How To Develop The Growth Mindset From Childhood
In a society as competitive as ours, frustration is the order of the day. Giving up early or thinking that we will never be able to achieve success have no place in the ‘growth mindset’, a recent concept that advocates the importance of trusting that we are capable of developing and improving our qualities through effort.
What is the growth mindset?
If we believe that our qualities and abilities are static and that talent is innate, we would have a ‘fixed mindset’. However, if we believe that our traits can be developed, as well as talent, we would have what is defined as a ‘growth mindset’.
Carol Dweck, a world-renowned psychologist at Stanford University, developed the concept of ‘growth mindset’ after decades of research.
People with a growth mindset are those who believe that their basic skills can be developed through dedication and hard work. For Dweck, our brains and our talents are just the starting point. In this way, we will develop the desire to learn to learn, essential to continue improving.
What are its effects?
Teaching a growth mindset means fostering motivation and productivity in every area of our lives that we can imagine: education, work, sports, etc.
Those children who develop a growth mindset will learn to accept criticism. Thanks to this attitude, they will learn from their experiences and will strive to adopt strategies that help them improve where they are failing. Because even if they make mistakes, they know that, through effort, they can find a way to improve.
Ideas to develop the growth mindset in your children
- Teach your children that strength lies in knowing how to face challenges, not avoiding them. Help them understand that it doesn’t matter if they fail, as just actually trying is a step forward. If he has a problem with a classmate, encourage your child to start a conversation with him, instead of letting him go.
- Encourage them to be persistent. One of the fundamental characteristics of a person with a growth mindset is that they do not give up easily. For example, if your child is struggling with math, tell him that it is an effort-intensive subject and that it is not a problem with himself.
- Show them that criticism can be helpful. A person with a fixed mindset tends to ignore the negative opinions of others, even when they are helpful and constructive. Help him try to learn from criticism, as long as it can be helpful.
- Encourage your children to use the success of others for inspiration. Rather than feeling threatened by the success of others, the positives lie in trying to find lessons and inspiration.
Carol Dweck points out that we all have both mentalities and that we can change from one to the other depending on the moment. Although we feel very confident of our qualities, it is possible that we find ourselves overcome in certain situations.
For this reason, it is key to promote the growth mindset from childhood. In this way, little by little they will assimilate that challenges and obstacles are part of their learning and that, after all, they need them to improve.
