How having a growth mindset can make you more successful

Why the “learn-it-all” will do better than the “know-it-all”

Are you the type of person who believes that the unique and limited skills that we are each born with are the ones that we are stuck with forever with little to no room for growth?  Or do you think that over time, we can all become skilled in a variety of areas if we are willing to put in the effort?  Hopefully you see that we all have the ability to learn new things and grow as individuals.  If not, then adopting a growth mindset may be beneficial.

“If you take two kids at school, one of them has more innate capability but is a know-it-all. The other person has less innate capability but is a learn-it-all. The learn-it-all does better than the know-it-all.”  When we change our mindsets and look at ourselves as students rather than adults who are already experts in our fields and do not need to learn anything else, we can expand our minds and be open to new and exciting things.  CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, is a firm believer in adopting the growth mindset and encouraging employees to do the same.  By encouraging employees to think as students, he changed the company culture and led to major growth in the organization.

This idea of a growth mindset is nothing new and has been the subject of many studies.  Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychology professor, says that the more open we are to taking on new challenges, the more active our minds become.  On the other hand, when we refuse to try new things, our minds are very inactive. 

This concept of being a learn-it-all, therefore, means that we are ready to take on new challenges and act as students.  When we take on this perspective, we challenge ourselves in our personal lives as well as in our careers and we can adopt new skills no matter what age or stage we are at in life.

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