The Impact of Mindset
The Impact of Mindset
Written By: Diondra Filicetti
How Our Minds Shape Our Reality
The power of our minds is severely underestimated. Our minds shape our reality in a profound and practical way. From a practical sense, when we have a belief in our minds, we tend to seek out and pay attention to affirming information, meaning that we have a bias towards information that supports our belief, thus strengthening the belief and how we express it. This is also known as confirmation bias.
For example, if you believe that the Toyota Corolla is the best car on the market, you will likely research phrases such as “Benefits of the Toyota Corolla”, notice when you spot one on the road, and pay attention to other information that proves this point. In the same way, you will also be less likely to seek out information that disproves this point. When you encounter people who believe that the Honda Civic is the best car on the market, you might attribute their belief to them not having done enough research or paying attention to the Toyota Corolla the way you have. Either way, the belief in your mind, whether correct or incorrect, has an influence on how you interact and perceive the world around you.
In a profound way, our minds shape our reality because of the way our thoughts influence our emotions and our overall well being. Constantly thinking negative thoughts can contribute to feelings of anger, sadness, embarrassment, and disappointment. These emotions could contribute to depression. On the other hand, leaning towards more positive thinking tends to generate higher levels of gratitude, happiness, and a more positive outlook on life which has been scientifically proven to strengthen your immune system and lead to a better quality of life.
Mindset
This demonstrates just how important it is to prioritize our personal development, specifically involving our mindset. Many writers have covered the concept of mindset, describing the characteristics of different mindsets and how to shift from a negative mindset to a more positive mindset.
Growth Mindset Vs. Fixed Mindset
In Carol Dweck’s novel, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” she discusses the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The fixed mindset believes that we are only as capable and talented as the skills that we are born with, meaning that our talents and intelligence cannot be increased beyond our current capacity. The growth mindset however, believes that our potential is unlimited and that we can grow our intelligence and capabilities with effort. The growth mindset allows us to achieve greater levels of success, simply because we believe that it is possible to do so.
Hard Work Beats Talent
If you’ve ever heard of the saying “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard,” you are well aware of what the growth mindset can do. Those that are naturally talented but maintain a fixed mindset will often experience temporary success in the short term and failure in the long-term because their mindset has them convinced that it is their inherent talent alone that will determine their results. This fixed mindset prevents these individuals from working hard to increase their ability in the face of new challenges and ultimately leads to failure to overcome obstacles.
The growth mindset, on the other hand, places no limitation on what you can achieve because those with the growth mindset know that by increasing their effort, they will increase their levels of success. Those with the growth mindset understand that hard work is not only necessary, but critical to achievement. When new challenges arise, people with the growth mindset see them as a new opportunity to stretch their abilities, learn and grow. The most successful people in the world know the power of the growth mindset and understand that the only thing standing in between them and extraordinary results is effort and learning.
Change Your Beliefs and Change Your Results
Simply believing in something transforms your reality because of the way it transforms your actions. Would you spend hours working out in the gym if you truly didn’t believe it would make a difference in your health and fitness? Would you go to church if you didn’t believe in God? Would you take vitamins if you didn’t believe they were an important part of your health? Probably not.
Although many people are unaware of the impact of mindset on our physical, emotional and spiritual lives, our mindset can be a major limitation or a major asset, depending on the mindset we choose to adopt and develop. It is time that we recognize the power of our mindset as the foundation for our thoughts, actions and the reality that we create.
So “whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right.” (Henry Ford).
