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look for the positive in everyday activities because it helps you for when curve balls come you can see positive outcomes

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Many people have heard the saying 'like attracts like', meaning a positive mindset will create positive outcomes.

Personally, I am a big advocate for self-improvement and being the best you can be. My life changed drastically for the better when I changed my mindset and started thinking positively.

Having a positive attitude and outlook helps you cope with the daily curve balls life inevitably throws our way. A positive person anticipates happiness, health and success, and believes they can overcome any obstacle and difficulty.

We need to constantly remind ourselves that changing how we think is for our own good. As Buddha once said, "We are what we think."

Some of the benefits I have experienced from maintaining a positive mindset include decreased stress levels, an ability to keep things in perspective, better health, better relationships, increased motivation and a better appreciation for life.

When we start to have negative thoughts, it's hard to stop them. And it's much easier said than done to shift your focus to positive thoughts. But it's the only way, especially if you want to avoid going down a path that is painful and unnecessary.

According to the Law of Attraction, you will attract whatever you feel and think of. If something negative happens, sit back and analyse what happened and where it went wrong. After doing so, and having a clear picture of the situation, create plans and set goals for change that will develop a solid foundation to help you. The world may sometimes seem unfair so it's okay to experience some frustration, but continue to think of ways to make your life better. In other words, learn from your mistakes and move forward!

My advice to keep a positive mindset is to focus on the positive, learn from the negative and do not dwell on any thoughts that do not serve you. Focus on what you want and how you want to get it. It does take practice and having this attitude will not stop negative things happening in your life, however it will make it a lot easier to deal with these situations.

I'll leave you with a quote from the Dalai Lama, "In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision."

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Many people have heard the saying 'like attracts like', meaning a positive mindset will create positive outcomes. Personally, I am a big advocate for self-improvement and being the best you can be.

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When everything seems to be going wrong make sure you are learning from experiences and never make the mistake again because there is no way to reverse time.

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Successful people use these tips to maintain perspective.
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You may be sick of people saying to stay positive. Being positive may not always be realistic. But being positive is about maintaining perspective. Being positive is about seeing the reality of the situation and not some biased version of the truth.

People are hard on themselves, sometimes catastrophizing. You think that you performed terribly or that the worst-case scenario is going to happen. When this, in fact and most likely, is not the case.

Successful professionals see reality. They maintain perspective and try to stay positive. Here are three ways to help you maintain perspective and stay positive:
1. See the forest, not the trees.
When something does not go your way, you focus on the thing that went wrong. You focus on the sentence you wish you had said differently in the 10 minute speech you delivered. You ruminate on the not so stellar feedback you received on a draft slide deck for a business pitch.

An element of a process or project, most likely, will not derail your career. Think of the bigger picture. Remember the context in which you work.
2. Smile.
When you feel like you have made a mistake, you may feel down. You may feel that it is hard to be happy and smile.

Try to smile. Research shows that smiling helps generate positive emotions and decreases stress-induced hormones that can negatively impact your health. Either make an effort to smile, or put yourself in social situations where smiling occurs. Smile to remind yourself that things are okay. Smile to remember to keep your life in perspective.
3. Don't dwell on what is out of your control.
Learn from your mistake or unpleasant situation, and try to move on. There is only so much (if anything) you can do to correct what happened in the past. Focusing on that past mishap can undermine your current focus and productivity. Don't compound that mistake by dwelling on the past, losing focus and making another mistake. Maintain your efficiency and effectiveness by learning from the past and moving on.

Being positive can sometimes be difficult. But maintaining perspective is critical to moving forward with clarity, confidence and focus. See the forest, smile and don't dwell on the past.
What helps you maintain perspective and remain positive? Share with me your stories and thoughts via or .
Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

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3 Simple Ways To Stay Positive (When Something Goes Wrong)

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You may be sick of people saying to stay positive. Being positive may not always be realistic. But being positive is about maintaining perspective. Being positive is about seeing the reality of the situation and not some biased version of the truth. People are hard on themselves, sometimes catastrophizing.

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Self care is one of the biggest ways to keep a good mindset and taking care of yourself with help with self worth and talk nice to yourself because everyone is their biggest critic

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Most people want a successful, happy life. There are likely goals to want to accomplish to help you get there. Whether these goals are for business, home, family, or self-improvement, setting your mindset for success is key to making things happen.

Everyone's version of success is unique, so we all have our own goals that align with our values and vision for our lives. Whatever your goals are, there's something we all need in order to achieve them: a positive mindset.

Whether you're a natural pessimist or currently stuck in a rut, here are 15 simple tips to help you improve your mindset and as a result, change your life for the better.

15 Ways to Change Your Mindset

Use these tips to change your mindset and improve how you're feeling right away!

1. Listen to empowering podcasts

Podcasts are the Netflix for go-getters, and they can have an incredible impact on your mindset.

The best part about them? You can listen to an episode while driving to work, going grocery shopping, washing dishes, or while working out at the gym, which means this tip is easy to add to your daily life without taking too much time away from your schedule!

Not only will listening to other people's inspiring success stories help lift you up and get you in the mood to go after your dreams but listening to other people talk is a wonderful way to get a brand new perspective on how to approach life.

There are a lot of great podcast options out there to help inspire your life.

Check out this list if you're looking for podcasts that will motivate you to simplify and declutter.

2. Develop an intentional morning routine

Mornings can have a huge impact on your mindset throughout the day, so make sure to make them count.

Try using the free time you have before heading out of the house to cook yourself a hearty breakfast, write down your intentions for the day, or do a quick meditation session.

Don't have much time in the mornings? No problem. You can do many of these things as part of your evening routine the night before to help set you up for a successful day.

These actions, while small, often set the tone for how you feel throughout the day.

3. Set your priorities

Every Monday, take ten minutes to write down your priorities for the week ahead. Having a clear list of the things you want to achieve short-term will help keep you grounded and inspired to get them done.

Your priorities shouldn't just revolve around work and responsibilities. A huge step towards a positive mindset is including self-care in your weekly schedule by spending time doing things you enjoy doing during your free time.

This can include joining a fun dance class, spending quality time with a friend, or using a few afternoons to indulge in your favorite hobbies.

4. Create a beautiful things list

Have you ever heard the quote "if you stop to look around, life is pretty amazing?" While it may sound a bit cheesy, there's a whole lot of truth in those words.

When life is busy it's typical to stop noticing the simple and beautiful things around you. Once you slow down, you'll find there's a ton of inspiration standing right in front of you.

Get yourself a cute and portable notebook and carry it in your purse (or use your notes app if preferred). Take a moment to write down the things you notice along the way that you loved, thoughts that popped up throughout the day, and even ideas or inspiration you get from simple things you never noticed before.

Intentionally writing down these beautiful things will help you to notice even more of them which will change your mindset and improve how you're feeling.

5. Re-adopt a hobby you loved as a kid

Ask yourself: what did you love doing as a kid? Was it painting? A sport? Collecting shells or rocks?

Adults often talk about how much they'd like to be kids again because life was so simple back then.

Try that activity that you loved again to see if you still find joy in it. You may rediscover a hobby that you had forgotten.

6. Journal to improve your mindset

Jotting down your thoughts, especially those that feel heavy has been proven to help you process your feelings and approach situations in a more effective way.

If you're currently feeling like your mindset isn't at its best, journaling can improve wellbeing. Creating a habit of journaling for a few minutes before going to bed may help you pinpoint exactly what is happening.

At the same time, your journal can become a guide for you to better understand what is going on and how you could potentially come up with solutions.

7. Write a list of the things you're grateful for

Similar to journaling, making a conscious list of the things you are grateful for can have a big impact on your mindset and mood.

We, as humans, tend to play the comparison game without even realizing we're doing it, and we can very easily forget about the things we have by focusing too much on our "lacks".

When you are intentionally looking for things to be grateful for, it can instantly shift your perspective. While your circumstances may not immediately change, it can quickly alter how you see your situation.

8. Improve the way you speak to yourself

We all keep an inner dialogue that goes on all day. Whether it's personal feedback or the way you feel about a situation, we all have the opportunity to fill up our day with positive self-talk.

If you currently find yourself speaking negatively about yourself (even if you don't say it out loud), make an effort to stop yourself and break the pattern of negative self-talk.

A great way to do it is to ask yourself: Would I say those words to a friend or someone I love? If the answer is no, change the dialogue.

For instance, instead of telling yourself "I'm stupid" after making a mistake, tell yourself: "I made a mistake and I will use this opportunity to learn so I can improve and do it better next time". While that may sound silly, it does affect how you see and feel about yourself.

9. Challenge negative thoughts

Much like negative self-talk, our thoughts and views on life can have a huge impact on the way we see the world. Whenever old thinking patterns come up, make an effort to challenge your beliefs and correct yourself.

Take a moment to evaluate your thoughts. Ask yourself: why do I believe them in the first place? By challenging your thoughts on a regular basis, you'll find yourself feeling much more positive about the world around you.

While only having optimistic thoughts is virtually impossible, having a positive mindset will help you tackle them in a much better way.

Remind yourself of what is true. If you're getting stuck in the same cycle of thoughts, go onto the next tip of getting an outside perspective.

10. Get an outside perspective to change your mindset

If you're stuck in a pattern of negative thinking, it's easier to believe things that are not true as there isn't anyone there to challenge you.

Invite a trusted close group of friends in on where you're getting stuck. Having an outside perspective can be immensely helpful in changing your mindset and improving your thoughts.

Therapy is another great option. It's helpful to have people who will listen and reflect what they're hearing from you as well as share their perspectives. The simple act of sharing your thoughts out loud can be very cathartic and eye-opening.

Your thoughts and feelings may change you more quickly than you anticipated after allowing other people in and seeing their point of view.

11. Keep a box or folder of encouraging words

Everyone has their bad days and more challenging seasons in life. To help change your mindset, create a keepsake box and/or email folder with encouraging words you've received from people over the years.

When your day needs some brightening, re-read some of the kind notes or emails that you have. Especially on days that you're feeling not good enough, these can serve as a great reminder of the difference you've made in other people's lives.

These encouragements will remind you of how other people see you and that not every day is a bad one.

12. Go outside more often

Getting fresh air can work wonders for the way you feel. Our bodies need fresh air, and it's important to remember that so does the mind.

Enjoying the great outdoors will improve your mental health and wellbeing. Taking a short walk each day & getting some vitamin D is good for your body too.

In this digital age, it takes more effort and intention to spend time outside. The rewards are well worth it though so incorporate breaks and outdoor activities as you're able.

13. Get plenty of rest

It's easy to skip over rest and not take into account how a lack of sleep impacts your mindset. If you're feeling edgy and a bit cranky, it's hard to think positively.

Change your mindset by evaluating your sleep habits. If you've been going to bed too late, create a plan for how to slowly adjust your bedtime back to a more reasonable time.

Create a wind-down routine for the end of the day where you allow plenty of screen-free time before you go to bed. Getting adequate rest will have a big impact on how you think and feel.

14. Evaluate your diet

"Your diet is not only what you eat. It's what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang around... be mindful of the things you put into your body emotionally, spiritually, and physically."~Unknown

What you eat and drink impacts how you feel. If you want to have a clearer mindset, consider how you are fueling and hydrating your body.

But don't overlook the other type of things that you also take in on a daily basis. Mental clutter can become a big problem with the information you're constantly taking in from various sources.

Evaluate what messages your brain is taking in through your phone and computer. Consider how those things may be negatively impacting you and make adjustments as needed.

Create boundaries with technology and feel free to unfollow any pages or people who are not helping you to achieve your goals.

15. Declutter your life to change your mindset

Clutter can take various forms in your life. When it shows up in your home, it creates stress and anxiety. Start by decluttering one quick easy area at a time and see how it changes your mindset and feelings in your home.

If your schedule is cluttered, take the opportunity to re-evaluate your commitments. Say no to the things that don't align with your priorities.

Excess creates stress. As you declutter the areas in your life that have become overly full you'll see how it changes your mindset and improves how you're feeling. Simplifying can bring more clarity and peace to your life.

Your mindset matters

Your mindset impacts how you see the world and how you feel. Changing your mindset can alter your perspective and help you to see your life differently. It takes intentional effort, but the payoff of feeling more positive is well worth it.

What ways to change your mindset do you plan to do? Let us know in the comments section!

Sign up on the form below to get weekly tips on simplifying and living intentionally sent straight to your inbox! You'll also get the free 8 Quick Wins for Decluttering Checklist to help you create more space in your life.

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15 Ways to Change Your Mindset & Improve How You're Feeling - The Simplicity Habit

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Most people want a successful, happy life. There are likely goals to want to accomplish to help you get there. Whether these goals are for business, home, family, or self-improvement, setting your mindset for success is key to making things happen.

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way to change is accepting to need to change your mindset. Dont let negative thoughts hold you back and understand why they were holding you back in the first place.

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If you've ever had goals and dreams that didn't come true, you're not alone. An incredible 92% of people say that the goals and resolutions they set for themselves each year never get achieved. With stats this high, there must be something in common that's holding them back.

After studying the 8% who do accomplish their goals, I have some answers about exactly what these high achievers do differently.

It's important to note that these 8% come from all walks of life. They can be married, single, or divorced; highly educated or high school dropouts; middle class, wealthy, or even poor by most standards. They are comprised of a variety of ages and ethnicities from all over the world.

The fact is, no matter where you are in life or where you came from, you've got the ability to set big goals and achieve them.

The key commonality among the top 8% is a similar set of success-oriented mindsets that guide their thoughts and actions. You may share some of these, or you may actually be practicing opposite mindsets without even realizing it.

A surefire way to determine whether you need a mindset tune-up is to answer this question: Are you regularly accomplishing your goals and living your dreams? If you answered "yes," read on, and you'll probably recognize why. If you said "no," these steps could be game-changing for you.

Here are 7 ideas on how to change your mindset:

1. Accept that your thinking needs adjusting - We've all had goals and dreams that didn't unfold the way we hoped or expected. When this happens repeatedly, we start to wonder what we need to change. But rarely do we look inside at our own thinking as the place to start making changes.

We live in a skillset-driven society that emphasizes learning new skills and improving the ones we're weakest at. This often fosters the belief that we need more education in order to achieve our goals. Some people go back to school, others take seminars and workshops or read books, always looking for that silver bullet skillset that will make everything fall into place.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not downplaying the value of skillsets; but more often, it's our that need adjustment.

The good news is, it's a lot less expensive and much faster to change your mindsets than to go learn a new skill. So step one is simply to acknowledge that you're going to work on your mindsets first.

2. Identify your counter-mindsets - Mindsets are formed through prior experiences and emotional milestones, and the mindsets that aren't producing the results you want are called counter-mindsets.

Some examples of these are self-doubt, limiting beliefs, and any other negative thoughts that get in the way of your fulfillment.

Around 65,000 thoughts go through our minds each day. Unfortunately, in the case of most people, the majority of them are negative. These "Automatic Negative Thoughts" (ANTs) occur so often that you're probably not even aware of them (most of us aren't).

For example: You know that little voice that points out irresponsible spending choices when you're looking at your monthly budget? Or makes disparaging comments when you look in the mirror?

We all know that voice. It makes you hesitate before approaching someone you'd like to meet. It makes you think twice before starting a business or considering a career change.

All of us have different ANTs, and, without knowing it, we're habitually allowing them to destroy our dreams. It's hard to remain positive when that little voice is constantly spouting off and saying things like, "I can't talk to her," "I'm not smart enough," "I'm out of shape," "I'm not qualified"... yada, yada, yada.

The way to start exterminating the ANTs in your head is to begin paying attention to them. Notice when you hear that disparaging voice, and recognize how frequently it happens. More than likely, you'll find that your limiting thoughts can be narrowed down to a few key themes. Taking note of this is a major step because we can't change what we haven't acknowledged.

3. Flip the switch - Once you've identified your top negative thoughts, you need a way to stop them from holding you back. The best technique I know for this is something I call "flip the switch," which moves thoughts from negative to positive.

For years, every time I looked in the mirror, all I saw were my flaws. Finally, I started practicing the exact opposite reaction - flipping the switch. I'd look in the mirror and force myself to say, "You look good!"

It took some time to get used to it, but the reality is that positive thoughts and negative thoughts can't occupy the same space, so I was giving my ANTs an eviction notice.

Another technique I find effective is called the "if/then" approach. Once you identify when your ANTs typically show up, apply a thought process that allows you to essentially think yourself past them.

Here's an example: Say you plan to go for a walk after dinner to get more exercise, but when dinner is over, your ANT shows up. If you start to hear the voice in your head that says you're too tired, too full, or you'll never lose the weight anyway, then walk to the closet immediately and put on your running shoes.

Often, just taking one positive step in the right direction is enough to shut those ANTs up. Prepare yourself by creating a list of if/then statements ahead of time.

4. Understand your "why" - Changing your mindsets takes work because formed habits aren't easy to break. This is especially true since many of our most harmful habits and counter-mindsets were established when we were kids, and we've been doing things the same way ever since.

Understanding your "why" is about starting fresh and deciding on one goal or dream that, when you achieve it, will mean a transformational change. Losing weight. Being happier at work. Improving your relationship with your companion. Identify something that could make a huge impact in your life.

After all, if it's going to take work to make it come true, it better be really meaningful, right?

Once you identify what your "why" is, write down on paper or in a notebook why it really matters to you. Not on a computer... on paper in your own handwriting. This is an important part of building your motivation.

5. Realize that motivation and willpower are not enough - Most people incorrectly believe that motivation and willpower are all that's needed to achieve their goals. And no wonder they do, since it's common advice you hear from friends and family to motivation gurus and life coaches.

I asked you to write down your big "why" in step four because that's where motivation begins. But we all know that motivation can be hard to maintain no matter how important your goal may be-and that's when willpower is supposed to kick in.

The latest brain research reveals that willpower is like a gas tank. You start with a full tank, but you deplete your supply each time you use it. Here's what I mean:

You're trying to eat healthier, then get to work and find Girl Scout cookies next to the fruit bowl. What do you do? Tap into your willpower and resist the cookies. Good for you!

Then you plan to go to the gym after work, but end up staying later to deal with a customer issue. Your willpower is already depleted, and the added stress of not following your original plan doesn't help.

Do you end up going to the gym? You know the answer, because it's happened to all of us.

It doesn't take long to simply give up and abandon our goals when we rely on motivation and willpower to achieve them. They aren't always enough. That's why 25% of people give up on a goal after the first week, and 60% quit after the first month.

High achievers understand this reality, which is why step five is simply about recognition... that is, recognizing that achieving your goals isn't about white-knuckling your way to success.

By accepting this fact, you'll stop mentally punishing yourself for stumbling or failing to stick to your plan-which will leave you emotionally freer to optimistically try again tomorrow! (We'll talk more about this in step 7.)

6. Start small so you can finish big - This may sound counter-intuitive, but one of the best ways to change your mindsets and realize your dreams is through setting ridiculously tiny, utterly achievable goals.

How tiny?

How about this: one push-up.

If your big goal is to get daily exercise, then your small, attainable goal is to do a single push-up each day.

If you want to reduce stress in your life, your tiny goal might be to meditate for one minute every night.

If you want more affection with a loved one, your mini-goal could be one extra hug or kiss.

Each of these examples requires almost no motivation or willpower to accomplish. And yet, each is a positive step.

Here's the trick: Decide that your tiny goal is the minimum, and that you can do more if you feel up to it.

A lot of the time, you'll do more and will feel great because you're overachieving. Some days you may do the minimum, and you'll still feel great because you've met your goal.

How can these tiny goals actually make an impact? It's because massive change requires small steps, repeated daily, which create momentum and yield positive cumulative results.

The top 8% of achievers understand this, but most people never try this strategy because they think it seems pointless to start so small. Wrong! Over time, consistently hitting your small goals will form new mindset habits, and that's real progress toward revamping your thinking so you can reach your biggest dreams.

7. Get comfortable with the "F" word - The steps for how to change your mindset that I've outlined so far will help you move forward with confidence toward achieving more of your goals and dreams. However, it's critical to understand that it will be hard work.

That's why high achievers are comfortable with the F word: FAILURE.

When most people hit a wall, they make an excuse or give up. High achievers realize that the only thing that will keep them from their goals is to stop trying... so they don't! They know that they'll encounter obstacles and even fail along the way.

What separates them from the other 92% is that they prepare for failure mentally. They know it's coming, and it doesn't scare them or make them give up. When failure happens, they seek feedback and make adjustments to get back in the game.

You can do this by giving yourself permission to fail. It will take the pressure off getting a perfect end result, and you can be ready to learn from missteps and make adjustments that will keep you moving forward.

Changing your mindsets doesn't happen by accident. It happens by choice, and these 7 steps should help get you on the right track. As always, I'd love to read your comments and any other strategies that work for you!

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If you've ever had goals and dreams that didn't come true, you're not alone. An incredible 92% of people say that the goals and resolutions they set for themselves each year never get achieved. With stats this high, there must be something in common that's holding them back.

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You can change a fixed mindset by pushing past boundaries and being open to challenges and believing in yourself

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You see life through your own unique lens. This is your mindset - the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself, your life and the situations around you. Research shows that mindsets play a significant role in determining life's outcomes. By understanding, adapting and shifting your mindset, you can improve your health, decrease your stress and become more resilient to life's challenges.

Shifting your mindset

This fall, Healthy Living is offering two classes on mindsets; Flip the Script on Stress - Enhance Your Well-Being with a Positive Mindset on Oct. 7 from 12: 00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m and The Improviser's Mindset, Wednesdays, Sept. 29 - Oct. 20 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

To learn more about mindsets and how to change them, BeWell spoke to Dr. Jacob Towery, adjunct clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University.
Mindsets help you to simplify.
Mindsets are a set of assumptions that help you distill complex worldviews into digestible information and then set expectations based on this input. For example, you may believe that becoming sick with cancer would be catastrophic or that going on a diet would be challenging and depriving. These belief systems help you set expectations, plan for the worst and guide decisions based on these assumptions.

While mindsets can be helpful for distilling information and managing expectations, they can also be maladaptive, lead to interpersonal problems and feelings of guilt, inadequacy, sadness and anxiety. Dr. Towery observes that it is common to hold onto mindsets that were adaptive at one point in life but have since become maladaptive. For example, it might have been helpful to believe that others cannot be trusted if you were betrayed at a young age, but this belief may lead to interpersonal issues at a later stage of life.

Dr. Towery assures, "the good news is mindsets are highly changeable, and if you are willing to learn the technology of changing your mindset and defeating your distorted thoughts, you can have significantly more happiness."
Having a fixed or growth mindset affects your worldview.
You may have heard of "fixed" and "growth" mindsets. These terms were coined by Stanford researcher and professor Carol Dweck, Ph.D. to describe belief systems about your ability to change, grow and develop over time. If you believe your qualities are essentially unchangeable or "fixed," you may be less open to mistakes because setbacks are seen as inherent, and impinging on future success. For example, if you have a fixed mindset and have trouble connecting with others at an event, you may see this as evidence that you will never be able to socially connect, leading to social anxiety and avoidance.

With a growth mindset, you know that you can change over time, and therefore you are more open to reflect, learn and grow from challenges. Because failure is less threatening, you are more willing to embrace life's challenges, take feedback as a learning opportunity and continue to learn and grow throughout life. With a growth mindset, you are also less likely to personalize setbacks. For example, in the scenario above, you might reflect that the cause of your social difficulty had more to do with the environment at the event than a personal inability to socialize.

With a fixed mindset, it can be hard to find motivation to work through perceived weaknesses, because the ability to change may seem as hopeless as changing your eye color. In contrast, with a growth mindset, you'll see your perceived weakness as a challenge that can be motivating - and even fun - to overcome.

As Dweck writes in "Mindset," "...as you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another - how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road."

Dr. Towery gives a personal example, "In my own life, I was dissatisfied with my singing abilities and decided to take singing lessons for nine months. While you won't be hearing me on the radio any time soon, my singing is remarkably less terrible than it used to be before the lessons." He describes that it was fun to learn that singing is a skill that can be cultivated rather than something innate and immutable.
Mindsets can impact your reality.
Mindsets can impact your outcomes by determining the way you think, feel and even physiologically respond to some situations. A 2007 study revealed that increased awareness of physical activity resulted in health benefits like weight loss and decreased blood pressure. To further investigate this phenomenon, a 2011 study was conducted to test physiological satiation in relationship to mindset around certain foods. The study revealed that participants' satiety aligned with their mindset around the food they were consuming more than the food's nutritional content.

Another example of how mindset affects physiology was shown in a 2012 study on the association between stress perception, health and mortality. Kelly McGonigal references the study in her 2013 TED talk, explaining that participants who experienced high levels of stress had an increased risk of death, but only if they believed stress to be harmful. Those who experienced high stress levels but did not see it as harmful were no more likely to die. McGonigal encourages developing more positive mindsets around stress, and to perceive your body's physiological responses to stress - like a pounding heart and racing mind - as your body's natural response to rise to the challenge and overcome it, as opposed to a signal that something is wrong.

Dr. Towery points out the impact of mindset on the effect of medications. "There is a powerful phenomenon in medicine known as the placebo effect, in which if someone believes they are going to derive benefits from taking a particular medication, they often do. In fact, regardless of the disease or condition, about 30-40% of people can have significant improvement in their symptoms even when taking a placebo (sugar) pill, if they believe that the pill is going to be helpful."

"Equally fascinating," Towery observes, "is the 'nocebo-effect,' a psychological response based on a person's expectations around side effects. When a physician emphasizes the potential side effects of a medicine, and the patient believes they will develop those symptoms, even if given a sugar pill, these patients can develop the adverse side effects, just based on what their mind expects."

Science is just beginning to validate the power of the mind-body relationship. Mindset matters, so it is important to pay attention to your belief systems-where they come from, how valid they are, and how they impact your quality of life.
You can change your mindset.
Although your mindset about topics like appearance and success are largely influenced by outside factors, the brain is neuroplastic, meaning neural networks can continue to grow, change and reorganize throughout the lifespan. By challenging yourself with new experiences and perspectives, you can form new neural connections - or mindsets - at any point in life.

Even a fixed mindset is not set in stone. You can change your mindset by learning and consciously choosing to believe that your characteristics are not predetermined and that you can continue to grow over time.

According to Towery, "The exciting news about mindsets is that they are absolutely changeable. The entire field of cognitive therapy is based on the idea that thoughts determine feelings and that you can learn powerful techniques to modify distorted thoughts and self-defeating beliefs. For those that want to learn how, I recommend reading the book "Feeling Great" by David Burns, MD and doing all of the writing sections. A competent cognitive therapist can also teach you how to change your mindset, even in a small number of sessions."

Dr. Towery says that the most rewarding part of his work is helping people transform distorted beliefs like "I'm a failure" to more realistic thoughts like "I didn't perform well, but I can better prepare next time and it will probably go much better."

Towery encourages questioning self-defeating thoughts and creating new narratives that are more self-serving. If you develop a growth mindset, setbacks can become learning opportunities and there is always another chance to improve and feel better.

1. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345472322/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345472322&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=ZYKJHPHELN46AOWM

2. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3196007/Langer_ExcersisePlaceboEffect.pdf?sequence=1%3FviewType=Print&viewClass=Print

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21574706/

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22201278/

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU&t=722s

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTDYtwqKBI8

7. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.75.1.33

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Your powerful, changeable mindset - Stanford Report

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You see life through your own unique lens. This is your mindset - the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself, your life and the situations around you. Research shows that mindsets play a significant role in determining life's outcomes.

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ways to change mindset is affirmations, me time, set goals, acknowledge limitations, embrace success

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Persisting in a state of negativity can lead to poor decisions and lifestyle habits — but you can break a downward spiral by changing your mindset.

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Happiness is a mindset!!Many people think you have to have a perfect life whenin reality you can set up your own perfect life.

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Happiness is a mindset. It comes from within you, not from your outside circumstances. You don't have to have a "perfect" life to be happy. The really great news is that you don't have to be young or old or wealthy or successful in order to be happy. Instead, you can develop a mindset of happiness.

As a coach that works with many high-performing professionals, who deal with massive amounts of pressure and stress every single day, I've seen firsthand that happiness really is a mindset. And today I'm going to share four tips to help you develop a mindset that leads to happiness.
1. Define your own success - and be specific about it.
First things first: You get to define success for yourself. You get to decide what happiness looks like. Your vision of happiness may be very different from what your parents wanted for you or what your colleagues are chasing or even from what you wanted when you were younger.

Success may look like building a large firm and working with A-list clients. Or it may mean joining a smaller practice that gives you the flexibility to pick your kids up from school every day.

Get rid of the expectations other people have for you. Take time to define your own vision of success. Paint a specific picture in your mind - so real you can taste it! This gives you a "North Star" to pursue. And it keeps you focused on what you really want for your life.
2. Create a road map and take the first steps right away.
You don't have to arrive at your destination in order to be happy, but it's much easier to be happy when you're on the road to your destination. If you're feeling stuck and miserable in your business and your life, it can be very hard to find happiness. As soon as you make a plan and start taking steps toward your new vision, you'll find that it's much easier to be happy and enjoy the journey. The key? You need to be in motion, making progress, not sitting still.
3. Focus on the destination, not the obstacles.
You're going to have roadblocks in your business and in your life. You're probably going to fall flat on your face a time or two - trust me, I know what this feels like!

It's OK to fall down. But you have to get back up. You have to get back on your journey. And the easiest way to do that is to stay focused on your goals. The vision for a thriving business and a life that you love will keep you moving forward, as long as you stay focused.
4. Surround yourself with inspiration.
Your surroundings have a strong influence on your state of mind -the people that you speak to, the places that you visit, even the meals that you enjoy. I love to travel, and I'm so inspired by the places that I see and the people that I meet. Travel keeps me inspired and happy, and many of my clients feel the same way.

Since the pandemic started, travel has been difficult or impossible for most of us. We've had to work harder to stay inspired. I find inspiration when I speak with my mentors and my colleagues over Zoom, when I order takeout from my favorite restaurants and even when I watch my favorite TV shows and movies.

I also love to spend time on Instagram. I'm an amateur photographer and it gives me the opportunity to share the photos I've taken all over the world. It brings me back to those exciting adventures and makes me smile. I don't mourn traveling today because I'm thankful for the adventures I've had, and I look forward to new ones someday soon.

What does inspiration look like for you? Surround yourself with inspiration on a daily basis and you'll see that it's much easier to find happiness every day.

Happiness is a mindset. It's attainable for you, too, even when circumstances are tough. Create your own vision for success, make a plan, stay focused on your destination and surround yourself with inspiration along the way!

Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?

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Council Post: How To Create A Mindset That Leads To Happiness

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Happiness is a mindset. It comes from within you, not from your outside circumstances. You don't have to have a "perfect" life to be happy. The really great news is that you don't have to be young or old or wealthy or successful in order to be happy.

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people who have better mindset are more likely to treat yourself better which will create happiness.

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Leadership & Business Coaching For Lawyers | Heather Moulder

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Most people's definition of success includes things like money, possessions, respect, and career accomplishments. But where is happiness in that equation? Today we're covering why mindset is everything when it comes to your success and happiness.

Because not only are you NOT successful if unhappy, but the key to achieving higher levels of success is (you guessed it). . . your mindset.

Let's talk about why a strong mindset is the foundation to making the most out of life so that you can achieve real success.

Before you get started, be sure to download your free guide of 8 stress management and mindset strategies for a strong mindset (and happier life). These proven strategies will help you quickly de-stress and increase confidence - both keys in making the most out of life.

What Is Mindset?

Before we get too far, let's get clear around the definition of mindset. The dictionary definition of mindset is this:

Simply put, your mindset is the combination of your beliefs, thoughts, emotions, assumptions and attitudes. These aren't just your conscious thoughts and beliefs, but also what's in your subconscious.

Your mindset encompasses how you view yourself, your place in the world, the world around you. And that means that it determines your decisions, choices and actions, including how you relate to others and deal with stressful situations.
Your mindset influences (even shapes) your outcomes (which is why mindset is everything).
It's important to understand that having a healthy mindset doesn't guarantee success. Unfortunately, you don't control other people or many of your circumstances. But succeeding in life requires a healthy mindset.

What Does Success Look Like?

In order to understand why mindset is everything (especially when it comes to your success, fulfillment and happiness), it's important to understand what success looks like. Because it's not just about wealth, accomplishments, or external approval. . . it includes being happy.

The Overachievers' Dilemma

There's a vicious cycle that many overachievers fall into. You work hard to succeed. . . only to find that success doesn't bring the happiness and fulfillment you imagined. And so you double down on what you do best (work harder, push more).

Rinse and repeat.

Before you know it, you're on the edge of burnout and craving something more in life (only to feel guilty about that because . . . shouldn't you feel grateful for all that you have?).
The problem isn't just that you're working too hard, it's that you're working to meet the expectations, values and priorities of society and other people.
This is a unique problem for us overachievers because we're gold star collectors. Earning respect from others and being seen as a leader is important - and so we often adopt a definition of success that's based primarily on what other people want of us.

How Your Definition Of Success Creates Unhappiness

When working towards a definition of success not entirely your own, it's easy to push your own priorities aside. That's because success brings with it new responsibilities and obligations. And so something has to give. . . which is usually your own priorities (it's the easiest thing to push down your list).

But because your list of obligations continues to grow, before you know it your values and priorities have been pushed aside entirely. That's when you end up:

losing self-confidence,

uncertain about what you want,

questioning your decisions,

feeling bitter (even resentful), and

ruining once strong relationships.

That's not exactly a formula for a successful, happy life. And it's why mindset is everything when it comes to succeeding in life. . . because your mindset is the foundation for how you feel about yourself and your place within the world.

[Tired of feeling burned out? Learn How to Avoid Stress using 5 unusual (mindset-oriented) stress management strategies.]

How to Make the Most Out of Life: Redefine Success From the Inside-Out

Here's the deal. . . success starts from within. It's not just about achievement or wealth. You must also feel content in who you are and your decisions.

Nor is success one-size-fits-all. Your success definition should be based on your specific strengths, values, needs and priorities. Because they are what make you uniquely you (and what bring you purpose, meaning and happiness).

That's why it's so important to redefine success in a way that takes all of these things into account.
Want to know more about how to do that? Listen to my podcast episode about How To Redefine Success From the Inside-Out.
But note: merely redefining success isn't enough. You also need to do the work to make what you want a reality. And that all hinges on having a strong, resilient mindset.

Why Mindset Is Everything For Success and Happiness
Making the most out of life is about two things:

1. Feeling content in your life and your decisions (this is how I define happiness).

2. Overcoming fears and doubts so that you can live your life fully and not have big regrets.

The problem is that going after your BIG goals and dreams requires courage and a strong mind. It's hard work because you must be willing to get started when you have doubts, push through fears and get back up after failures.

Plus, you'll need to stay focused on what's important and not allow yourself to get pulled off track by bright, shiny objects (which usually happens when things feel hard). The truth is, consistency is a difficult yet necessary component to success.

That's why real success requires relentless positivity, a strong sense of determination, and a healthy dose of self-confidence (in fact, confidence and success are linked). Because you'll absolutely experience failure. And you'll have to face your fears and doubts head-on.

The ONLY way to do all of this is by cultivating the right mindset. . . a growth mindset (to be precise). And that is exactly why mindset is everything. It all starts there.

[ Recommended Reading: For more about what happiness is (and how to create more happiness and fulfillment in your life), read How to Redefine Yourself Into Happiness].

What Comes First: Success Or Confidence?

When we talk about mindset, it's clear that self-confidence plays a part (along with self-esteem). You must believe in yourself and your abilities to achieve high levels of success. But what comes first. . . success or confidence?
It's true that success breeds new confidence (and can also increase your self-esteem), but the hard truth is that confidence and even self-esteem are primarily created from within. You must build it yourself with proven mindset strategies.
For more about how to build your self-confidence and self-esteem (and the difference between the two), read about 5 Confidence-Building Activities (To Believe In Yourself, Achieve More).

How to Make the Most Out Of Life Through a Growth Mindset

Before I get into how a growth mindset helps, let's get clear about what I'm talking about.

A growth mindset is a mentality where you embrace challenges and believe in your ability to learn as you go (and that you'll learn from failure). It's the opposite of a fixed mindset, where you worry about failing, looking badly and/or being criticized.
To be clear, mindset isn't just about a belief or attitude. It's much deeper than that because it includes how confident you are in your abilities and the value you place on yourself (also known as self-esteem).
Here's how a growth mindset will help you to make the most out of both your career and personal life:

A Growth Mindset Means Living a 'Not Yet' Life (Instead of An 'I Failed' Life)

Having a growth mindset allows you to embrace the power of 'not yet' because the focus is on learning and growing (as opposed to worrying about looking badly, failing or being criticized).

That means that your focus isn't just on (or even mostly about) winning versus losing. Instead it's about being the best you can be while acknowledging that you can be better. Imagine how this mindset would change how you perceive yourself, your achievements, failures, other people and the world around you.

A growth mindset is what allows you to be content with yourself and your life. . . even while working to be and live better. It's why mindset is everything when it comes to living a happy life.

By adopting a growth mindset of 'not yet', you'll be more likely to start something new (even with doubts and fears about failing), push forward when facing adversity, and not get stuck in setbacks (but instead think more creatively to move forward).

[ Recommended Reading: Learn how to cultivate a growth mindset even after you've failed by reading How to Be Confident Again After You've Failed.]

The Right Mindset Will Increase Your Mental Resilience and Self-Confidence

Having a growth mindset will make you more likely to succeed. Not because you'll suddenly be able to manifest what you want (sorry, it doesn't work like that), but because you'll:

Be more resilient to stress and setbacks,

Acknowledge your weaknesses, and

Admit what isn't working.

These are necessary requirements for success. You're more likely to persist and course correct as needed without getting stuck. This is how failure is turned into fuel (it's a new challenge to overcome).

A resilient, strong mindset is what a winning mindset really is (and brings with it more fulfillment and happiness). And as a friendly reminder, don't forget to download your FREE guide of 8 proven mindset + stress management strategies for cultivating your growth mindset here:

A Growth Mindset Creates Stronger Relationships (With Self and Others)

As already mentioned, a growth-oriented mindset allows you to readily admit and deal with weaknesses, failures and mistakes. That makes you more willing to ask for help and delegate when needed (strengthening trust and relationships with others).

It also means that you have deeper knowledge around what's most important to you, allowing you to face vulnerable feelings most people shy away from. But there's more to it than just being self-aware.

I've found (both in myself and within my clients) that as self-awareness deepens, it increases your awareness of others. You start to notice how other people perceive you, which then leads you to notice how you affect other people. And that eventually leads you to become more aware of other people's emotions (and sometimes their thoughts).

Over time, your emotional intelligence will increase, making you more attractive to others and increasing your communication and leadership skills. And your relationships will strengthen (both at work and in your personal life).

Master Your Mind To Make the Most Out of Life

To sum up what you've learned:

Mindset is everything when it comes to both success and happiness. The right mindset will help build a more confident, calm mind that's ready to take on any challenge while focusing on 'not yet' as opposed to 'I failed'.

Cultivating a growth mindset will help you turn failure (and even fear) into fuel so that you take courageous action and make better decisions for yourself moving forward.

A strong mindset means more awareness - of self and others and an increase in your emotional intelligence. This will help to strengthen your relationships.

Now it's time to start making the most out of life by adopting some simple practices that will create the happy, healthy mind you want. And you can do that by downloading my free guide with 8 proven stress management and mindset practices to calm your mind, master your emotional responses and increase your self-confidence.

Get your free guide here:

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Why Mindset Is Everything: The Key To Success & Happiness

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Most people's definition of success includes things like money, possessions, respect, and career accomplishments. But where is happiness in that equation? Today we're covering why mindset is everything when it comes to your success and happiness. Because not only are you NOT successful if unhappy, but the key to achieving higher levels of success is (you guessed it).

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being able to separate peoples opinion on things and knowing your self worth can create more happiness also helps with confidence

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fixed mindset

The fixed mindset believes their abilities and intelligence are set in stone from birth with little to no malleability.

With a deep rooted beliefthat skills are "fixed" they see no value in attempting new challengesthey perceive are beyond their realm of capabilities.

For the fixed mindset, self-image and identity are attached to performance.

Thus, showing weakness or failure is a major blow to their confidence, resulting in the unwillingness to put themselves in a situation that may not show their best attributes.

In an effort to always appear a certain waythe fixed mindset will avoid situations that challenge them for fear of looking bad and tarnishing their image.

The fixed mindset has a greater concern for others perception of them than for growth and learning.

Ultimately, those with a fixed mindset do not believe in going the extra mile or asking for help in order to achieve a desired outcome.

They presume if it doesn't come naturally to them it's not worth their time.

They choose to only participate in situations that reaffirm their intelligence and proficiencies, rather than risk revealing their inadequacies.

As you can see, having a fixed mindset is crippling when it comes to achieving great success, because it holds a person back from taking risk in fear of being ridiculed.

The fixed mindset does not see the value in stepping outside their comfort zone. They abide by a belief system that convinces them taking risks is not worth the reward.

They can see no payoff in stretchingbeyond their perceived limitations and are convinced that what they know now is all they will ever know.

As Dweck writes in her book, "The fixed mindset makes you concerned with how you'll be judged; the growth mindset makes you concerned with improving."

If you fall into the fixed mindset category you most likely find yourself moving through life always playing it safe. You prefer not to rock the boat in fear of how others will perceive you if you fail.

You choose to go with what you know rather than attempt to learn new things.

After all, what if you failed and made a fool of yourself? The ego of the fixed mindset does not handle this well.

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How Mindset Affects Your Happiness and Success - Awakened Adulting

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Your mindset is your system of beliefs that influences the decisions you make everyday. Determine whether you are operating from a fixed or a growth mindset and how that is affecting your happiness and success.

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- explains how people with growth mindsets have been studied to be smarter because they push themselves to learn and are more likely to take feedback to better their education

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Mindset Kit - Read about the research: How mindset affects learning, Growth Mindset for Parents

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Read the research showing how mindsets impact learning and achievement.

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the two types of students, one being growth mindset and one being fixed but people with growth mindset are more like to achieve more and go the extra mile to succeed because they know they can do better

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Mindset and Academic Success: What's the Connection? - National

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Remember the children's story, The Little Engine That Could? With the mindset of "I think I can, I think I can," the Little Engine could! It pulled a long train up a large hill when other engines wouldn't even try.

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People who have a good mindset are more likely to work harder because they believe in themselves that they can better there academic achievements

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Over 30 years ago, Carol Dweck and her colleagues became interested in students' attitudes about failure. They noticed that some students rebounded while other students seemed devastated by even the smallest setbacks. After studying the behavior of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement.

Recent advances in neuroscience have shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew. Research on brain plasticity has shown how connectivity between neurons can change with experience. With practice, neural networks grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and build insulation that speeds transmission of impulses. These neuroscientific discoveries have shown us that we can increase our neural growth by the actions we take, such as using good strategies, asking questions, practicing, and following good nutrition and sleep habits.

At the same time that these neuroscientific discoveries were gaining traction, researchers began to understand the link between mindsets and achievement. It turns out, if you believe your brain can grow, you behave differently. So the researchers asked, " Can we change mindsets? And if so, how?" This began a series of interventions and studies that prove we can indeed change a person's mindset from fixed to growth, and when we do, it leads to increased motivation and achievement. For example, 7th graders who were taught that intelligence is malleable and shown how the brain grows with effort showed a clear increase in math grades. Download the lesson plan used in this intervention!

In addition to teaching kids about malleable intelligence, researchers started noticing that teacher practice has a big impact on student mindset, and the feedback that teachers give their students can either encourage a child to choose a challenge and increase achievement or look for an easy way out. For example, studies on different kinds of praise have shown that telling children they are smart encourages a fixed mindset, whereas praising hard work and effort cultivates a growth mindset. When students have a growth mindset, they take on challenges and learn from them, therefore increasing their abilities and achievement. Read more about how teacher practices impact student mindsets and achievement.

What does growth mindset teaching look like in the real world? When we take the research out of the laboratory and into the classroom, we see amazing results. One such case study is Fiske Elementary School. With a diverse student population of English language learners and special education students, the administrators at Fiske infused growth mindset into the school culture by starting with teacher mindsets. Teachers took part in a Mindset book study the first year of implementation, and completed the MindsetMaker™ online professional development the second year. While state test scores in math remained stagnant, Fiske Elementary saw amazing growth, which they attributed to a growth mindset teacher practices and culture shift. Read more Case Studies about closing the gap between research and practice.

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The Growth Mindset - What is Growth Mindset - Mindset Works

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Brainology is an online interactive program in which middle school students learn about how the brain works, how to strengthen their own brains, and how to better approach their own learning. In the process they develop a growth mindset whereby they think of their intelligence as something they can develop through study and learning rather than as something fixed, as explained by our co-founder Dr. Carol Dweck.

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A fixed and growth mindset can be good for everyone but fixed mindsets can hold you back from opportunities like learning from mistakes. While growth put more emphasize on learning experiences and growing from them.

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One common misconception in entrepreneurship is that you either have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or you don't. In reality, entrepreneurial skills can be learned and strengthened like any other skill.

"Do you have to be a creative genius to succeed?" asks Harvard Business School Professor William Sahlman in the online course Entrepreneurship Essentials. "Do you have to be young, or technical, or a college dropout, or risk-seeking to become an entrepreneur? I don't think so. Every person can find opportunities, attract necessary resources, and build teams to bring successful products and services to customers."

This mindset-that ability and intelligence can be achieved through effort-is called a growth mindset, and it's an invaluable asset in the startup world.

Here's a primer on the difference between growth and fixed mindsets, why a growth mindset is essential for entrepreneurship, and how you can achieve and maintain one.

Free E-Book:
So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur: How to Get Started
Access your free e-book today.
DOWNLOAD NOW

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.

For example, as an aspiring entrepreneur, you need basic finance skills to create your business's budget and prepare its financial statements. If you have a fixed mindset, you may think, "I've never been good with math, let alone financial statements. I'm not cut out to run my own business."

Now imagine you approach the situation with a growth mindset. You might think, "I don't have a background in finance, but I can learn and practice those skills until I feel capable."

The concept of growth and fixed mindsets was coined by psychologist Carol Dweck in her 2006 book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

According to Dweck, challenging situations can be catastrophic for those with fixed mindsets because of the implication that if they don't already have the skills or intelligence to complete a task, there's no chance of improvement.

When you have a growth mindset, you believe you can gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed, which makes every challenge a learning opportunity. Given the numerous challenges entrepreneurs face, a growth mindset can be a powerful tool as you work toward your venture's success.

Must-Have Entrepreneurial Skills for Aspiring Business Owners

4 Reasons Entrepreneurs Need a Growth Mindset

While a growth mindset can benefit anyone, it's crucial for entrepreneurs. Here are four ways a growth mindset can serve you as you launch and grow your business.

1. It Allows You to Move into New Fields

When you have a growth mindset, your past doesn't define your future. This can be an asset if you have expertise and experience in another field and want to pursue entrepreneurship.

For example, Indya Wright, former commercial banker and deputy clerk at the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, launched her own public relations and production firm, Artiste House. Rather than let her previous career define her potential, she knew she could learn the language of the startup world through hands-on experience and taking Entrepreneurship Essentials.

"You need to find ways to equip yourself with the skills necessary to sustain your business," Wright says. "You're investing in your own success."

2. It Fosters Resilience

Resilience -the capacity to recover from and move through difficult situations-is critical in the entrepreneurial world. When challenges, setbacks, and failures inevitably arise, your business's survival depends on your ability to persevere and learn from difficult situations.

In one of Dweck's studies, her team analyzed students' brain activity while reviewing mistakes they made on a test. Those with a fixed mindset showed no brain activity when reviewing the mistakes, whereas the brains of those with a growth mindset showed processing activity as mistakes were being reviewed.

A fixed mindset can physically prevent you from learning from mistakes, while a growth mindset can empower you to perceive mistakes as learning opportunities.

3. It Enables You to Iterate on Your Product

"It's most productive to think of entrepreneurship as an iterative process-a way of managing that involves continually searching for a winning combination of opportunities and resources," Sahlman says in Entrepreneurship Essentials.

This continual process of testing an idea, learning from the results, and reiterating the product is only possible with a growth mindset.

An entrepreneur with a fixed mindset is likely to view negative feedback as a sign they don't have the ability to make a valuable product. This can result in avoiding feedback for fear of rejection, untested products and bad product-market fit, or giving up on a venture altogether.

An entrepreneur with a growth mindset, on the other hand, receives negative feedback and constructive criticism and uses it to improve their product offering. With a growth mindset, uncovering your product's weaknesses doesn't translate to an inability to create a valuable product. Rather, it enables you to create the best version of it for your target market.

5 Steps to Validate Your Business Idea

4. It Keeps You Humble

Finally, a growth mindset constantly reminds you that there's always more to learn. By knowing you have the capacity to improve, a growth mindset can keep you humble throughout your entrepreneurial journey.

This can be especially useful in combatting stagnation. People's needs, attitudes, and motivations change over time, so periodically reassess your product-market fit. If you get too comfortable with your initial knowledge, you could miss opportunities to grow with your target audience and meet their needs as they arise.

Maintaining a Growth Mindset as an Entrepreneur

If you realize you've been living with a fixed mindset, you can make the switch to one centered on growth by giving yourself ample opportunity to learn new things.

Examples of opportunities are networking and knowledge-sharing with other professionals, reading articles and books on topics you're interested in, and brainstorming and problem-solving with others to gain new perspectives.

Additionally, taking online courses can be an accessible, rewarding way to maintain your growth mindset and remind yourself that you can learn new skills to make your entrepreneurial venture a success.
Are you interested in bolstering your entrepreneurship skills? Explore our four-week online course Entrepreneurship Essentials and our other entrepreneurship and innovation courses to learn to speak the language of the startup world.

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Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What's the Difference?

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One common misconception in entrepreneurship is that you either have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or you don't. In reality, entrepreneurial skills can be learned and strengthened like any other skill. "Do you have to be a creative genius to succeed?" asks Harvard Business School Professor William Sahlman in the online course Entrepreneurship Essentials.

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Although a fixed mindset is not bad but it can stop you from things you can achieve. Fixed mindset is basing what you are able to accomplish on facts and you cannot improve on them. They believe they are born with their talents so they are either able or unable to do something. This stops them from stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new things.

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What is a

A fixed mindset, proposed by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, describes people who see their qualities as fixed traits that cannot change. With a fixed mindset, talent is enough to lead to success and effort to improve these talents isn't required: one is born with a certain amount of skill and intelligence that can't be improved upon.

Those who hold a fixed mindset believe that they are either good or bad at something based on their inherent nature. For instance, someone with a fixed mindset might say "I'm a natural born soccer player" or "I'm just no good at soccer," believing that their athletic skills can't be developed. Those with fixed mindsets may avoid challenges, give up easily and ignore useful negative feedback. The opposite of this fixed mindset is the growth mindset.

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Fixed Mindset Definition and Meaning - Top Hat

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What is a A fixed mindset, proposed by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, describes people who see their qualities as fixed traits that cannot change. With a fixed mindset, talent is enough to lead to success and effort to improve these talents isn't required: one is born with a certain amount of skill and intelligence that can't be improved upon.

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growth mindset definition is basically in the name its the willingness to grow and experience new things and embrace failures to learn from them. People willing to grow as a human are more likely to be able to learn what they can achieve but also have things they have to work harder for. Everyone is going to fail and succeed at somethings but its what you learn from those things that will determine your future.

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Growth Mindset: Why Everyone Should Develop One

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Learn how to develop a growth mindset, or nurture one in your kids and students, with easy tips and games based in science and psychology.

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Now many articles have talked about how negative thoughts can worsen depression but it can also cause you to be in a depression state. People do not realize the impact negative thoughts can do to a person. You will have symptoms like loss of interest, loss of energy, feeling helpless and even suicidal thoughts.

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"Life is unfair." "I'm never going to get a raise." "No one cares about me." Do these thoughts sound familiar?

When it comes to mental health, how we think is one of the most important indicators of how we feel. If people tend to dwell on the negative aspects of their circumstances or surroundings, this can be a sign they are suffering from depression. Conversely, prolonged negative thinking can directly contribute to the development, recurrence, or worsening of depression disorder.

But which came first - the negative thoughts, or the depression? Although causation can be difficult to determine, depression treatment seeking to counteract negative thoughts often helps improve symptoms and gives patients a more positive outlook.

Get Help For Depression Today

How Negative Thoughts Can Cause or Exacerbate Depression

In healthy people and those coping with depression, a balance of negative and positive thoughts throughout the day is to be expected. However, when the balance tips too far toward negativity, it can trigger an extended period of depression, the symptoms of which may include:

Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness or self-hate

Excessive fatigue or lethargy

Difficulty making decisions and concentrating

Slower thought, movement or speech

Loss of interest and pleasure in once enjoyable activities

Suicidal ideation or thoughts of death

Individuals already facing these symptoms may find their condition worsening as a direct result of habitual negative thinking. Although the depression is not the patient's fault, he or she may not fully comprehend the role thoughts play in feelings.

Counterbalancing Negativity during Depression Disorder Treatment

Coping with depression is never easy, especially with a negative voice in the patient's brain, telling him or her life will never get better. However, treatment methods increasingly utilize "brain training" techniques to get individuals to learn how to think in more positive, constructive ways.

Therapists working to help patients counteract negative thoughts use tools such as:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). With or without antidepressant medication, CBT has been quite effective at helping patients see improvements in depression symptoms. The method seeks to replace negative thinking patterns with alternative, useful thoughts to help them deal with feelings and situations more constructively.

Relaxation techniques. Disciplines such as yoga, meditation, tai chi, and deep breathing help patients train their minds and bodies to control their feelings.

Lifestyle changes. When individuals adopt healthier diets, obtain regular exercise, and cease alcohol or drug use, they find negative thoughts easier to combat.

Journaling. Writing down negative thoughts help patients record and evaluate emotional triggers and their reactions to them. It also helps them track their perspectives as they change over time.

Bridges to Recovery is a Safe Alternative to a Hospital Environment

Choosing a Positive Treatment Option

For patients struggling with negative thoughts, simply seeking treatment is a significant accomplishment, even if they are not sure whether it will work for them. The staff at Bridges to Recovery respects and appreciates this decision, and we strive at every turn to show our patients recovery is possible.

At our unique, all-encompassing inpatient treatment facility, you or your loved one will experience a balanced mix of traditional and non-traditional techniques to help bring about individualized healing. To learn more about how we can help restore a sense of hope and positivity, contact us today.

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Negative Thoughts Can Lead to Bouts of Depression

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"Life is unfair." "I'm never going to get a raise." "No one cares about me." Do these thoughts sound familiar? When it comes to mental health, how we think is one of the most important indicators of how we feel.

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Many people can think of all the negative scenarios that can happen in life which can cause them to not just view the world as negative but also view themselves negatively. Negative thoughts can be connected with depression and anxiety because you can start to portray the whole world as negative and it can be very hard to get out of that mindset but it is proven people with depression and or anxiety can be able to have a positive mindset which stops you from being setback from life.

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Does negativity dominate your thinking? If the thoughts in your head about people, situations - and even yourself - are on the harsh side, you're doing yourself a disservice. Here psychologist Scott Bea, PsyD, answers questions about why so many people struggle with negative thinking and explains how to adopt a more positive outlook on life.

Q: What problems does negative thinking create?

A: Negative thinking makes you feel blue about the world, about yourself, about the future. It contributes to low self-worth. It makes you feel you're not effective in the world.

Psychologists link negative thinking to depression, anxiety, chronic worry and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). But almost all human beings contend with it - even those born with a positive outlook on life.

It's because of the way our brains are constructed. Our amygdala and limbic system are built to notice threats, to protect our survival. In prehistoric times, it may have been a beautiful day on the savannah, but when we were stalked by a predator, we were trained to notice that danger.

Today, the same parts of our brain are active even when physical threats are minimal. The threats we deal with today are more cognitive - involving finances, whether we're loved, whether we're succeeding at work. They can set our hearts racing. That's why we can panic on a Sunday night just thinking about work.

Q: Can negative thinking become a habit?

A: Absolutely. We practice worrying, and we get better at it over time. Worry is maintained by what we call ritualized reassurance. We think of all the negative scenarios that can possibly occur, and then all the ways we would survive them, to calm ourselves down.

But reassurance is a drug with a short half-life, like caffeine. If you use caffeine to combat fatigue, the more you use, the more fatigued you become over time. When people say, "The older I get, the more I worry," it's because they've been practicing.

And while we work out thousands of scenarios, the story is still only going to unfold in one way. It's estimated that approximately 94% of the time, what we worry about doesn't happen. What does happen is usually something we've never worried about.

We're also constantly dosed with negative thinking because the media primarily portrays negative events. They know we're more drawn to what's wrong than to what's right.

Q: Is it possible to change the way you think?

A: Rather than change the way you think, I recommend changing your relationship to your thoughts. We have about 50,000 spontaneous thoughts, images and ideas every day. Whether they're positive or negative, they intrude into our awareness. Those that are negative are more likely to capture our awareness, or become "sticky."

I recommend learning to watch your thoughts, rather than engaging with them. Practicing mindfulness can take you away from the thinking experience. For example:

Notice your breath or your footsteps for five to 10 seconds.

Notice anything that takes your attention away from them.

Then guide yourself back to your breath or your footsteps.

When you get distracted by a negative thought, notice something to engage with in the present. What are you seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting, feeling?

Mindfulness also helps us program in ourselves a sense of that which is right. We can systematically notice what's going well in the present. We can notice something favorable about each person we encounter. Words of admiration help us notice the rightness of things.

We can keep a gratitude journal, looking for those events that did work out. Doing this right before we go to sleep is especially helpful.

Q: Does thinking positively change your brain?

A: Yes, we're learning that when we change habits, we change brain circuitry. It's hard to exchange bad habits for good ones because they exist deep within the brain.

But when new habits are formed, they tend to stick and become more automatic. We may resist an exercise program at first, but after a while it becomes automatic. In the same way, we can try to form new habits around how we relate to our thoughts.

That's why, more and more, mindfulness is being used as a tool to treat problems like social anxiety, OCD and depression. Mindfulness helps us accept things as they are, rather than always being in fix-it mode.

Q: What happens as you start to think more positively?

A: Your thoughts affect the way you regard your life. Positive thinking fosters self-acceptance and self-efficacy.

Maybe you have a gift to give that makes the lives of those around you better. Praising others has such an impact. It creates delight. It makes us all feel better and function better, and makes the world a better place.

Practicing positivity can also guide you to a different way of working within your profession. If you're a lawyer, for example, you may want to switch from an adversarial role to more of an advocacy role.

Developing positivity can even influence the ways we choose to behave, leading us to feel better and to experience better outcomes in our lives.

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How to Turn Around Your Negative Thinking

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Does negativity dominate your thinking? If the thoughts in your head about people, situations - and even yourself - are on the harsh side, you're doing yourself a disservice. Here psychologist Scott Bea, PsyD, answers questions about why so many people struggle with negative thinking and explains how to adopt a more positive outlook on life.

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Many people struggle with mental challenges like anxiety, depression, ect. This clouds our judgement to basically give up and just deal with these challenges forever. But being able to have a good mindset and one that is willing to grow can help people be able to cope with this better and know that this is something they can over come. Even though it will not be easy there is always a way, you just have to be willing to try.

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By Christina Pay, Extension Assistant Professor

Growth mindset may be a new tool to help with depression and anxiety. Merriam-Webster defines mindset as a mental attitude or inclination. This definition can be broadened to include what people believe about themselves and their most basic qualities and abilities. Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University, has studied what she calls, fixed and growth mindset. "In a fixed mindset, people believe basic qualities such as intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success-without effort." (Dweck, 2015) Alternately, "In a growth mindset, people believe their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work-brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment." (Dweck, 2015) Psychologists have also learned that mindsets extend into domains other than just intelligence. They extend into personality, people, emotion, stress, failure, and more (Dweck, 1999). The way a person responds to challenges and setbacks is often determined by their mindset.

When it comes to anxiety, those with a fixed mindset believe it is just part of who they are and that it can't be changed or controlled. One study found that youth with a fixed mindset were 58% more likely to show severe symptoms of anxiety and depression compared to youth with a growth mindset. (Schleider, et all, 2015) Researchers also have found that "growth mindset buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies" (Schroder, 2016). In other words, growth mindset can cushion or safeguard the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression and the use of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Therefore, growth mindset individuals view anxiety as temporary and an emotion they can learn to deal with using healthier coping strategies.

In a study from 2017, researchers found that even a 30-minute online lesson on the benefits of a growth mindset can help people suffering from depression and anxiety (Schleider, 2017). The intervention shared information on the brain and neuroplasticity, which is the way our brain continually builds new neural connections based on new experiences. Research findings on how a person's personality can change was also included. The researchers discovered that those who participated in the intervention mindset did better, additionally, when they followed-up, participants reported fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, suggesting that even this short lesson in growth mindset can have a long-term effect on mental health. (Shleider, 2017).
Developing a growth mindset takes time. But it is possible. Several ways to begin developing a growth mindset include:

1. Viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and try different ways of doing things.

2. See the value in the process. By viewing the process as more important than the outcome, challenges can be embraced, and setbacks can be worked through.

3. Remember the power of yet. Acknowledge that the skills and knowledge you don't have right now can be learned and gained. Find ways to bridge the difference. You may not know it yet, but you will.

Growth mindset encourages learning new skills and facing challenges. It also can be a new tool to help with depression and anxiety.

References:

Dweck, C. S. (1999). Essays in social psychology. Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development. Psychology Press.

Dweck, C. (2015, September 22). Carol Dweck revisits the 'Growth Mindset'. Education Week. Retrieved February 1, 2022, https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-carol-dweck-revisits-the-growth- mindset/2015/09?cmp=cpc-goog-ew-growth%20mindset&ccid=growth%20mindset&ccag=

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Mindset. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mindset

Schleider, J., Abel, M., Weisz, J. (2015). Implicit theories and youth mental health problems: A random-effects meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 35, 1-9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2014.11.001

Schleider, J., & Weisz, J. (2018). A single-session growth mindset intervention for adolescent anxiety and depression: 9-month outcomes of a randomized trial. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(2), 160-170. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12811

Schroder, H. S., Yalch, M. M., Dawood, S., Callahan, C. P., Donnellan, M. B., & Moser, J. S. (2017).

Growth mindset of anxiety buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies. Science Daily, 110, 23-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.016

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Growth Mindset: A New Tool to Help with Anxiety and Depression

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Growth mindset can cushion or safeguard the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression and the use of unhealthy coping mechanisms. Therefore, growth mindset individuals view anxiety as temporary and an emotion they can learn to deal with using healthier coping strategies.

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Vulnerability is key in holding someone back. Its a fact people hide away what makes them vulnerable but it is such a big thing in success and growth. Something that opened my mind is this article says "We begin to understand that we can survive setbacks because our worthiness isn’t dependent on the outcome". This really describes the fact that if we can find that self-love within ourselves we won't always care about being successful because if you tried that is all you can do.

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Why Self-Love is Important for Growth: How Mindset Medicine Can Help

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Why Self-Love is Important for Growth: Mindset Medicine

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This article really shocked me because the top technique with having a self loving mindset is being okay with not being okay. The more you are able to love yourself and be happy with who you are the more you are likely to heal. People push down emotions because they do not want to deal with them but all it does is create more problems from a wound that never properly healed and created mental challenges that stop you from being able to love yourself.

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Being able to show yourself love is crucial to success because if you can't see it in yourself it's hard for people to see it. Self-love is only achievable through your mindset and your mind is more likely to create more healthy relationships if you love yourself. Knowing you are worthy of things will help create better outcomes in life.

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True self love comes from within. It is the ability to love and respect yourself regardless of what is going on in your life around you. When we truly love ourselves, we show the world the type of love we deserve from others. This creates healthy relationships and boundaries as well as an internal happiness that can be infectious to others around you.

No career accomplishment, financial gain or person will help you to achieve self-love. It is a mindset that must come from within. The good thing is, no matter where you are on your self-love journey, there are many things you can do to help you find that love on the inside, without changing anything externally. In this article, we will explain how.
Stop comparing - it has no purpose
As they say, comparison is the thief of joy - nothing good ever comes of it. Comparing yourself to others is far too easy, particularly in this age of social media. Everywhere we look it feels as though people living perfect lives with perfect bodies. It can take a hell of a lot of willpower to not succumb to comparison. Comparison, both online and offline, can make self love feel more difficult to access, however there are things you can do to keep it at bay. Plus, the more you shift to a self-love mindset, the less comparison can take hold of you.

If you are prone to comparing yourself to strangers online, unfollow or mute anyone who makes you feel less worthy. Fill your feeds with accounts that uplift you and help you on your self-love journey. Practise gratitude daily to help you recognise what you have in your life - this will also help you to reduce your need to compare your life to others.

Remember, everyone has their own struggles. What people show to the world might not be their reality internally. Do you put your own struggles or disappointments online? The answer for most would be no. Remember this to be true for everyone, not everything is perfect and that's ok. We need both good and bad in life to truly help us to appreciate what matters to us.
Learn to appreciate failure
There has long been a stigma attached to failure, that it is bad and something to be avoided. This is simply not the case. Failure can be one of the greatest tools we have to help us learn and grow in life. Sure, in the immediate moment following failure, it can be difficult and upsetting, but these obstacles we face can become moments of growth. As Thomas Edison famously said when perfecting the lightbulb took him 10,000 attempts - "I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

In order to cultivate a self-love mindset we have to embrace the learnings that failure brings to us. Don't let fear of failure stop you from going after the things you want. Once you learn to embrace failure or mistakes, it can open you up to new, positive experiences that you otherwise might have avoided. To learn to love what failure might bring to you is to learn to love yourself, mistakes and all.
Practise positive self-talk
Begin each day with a self-love pep talk to your mind and to your body. Acknowledge all of the amazing moments your body has carried you through, express gratitude for all that you have experienced. Take a moment to thank your body for each tiny quirk that makes you, you. Start with some statements that ring true to you, even if you don't quite believe them just yet. It's important that they are in your language and that they are statements that you would like to believe to be true in the future.

Here are some examples to give you a starting point:

To your body - "Thank you for all that you do for me each day"

"I am so grateful for all that I am"

"I am worthy and accepting of all of the good things that come my way"

"I love and respect my body"

Each morning, try to recite these statements, out loud, in front of your mirror. As with negative thoughts and negative self-talk, what we say to ourselves regularly will become our truth. The more we tell ourselves something the more we will believe it. This positive self-talk will start to transform your mindset and your attitude surrounding your body and mind, and lead to a more compassionate way of being.
Question those negative thoughts
As with positive self-talk, what we tell ourselves becomes our truth. Our thoughts as just that... thoughts. Thoughts are different to beliefs or more importantly, truths; a belief is often deep rooted whereas a thought is more fleeting. We have the ability to question negative thoughts, to turn them into something more positive. Next time a negative thought pops into your head, question it. Challenge that thought and ask yourself where it might have come from and explain to yourself why it is untrue.

A good way to do this is to imagine yourself as a younger you. Visualise that younger, child version of you and think about how that negative thought might impact them - then think of what you would rather have him or her think and believe. Create a kind and encouraging narrative for that little person that would help them to blossom in that present moment.

Wherever you are on your self-love journey, try these simple techniques and notice how your mindset shifts. Self love is all about being compassionate, patient and kind and in today's world, it's needed more than ever.

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How to cultivate a self-love mindset by Lili Sinclair-Williams

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True self love comes from within. It is the ability to love and respect yourself regardless of what is going on in your life around you. When we truly love ourselves, we show the world the type of love we deserve from others.

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Negative mindset makes it so that fear and failure stops you from taking a risk. Many people are comfortable with where they are they stop themselves from trying. Having a negative mindset makes it so that it slows down brain function in the cerebellum which cause lack of problem solving skills.

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Negative beliefs, thoughts and attitudes have a huge impact on your life. At Pathways, we want to make sure you have the best tools at your disposal to achieve your goals. We will show you how transitioning from negativity to a more positive outlook can improve every aspect of your life.

What is Self-Talk?

Self-talk isn't limited to just your thoughts - it also includes your beliefs and feelings about yourself and the world around you. Self-talk can be either conscious or subconscious, and it affects everything that you do. Negative self-talk leads to a negative attitude that causes you to sabotage yourself. Positive self-talk, on the other hand, helps you to feel better about yourself and puts you in the right frame of mind to achieve success. Learning to correct negative thinking patterns is all about seizing control of your inner dialogue and breaking thought patterns that you have been building and developing your entire life.

How Does Negative Thinking Affect You?

According to an article in Psychology Today, negative thoughts have a big impact on brain function. Not only does negative thinking make it harder for you to think logically, but the fear of failure that is often associated with negativity slows down activity in the cerebellum. This results in a reduced ability to come up with creative solutions to the problems you face.

That fear of failure that negative thinkers often have also affects the left temporal lobe of the brain. Not only do your fears drag your mood down, but you may suffer from a bad memory or poor impulse control.

When you make a habit of negative thinking, you are essentially re-wiring your brain. As you focus on all those fears and worries, the brain actually begins to change, strengthening the synapses and neurons that are most closely associated with negative thought.

The changes in your brain are what makes it so difficult to overcome a negative attitude. You aren't simply working to correct negative thoughts - you are working against thoughts and beliefs that have become so deeply ingrained that they are a part of the structure of your brain.

Re-Training Your Brain with Positive Thoughts

Fortunately, the changes made to your brain by negative thought processes are reversible - you can use the power of optimism to undo the damage caused by years of fear, worry and anxiety. Scientists have found that positive people have much more activity in the pre-frontal cortex of the brain.

When you think of positive thought like a workout for your brain, it's easy to see how simply thinking good things and striving to have a positive attitude can reshape your outlook on life. As you begin to use optimism and positive affirmations, you will be firing up neurons and synapses that haven't seen a lot of use. Just like physical exercise, as you strengthen your neural pathways, it will become easier and easier to have a positive attitude.

Using Positive Affirmations to Improve the Quality of Your Life

Positive affirmations are the tool you will use to improve your negative thinking patterns. These affirmations come in the form of short, optimistic statements. A good positive affirmation will target the particular beliefs that are the foundation of your negative thought processes. As you repeat your positive affirmations, your subconscious mind will take hold of these new positive thoughts and your negative thoughts will begin to disappear.

Affirmations are widely used by counselors because they have an incredibly powerful effect on your entire life. As you work on correcting your negative self-talk, you will gain self-confidence and you'll be better equipped to handle the stress in your life. With less negativity, you will find that your relationships with family, friends or your spouse will become less strained, and you may find that you have a greater interest in social activities.

Instead of telling yourself that good events happen because of chance, you will start to believe that good events happened because you worked to make them happen. Since you worked hard to make great things happen, you'll be more willing to keep working towards positive goals. People who change their thought processes from negative to positive often find new doors opening in their lives. Before, a career change or a great new relationship may have seemed impossible, but with a positive outlook, you will have the tools to make those things happen.

The best part about positive affirmations is that you should start to see the benefits immediately. Some people have to work harder than others to completely eliminate negative thought patterns. However, even on the first day, you should see some improvements to your confidence while the fears and worries that you've held for so long will start to fade.

Your New Optimistic Outlook Brings Health Benefits Too

Positive self-talk isn't just about improving how you feel about yourself. As you use positive affirmations to improve your thinking patterns, you'll also find that it comes with several health benefits. Happy, positive people make healthy lifestyle choices. You'll be more likely to exercise and eat right. Studies have also shown that optimists have better immune systems.

According to research from the University of Pittsburgh, positive people live longer too. Over eight years, the study found that women over the age of 50 who were optimists were 14-percent less likely to die than pessimistic women. When the researchers looked at women who died from heart disease, the positive thinkers were 30-percent less likely to die.

If you need the power of positive thinking in your life, Pathways would like to help you. Check out our e-book, Positive Affirmations to Change Your Life. In this book we outline the steps you need to take to banish negative self-talk. Our book tells you everything you need to know to overcome your doubts and fears. Try it today, and start working towards your goals! You can also visit our website to better understand how Pathways can offer real-life recovery.

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How Negativity Sabotages Your Success - Pathways Real Life Recovery

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Negative beliefs, thoughts and attitudes have a huge impact on your life. At Pathways, we want to make sure you have the best tools at your disposal to achieve your goals. We will show you how transitioning from negativity to a more positive outlook can improve every aspect of your life.

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This is showing the difference that a fixed and growth mindset can think. Being able to look at things from a positive outcome can create more room for you to go after things because the worst that can happen is failing and trying again.

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Our thinking can affect our everyday tasks. Being able to tell yourself you can do something can really motivate our brains to go and achieve our goals. In the article it states people who try to grow their mindset are more able to take opportunities and take the risk to challenge themselves and go for bigger pictures.

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Discover what it means to have a growth mindset, how they can help you, and the steps you can break away from a fixed mindset.
The way we think about ourselves and our abilities can have a significant impact on our performance, at work, during studies, and in everyday life. Yet not everyone takes the time to think about the way they think and may make assumptions about their skills that can be negative. So what is a growth mindset? And how can it help us achieve our goals?

Here, we explore the definition of a growth mindset, how it differs from a fixed mindset, and how you can work to develop a growth mindset. As well as giving some practical examples, we'll also suggest some courses that can help you progress.

What is a growth mindset?

A mindset is the series of beliefs people hold about themselves; their self-perception. A growth mindset is a belief that you can develop your skills and talents through hard work, the right strategies, and guidance from others.

The term growth mindset was coined by American psychologist Professor Carol Dweck in her 2006 book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Her work explored how an individual's underlying belief about their intelligence and ability to learn could impact their performance.

Her studies show that those who believe they can develop their talents tend to achieve more than those who feel their abilities are innate and fixed. Those with a growth mindset see opportunities instead of obstacles, choosing to challenge themselves to learn more rather than sticking in their comfort zone.

As Professor Dweck explains it:

This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way-in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments-everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

What's clear from this quote is that each of us can develop a growth mindset and that understanding that fact is sometimes half the battle.

Growth mindset vs a fixed mindset: what's the difference?

The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. While the former is focused on self-improvement and development over time, a fixed mindset is essentially the belief that abilities are innate and fixed from birth.

As Dr Paula J Caproni from the University of Michigan explains in the video below, a fixed mindset means believing in nature over nurture. Those with a fixed mindset believe that each person inherits qualities such as intelligence, talents, and personality characteristics.

Those who feel that their qualities are unique to their genetic makeup generally also feel that these characteristics stay pretty stable throughout their lives.

Such a mindset is proven to be limiting in certain settings. According to Dr Dweck's original research, those with a fixed mindset are more likely to seek opportunities to demonstrate strengths rather than those that could expose weaknesses.

She goes on to say that such an approach to life can backfire. Although they take fewer risks, people with a fixed mindset can miss out on opportunities and chances to learn and grow.

You can learn more about the science and research behind success in our course The Science of Success from the University of Michigan.

Does a growth mindset work?

In an academic setting, some studies have shown that academic performance influences students' mindsets. These results imply that mindset and academic performance constitute a positive feedback loop.

Other research has shown that a short, online growth mindset intervention can help improve student performance. This short course teaches that intellectual abilities can be developed, and the researchers studied performance and enrolment figures across secondary education in mathematics in the US.

However, a study from the University of Edinburgh showed no benefit in growth mindset theory among students aged nine to 13. Others have criticised the original research from Dr Dweck, claiming that the results cannot be replicated or are statistically biased.

Similarly, some have suggested that intelligence and personality are the more significant predictors of success at school and work. What's more, these traits tend to be more stable, especially in adults.

On the other hand, more recent research from Dr Dweck and the OECD has shown further positive results. The 2021 data showed that schools can foster a growth mindset by rewarding progress, trying different learning strategies and looking for meaningful feedback.

In this study, students were asked how strongly they believed that "your intelligence is something about you that you can't change very much." Those who disagreed (growth mindset) scored higher in reading, science, and math than those who agreed (fixed mindset).

Evidently, there is more research needed into growth mindsets and their potential impact. We need to understand how such an approach can be applied and encouraged in the education system and beyond.

Growth mindset examples

To further understand what a growth mindset looks like, it's worth highlighting some examples of the two differing approaches. As explored in our fixed and growth mindset open step from the University of Groningen, there are some useful situational examples:

Situation

Fixed mindset approach

Growth mindset approach

You get a very high grade on an exam Great! I must be really intelligent in this area Great! I must have worked hard and learned a lot

You're starting a new assignment or project I hope this will be easy for me I hope this will be interesting!

You get negative feedback on your work Oh no! This proves I'm no good at this Okay, I need to get back to work and learn more

These examples show the differences in mindset. With a fixed mindset approach, it's easy to attribute success and failure to inherent ability. You may look for reassurance by doing things you know you're comfortable with.

With a fixed mindset, you can recognise your hard work and strive to improve when you've underachieved. You may look for challenges, particularly when you have the opportunity to learn something new.

10 ways to develop a growth mindset

If you feel that a growth mindset is something you want to aim for, there are ways you can go about developing one. However, it's important to recognise that, according to Dr Dweck's research, no one has an entirely fixed or entirely growth mindset; most are somewhere in the middle.

Similarly, it's worth pointing out that not everyone can achieve everything. Hard work, dedication and attitude can all contribute to success, but we each have our limitations. What's more, other factors besides mindset often determine positive results.

All that being said, we've outlined some ways to work on developing a growth mindset. Some of these are highlighted on our teaching and mentoring open step from the University of Groningen:

1. Identify your own mindset

By considering how you currently approach challenges, either at work or in education, you can determine your current mindset. For example, you can ask yourself whether you say things like ' I'm a natural people person' or 'I've learned to work well with people'? Or would you say, ' she's a natural leader', or ' she worked her way up to the leadership role '?

Asking such questions about your approach to the world can help you identify whether you've more of a fixed or growth mindset. Such awareness is the first step toward making changes, which could help you reimagine your career.

2. Look at your own improvements

Think about something that you're better at now than you were in the past? What did you previously find difficult? Why does it feel easier now? And how did you achieve such a change?

These thoughts can prompt you to think about the time and effort you've spent to improve in particular areas, the hallmarks of a growth mindset.

3. Review the success of others

Try to think about something that you've seen someone else do against the odds. Think about how they achieved their success and what this says about their ability to develop their capabilities.

4. Seek feedback

Whether you've been successful in a project or not, seeking feedback from others is a good way to develop a growth mindset. They may give you insight into where you've developed or what needs improvement. In turn, this can help you to set goals for improvement.

5. Harness the power of 'yet'

The concept of 'yet' is one that Dr Dweck spoke about during a TEDx talk. Essentially, this part of a fixed mindset is about realising that there will be skills or subjects that you're not good at yet. However, with work and perseverance, you can improve in these areas.

Developing a growth mindset is about realising that your weaknesses are strengths you haven't necessarily developed yet.

6. Learn something new

Try a completely new activity and challenge yourself to learn something that you're not already good at. You could start with learning a new language, picking up an instrument, or understanding the basics of economics.

By getting used to getting out of your comfort zone, you can develop a growth mindset and be more open to learning new skills.

7. Make mistakes

You're not going to get everything right the first time of trying. Allow yourself to make errors and then learn from those missteps. Rather than thinking that mistakes equal ineptitude, think of them as part of the learning process.

Mistakes give you the chance to identify where you may have a weakness or lack of understanding - areas you can work hard to improve.

8. Be kind to yourself

Rather than scolding yourself for your errors, try and identify how you'd treat someone else in your situation. If someone was to fail at a task you know inside out, would you tell them they're useless or encourage them to learn?

Being mindful can help you to improve your communication, relationships and emotional help. It can also help you identify thoughts that are linked to a fixed mindset and move away from them.

9. Look at examples

If you're striving to develop a growth mindset, it can help to look at those who already embody one. Whether it's examples from experts such as Dr Dweck or through looking at people you already know, there are opportunities to learn from others. Examine what they do and how they approach challenges, and think about how you can apply similar tactics.

10. Set realistic goals

As we've explored already, there are many determinants of success. Personality, intelligence, circumstance and other factors can all contribute. However, by setting clear goals that provide a motivating challenge, you can work towards success.

Final thoughts

Despite some conflicting evidence on the power of growth mindsets, many studies have discovered potential benefits. Combined with other positive factors, it seems plausible that having such an approach can help you learn and develop.

Hopefully, some of the growth mindset examples and tips we've provided can help you determine whether such an approach is beneficial to your own life. By challenging yourself and continuing to learn, you can work on your goals and personal development.

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What is a growth mindset and how can you develop one? - FutureLearn

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Discover what it means to have a growth mindset, how they can help you, and the steps you can break away from a fixed mindset. The way we think about ourselves and our abilities can have a significant impact on our performance, at work, during studies, and in everyday life.

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Eustress is actually very good for the brain, this is a way your brain usually tends to focus more and create motivation. In this article it says "How you think affects how you feel. And how you feel affects your thinking". This is a very powerful statement because too many people just rely on the feelings stress can bring and just give up but your mind can shape how you respond to certain things.

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Your Mindset Influences Whether Stress Helps or Hurts You - The Best Brain Possible

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We tend to lump stress into one big "bad" category. But in actuality, stress comes in many shapes and sizes and is not all bad. Stress can often accompany a positive event, for example going on a first date, meeting with important clients, or traveling to explore new parts of the world.

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Many people look over the effect cognitive stress does on the brain, many people can only look at the negative things that stress can do and only focus on how you are going to be able to manage situations instead of seeing what you can get from scary experiences. Too many people focus on the negative things instead of learning experiences which many people can find when steering your mindset towards positive outcomes.

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The Surprising Power of Growth Mindset in Reducing Stress

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Stress can be thought of simply as heightened attention to the negative. Using a growth mindset can help with reducing stress in the moment.

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This article talks about how negative thoughts can actually lead to decreasing your lifespan from only not being able to think positive. Negative thoughts can lead to a bunch of health problems like High blood pressure, mess with hormone balances, and damage immune system.

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Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing

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Your thoughts and emotions can affect your health. Emotions that are freely experienced and expressed without judgment or attachment tend to flow fluidly without impacting our health. On the other hand, repressed emotions (especially fearful or negative ones) can zap mental energy, negatively affect the body, and lead to health problems..

It's important to recognize our thoughts and emotions and be aware of the effect they have-not only on each other, but also on our bodies, behavior, and relationships.

Poorly-managed negative emotions are not good for your health

Negative attitudes and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness can create chronic stress, which upsets the body's hormone balance, depletes the brain chemicals required for happiness, and damages the immune system. Chronic stress can actually decrease our lifespan. (Science has now identified that stress shortens our telomeres, the "end caps" of our DNA strands, which causes us to age more quickly.)

Poorly managed or repressed anger (hostility) is also related to a slew of health conditions, such as hypertension (high blood pressure), cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, and infection.

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How Do Thoughts and Emotions Affect Health? | Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing

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Emotions that are freely experienced and expressed without judgment or attachment tend to flow fluidly. On the other hand, repressed emotions (especially fearful or negative ones) can zap mental energy and lead to health problems, such as high blood pressure or digestive disorders.

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This digram is showing how stress can cloud your mind and affect being able to sleep. Sleep is crucial in keeping a clear and good mindset because lack of sleep can cause negative thoughts due to the fact your body is fighting the sleep it needs to reboot and refresh your brain and body.

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This Ted talk, explains about how over the past years the number of people coming into to be checked are actually sick from their thoughts instead of physical things wrong with them. Too many people are hearing the bad things are happening to people that they start to point out the little things happening in your body due to the stress about what they have heard other people go through. So the Doctor in this tedtalk says the best way to heal is through the mind and staying clear from "fake news" happening in the world and focus on how you can better yourself through the mind.

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Steven Parkes: Improving your mindset to improve your health | TED Talk

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According to E.R. physician Steven Parkes, our thoughts are making us sick. Fear and stress, which evolutionarily kept us safe from physical dangers, are causing many chronic inflammatory syndromes, which are now at historic highs. Parkes now employs mindset training and has seen dramatic difference…

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Mindset has the power to create a healthy balance of good for yourself. Having a good mindset makes you not just make you have a better look on things but also makes you want to treat yourself better. In this article it says thats it has been proven it can affect weight loss and help your blood pressure just by being able to have a clear mind.

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You see life through your own unique lens. This is your mindset - the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself, your life and the situations around you. Research shows that mindsets play a significant role in determining life's outcomes. By understanding, adapting and shifting your mindset, you can improve your health, decrease your stress and become more resilient to life's challenges.

Shifting your mindset

This fall, Healthy Living is offering two classes on mindsets; Flip the Script on Stress - Enhance Your Well-Being with a Positive Mindset on Oct. 7 from 12: 00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m and The Improviser's Mindset, Wednesdays, Sept. 29 - Oct. 20 from 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

To learn more about mindsets and how to change them, BeWell spoke to Dr. Jacob Towery, adjunct clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University.
Mindsets help you to simplify.
Mindsets are a set of assumptions that help you distill complex worldviews into digestible information and then set expectations based on this input. For example, you may believe that becoming sick with cancer would be catastrophic or that going on a diet would be challenging and depriving. These belief systems help you set expectations, plan for the worst and guide decisions based on these assumptions.

While mindsets can be helpful for distilling information and managing expectations, they can also be maladaptive, lead to interpersonal problems and feelings of guilt, inadequacy, sadness and anxiety. Dr. Towery observes that it is common to hold onto mindsets that were adaptive at one point in life but have since become maladaptive. For example, it might have been helpful to believe that others cannot be trusted if you were betrayed at a young age, but this belief may lead to interpersonal issues at a later stage of life.

Dr. Towery assures, "the good news is mindsets are highly changeable, and if you are willing to learn the technology of changing your mindset and defeating your distorted thoughts, you can have significantly more happiness."
Having a fixed or growth mindset affects your worldview.
You may have heard of "fixed" and "growth" mindsets. These terms were coined by Stanford researcher and professor Carol Dweck, Ph.D. to describe belief systems about your ability to change, grow and develop over time. If you believe your qualities are essentially unchangeable or "fixed," you may be less open to mistakes because setbacks are seen as inherent, and impinging on future success. For example, if you have a fixed mindset and have trouble connecting with others at an event, you may see this as evidence that you will never be able to socially connect, leading to social anxiety and avoidance.

With a growth mindset, you know that you can change over time, and therefore you are more open to reflect, learn and grow from challenges. Because failure is less threatening, you are more willing to embrace life's challenges, take feedback as a learning opportunity and continue to learn and grow throughout life. With a growth mindset, you are also less likely to personalize setbacks. For example, in the scenario above, you might reflect that the cause of your social difficulty had more to do with the environment at the event than a personal inability to socialize.

With a fixed mindset, it can be hard to find motivation to work through perceived weaknesses, because the ability to change may seem as hopeless as changing your eye color. In contrast, with a growth mindset, you'll see your perceived weakness as a challenge that can be motivating - and even fun - to overcome.

As Dweck writes in "Mindset," "...as you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another - how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road."

Dr. Towery gives a personal example, "In my own life, I was dissatisfied with my singing abilities and decided to take singing lessons for nine months. While you won't be hearing me on the radio any time soon, my singing is remarkably less terrible than it used to be before the lessons." He describes that it was fun to learn that singing is a skill that can be cultivated rather than something innate and immutable.
Mindsets can impact your reality.
Mindsets can impact your outcomes by determining the way you think, feel and even physiologically respond to some situations. A 2007 study revealed that increased awareness of physical activity resulted in health benefits like weight loss and decreased blood pressure. To further investigate this phenomenon, a 2011 study was conducted to test physiological satiation in relationship to mindset around certain foods. The study revealed that participants' satiety aligned with their mindset around the food they were consuming more than the food's nutritional content.

Another example of how mindset affects physiology was shown in a 2012 study on the association between stress perception, health and mortality. Kelly McGonigal references the study in her 2013 TED talk, explaining that participants who experienced high levels of stress had an increased risk of death, but only if they believed stress to be harmful. Those who experienced high stress levels but did not see it as harmful were no more likely to die. McGonigal encourages developing more positive mindsets around stress, and to perceive your body's physiological responses to stress - like a pounding heart and racing mind - as your body's natural response to rise to the challenge and overcome it, as opposed to a signal that something is wrong.

Dr. Towery points out the impact of mindset on the effect of medications. "There is a powerful phenomenon in medicine known as the placebo effect, in which if someone believes they are going to derive benefits from taking a particular medication, they often do. In fact, regardless of the disease or condition, about 30-40% of people can have significant improvement in their symptoms even when taking a placebo (sugar) pill, if they believe that the pill is going to be helpful."

"Equally fascinating," Towery observes, "is the 'nocebo-effect,' a psychological response based on a person's expectations around side effects. When a physician emphasizes the potential side effects of a medicine, and the patient believes they will develop those symptoms, even if given a sugar pill, these patients can develop the adverse side effects, just based on what their mind expects."

Science is just beginning to validate the power of the mind-body relationship. Mindset matters, so it is important to pay attention to your belief systems-where they come from, how valid they are, and how they impact your quality of life.
You can change your mindset.
Although your mindset about topics like appearance and success are largely influenced by outside factors, the brain is neuroplastic, meaning neural networks can continue to grow, change and reorganize throughout the lifespan. By challenging yourself with new experiences and perspectives, you can form new neural connections - or mindsets - at any point in life.

Even a fixed mindset is not set in stone. You can change your mindset by learning and consciously choosing to believe that your characteristics are not predetermined and that you can continue to grow over time.

According to Towery, "The exciting news about mindsets is that they are absolutely changeable. The entire field of cognitive therapy is based on the idea that thoughts determine feelings and that you can learn powerful techniques to modify distorted thoughts and self-defeating beliefs. For those that want to learn how, I recommend reading the book "Feeling Great" by David Burns, MD and doing all of the writing sections. A competent cognitive therapist can also teach you how to change your mindset, even in a small number of sessions."

Dr. Towery says that the most rewarding part of his work is helping people transform distorted beliefs like "I'm a failure" to more realistic thoughts like "I didn't perform well, but I can better prepare next time and it will probably go much better."

Towery encourages questioning self-defeating thoughts and creating new narratives that are more self-serving. If you develop a growth mindset, setbacks can become learning opportunities and there is always another chance to improve and feel better.

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2. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3196007/Langer_ExcersisePlaceboEffect.pdf?sequence=1%3FviewType=Print&viewClass=Print

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5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU&t=722s

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTDYtwqKBI8

7. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.75.1.33

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Your powerful, changeable mindset - Stanford Report

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You see life through your own unique lens. This is your mindset - the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself, your life and the situations around you. Research shows that mindsets play a significant role in determining life's outcomes.