“Not everything has to work out”
At a recent networking event, an entrepreneur said this to one of my friends and recalled the struggle come payday to pay his staff when he owned a restaurant. It sounded like he had tried quite a few things in his life.
We often put so much pressure on ourselves to make things work and whilst we naturally want them to be successful, yet despite our best efforts, they don’t always work. If only we could look at everything we do as part of our learning, part of building up our skillset, wouldn’t we praise the effort and put less pressure on ourselves?
Have you heard of the book Mindset (1) by Dr. Carol Dweck? If you haven’t, it’s an excellent book talking about people with a fixed or growth mindset.
Those with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence and talents are fixed. This leads to a need to look smart and they have a tendency to avoid challenges, give up easily when faced with obstacles, don’t reward effort, ignore feedback and are threatened by others’ success.
On the other hand with a growth mindset, people understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through learning and effort. They tend to embrace challenges, persist, learn from feedback and are inspired by others’ success.
The first step is to be aware of when you have a fixed mindset and be open to developing your growth mindset. There is always something to learn from all your experiences.
Footnotes
1) Book: Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck