I have learned to love… well, appreciate failure.

Let’s be honest, most of us weren’t taught to enjoy failure. It is demoralizing. If you let it, it can affect you so much that you give up… if you have a fixed mindset.

I am guilty of this.

But one simple concept changed the way I process failure. It is an idea I learned about in the book “Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck.

Basically, in her book Dweck discusses two mindsets; a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

People with a fixed mindset believe that their qualities and abilities are carved in stone. This limits what they believe they can achieve, and creates an urgency to prove themselves over and over.

People with a growth mindset believe that their basic qualities can be cultivated through practice and effort and see failure as an opportunity for growth

Here’s a quick question to determine which mindset you have. Do you feel like people are judging you or do you feel like they are helping you develop?

When you have a growth mindset you can appreciate failure because it lets you know you have more to learn in that area.

I call failure and mistakes “growth alarms,” i.e., when you fail or make mistakes it means you are growing. I have learned to celebrate failure and get excited because it means I am improving.

Another tip, which I use in parenting to help cultivate a growth mindset in my son as well as in myself, is using the word “yet.” Whenever my son says “I can’t,” I have taught him to always include the word “yet;” “I can’t… yet”

“Yet” is empowering. Instead of allowing my son to decide forever that “this is something I can’t do,” it allows him the hope to think, “I’m not quite there, I just need to work a little harder.”

I recently heard about a High School in Chicago that stopped giving out failing grades to students  and insted started giving out a grade of “not yet”

This is an excellent way to visualize a fixed mindset vs. growth mindset.

Fixed:
How did you do in Chemistry? I failed

Growth:
How did you do in Chemistry? I’m not quite there yet.

The first example feels permanent and matter of fact, you failed, this isn’t something you are good at (fixed). The second one says you have work to do, you’re not there yet, keep trying (growth).

Switching from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset has changed my life.

If you enjoyed this blog post, I really encourage you to purchase Carol S. Dweck’s book: Mindset. I truly believe everyone should own that book.

Ok, that’s all for today. Good luck out there!

#CreateSomethingGreat