how hard they try. As a result, they are often afraid to take risks or put forth effort for fear of failing and looking foolish.

Such people also tend to give up easily and are reluctant to take on new challenges because of seeing failure as a sign that they just don’t have what it takes. Any criticism serves as proof that they’re unworthy and inadequate.

And as Dr. Dweck explained, “…their belief in fixed traits – is telling them something entirely different: that success is about being more gifted than others, that failure does measure you, and that effort is for those who can’t make it on talent.”

These “fixed mindset” examples below may give more insights into it. Check whether they resonate with you:

“You’re either born talented, or you won’t succeed.”
“I’m just bad at math, see no point in trying to solve that equation.”
“They already succeeded in their business in their 20’s. I see no point in starting mine now.”
“I don’t want to look stupid, so I better not raise my hand to ask.”
“I’ll never get better and never heal from trauma – I just have to accept that.”

Is a fixed mindset bad for your mental health?

It’s no secret that having a fixed mindset can hold you back in life. So how does it influence mental health? Studies suggest that this link is a two-way street – they can impact each other over time.

For example, a fixed mindset is associated with:

Feeling stuck
Rumination
Decreased motivation
More severe symptoms of anxiety and depression
Self-sabotaging behaviors
Believing you can’t influence your well-being and heal
Low self-esteem
Decreased self-awareness
Feelings of inadequacy
Inability to build fulfilling relationships

The good news is that if you have a fixed mindset, you can always choose to adopt a growth mindset. As we mentioned, it’s vital for maintaining good mental health.

However, this approach isn’t a magic wand that will make mental health problems disappear. There are also some other misconceptions about the mindset concept:

You can have either a growth or a fixed mindset
A growth mindset is only about being positive
It’s about pushing yourself to be perfect
It’s about ignoring social and environmental barriers that create inequality and inequity or hold people back
With a growth mindset, everything is possible
It guarantees success
It’ll definitely change your life 180°
If you have a fixed mindset, you’re doomed to failure

Rather, it’s a powerful tool that gives you better coping mechanisms, motivates you to start working towards solutions, and opens new ways for positive changes in your life.

If you’re struggling with mental health issues, talking to a therapist is a great way to get the professional care you need. A therapist can provide support and guidance as you work through your challenges.

Mindset quiz – find out your type

Take the Mindset Quiz below to test your mindset type. There are no right or wrong answers.

Note: This quiz is inspired by the Dweck Mindset Instrument (DMI). It can be used for educational purposes only. Only a licensed mental health professional can provide an accurate personality assessment.

1) My intelligence is something basic that I can’t change very much.