Life over 60? Mantras for Happier Living: The Growth Mindset

A growth mindset ensures that you never stop learning. Here’s why we need to develop it.

When I started researching happiness many years back, I came across Carol Dweck’s findings on the theory of mindsets and their impact on our wellbeing. Carol is an academic and psychology researcher at Stanford. She says there are two types of mindsets, a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset.

If you have a fixed mindset, you believe that your abilities and your personal qualities (such as intelligence) are literally carved in stone. There is only so much you can do and nothing more. On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset, you believe that you can enhance and change your abilities and your personal qualities over a period of time. So literally, if you put your mind to it, there is nothing that you cannot do!

So how does this relate to wellbeing and happiness?

Your mindset has a great impact on how you behave and how you live your life. Let’s say you are a pessimist, with a fixed mindset. You will believe that there is no way you can change. However, with a growth mindset, you always believe that there is room for change, and it’s never too late to drive it. When you are a growth mindset person, you are constantly open to new experiences, new learnings, and forging new connections. All these three traits are researched, and the results prove that they enhance your happiness.

Why is a growth mindset important?

Let’s look at the positive emotions that we experience through learning or experiencing something new. Joy, Interest, Hope, Pride, Amusement, Inspiration, Awe – these are some of the happy emotions we experience with new learning. Let me ask you then, why would we not subscribe to a growth mindset that sets off these ‘happy chemicals’ through our body and mind?

The people with growth mindsets are ones that look at the journey and the process and the enjoyment of uncovering something new along the way, unlike fixed mindsets that only look at a goal and go straight for it, with their minds focused on the final achievement. The journey itself is not important and is often filled with stress and fear along the way of the possibility of non–achievement of the goal.

The Chinese book of the philosophy of Life by Lao Tse called the ‘Tao de Ching’ actually translates to “The Way!”

How does one develop a growth mindset?

1) Be open to new learning at all times. There is always something to learn from everybody and every situation! Gurus are not just human beings, they could be family, friends, books, talks, your relationships, and even difficult situations that you encounter!

2) Introspect regularly when the day is done. Run through the events in the day, bring your awareness to what went wrong and what you could have done differently and in a better way, and follow through with the change process.

3) Embrace changes willingly and with a positive mindset. We all know that ‘change’ is the only constant in life!

How has it worked for me?

Presently, my life is filled with many activities, all of which I love to do – be it reading, researching, painting, writing, sports, cooking, and more. I love the process and the learning. I’m always in awe at the variety and depth of knowledge that is freely available to us through technology today!

So never give up learning! And never believe for a moment that you don’t have the skill. Research shows that people who excel at any activity or knowledge – sportsmen, artists, researchers, and others, have spent more than 10,000 hours honing their skills, so don’t ever give up!

Also, make sure you surround yourself with your own Personal Learning Network (PLN). These could be family, friends, organizations, or groups that support your learning! Social interaction is as important as having a growth mindset if you want to be happy and live longer!

Let me end with this famous quote by Albert Einstein! It’s self-explanatory!

“Once you stop learning, you start dying.”