Growth Mindset wins
I always wondered that why people feel so surprised when I say that I have written three books and probably will write the fourth one soon. They all said ‘ Where do you get all this time’?
I also heard them wondering when I told them how well I play Golf and happen to go to play almost every morning (except last three months due to water crisis in Pune). Again, the questions are similar ‘How can you do this in so much heat’?
I hear same thing again and again when I tell them that I learned to make videos, learned to code, have read so many books in a short time, tell story to my son almost every day, travel the world with my family, write my blogs, give speeches in prestigious colleges and forums, happen to be a leader in some national forums, have enough time to be a startup evangelist and the list keeps rolling. Many of them must be secretly wondering that did I ever worked for my salary. However, my bosses have only positive words for me and so have others who know me. I did never face an interview to get a job, even for becoming a Managing Director of a mid-sized IT company. I was always pulled up by someone, I called my mentors.
Sounds like a superman. Trust me, it is not. It is very ordinary and common for someone to be like that. I am an ordinary person with a very humble background and absolutely feel that everyone can be better than what I have been till date. The secret of this is my open mindedness.
During my research of how successful people are different, I came across several articles and realized that one of the key elements in making a person successful or a laggard is just their MINDSET. It is what they choose and believe as per their own created boundaries.
I keep telling people ‘You are great and awesome if you just get out of your own way.’
A fixed mindset person ends up creating mental boundaries and setting rules and regulations that they like to live in and follow closely. Such people justify failures and slow growth by giving reasons beyond their own limitations. They give up quickly and blame others for their state of affairs. They hesitate in asking, doing and assume things in almost everything. They quickly follow those who can take their command, but rarely like to lead themselves. Such people do not grow in life but suffer and eventually achieve far below their potential. Unfortunately, most of us in current situation are with such a FIXED MINDSET of varying degree.
On the contrary, a growth mindset person loves to explore, breaks the glass ceiling created by someone in his mind and challenges his own assumptions as and when they see that happening. They learn, get passionate, become rebels if that is the need of the hour and most important, they develop good habits that eventually define their character and their destiny.
I have seen siblings, friends and colleagues who have been put through same education and same socio economic setup, but become vastly different in terms of achievement as they grow in their lives. Several experiments have proven this fact that our own mental boundaries become the reason for our success or failures in life. I have heard so many Fixed mindset people telling that as soon as they have enough money in their savings, they will start enjoying and being happy. On the contrary, open mindset people don’t wait for their savings to come up to a level of mental satisfaction. They enjoy and plan for their future simultaneously.
Good part of this whole mindset is that it is never late for someone to change their mindset from fixed to growth. Do it now if you wish to be successful and happy for rest of your life. This time is never going to come back.