The impact of mindset on success can’t be overstated. Recently, I read an article by Arizona State University William P. Carey School of Business professor Christopher Neck discussing mindset and its impact on business and success in general. In the article, neck quotes Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in classifying mindset into two categories, fixed and growth.
The fixed mindset is the trap of life. In the fixed mindset, luck plays a major role in success. It’s the reason other people gain success. The fixed mindset avoids challenges that risk failure. Often, fixed mindset individuals care more about how they are perceived by others than they are with success itself. Such a mindset leads to false admiration of a superficial but hollow success.
The growth mindset, on the other hand, is where you find the true innovators. These are the people who use constructive criticism in the way it’s intended, rather than get angry. Growth mindset individuals see failure as part of the path to success.
Growth mindset isn’t the easy path. Fixed mindset seems to be the default setting of the human mind, and even if you consciously try to use the growth mindset at all times, it’s easy to slip back into the fixed mindset at times. Hopefully, we recognize these instances when they occur and correct behavior accordingly.
Fixed mindset is where the ego lies. Humility and giving others credit where it’s due doesn’t go unnoticed. People notice the strong, silent types, and actions always speak louder than words. It’s not to say that some fixed mindset people don’t catch a little luck. There’s one old saying, it’s better to be lucky than good. I prefer another old saying. Luck happens when opportunity meets preparedness.