Why Believing You Can Improve Is So Powerful

What runs through your head when you approach a problem that needs solving? Do you think, “I am not smart enough to solve this”? Or do you think, “I have not solved this problem...yet”?

 Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking book, "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," explores how mindset — your view of yourself — impacts everything you do.

Dweck writes, there are two different mindsets: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.  If you have a fixed mindset, you believe your personality and intelligence are deep-seated traits. You think success is about being more gifted than others and no amount of effort will change that.  People with a fixed mindset strive to prove themselves correct over and over and they do not learn from their mistakes. They think, “I am not smart enough to solve this problem so why bother?” Dweck writes, for people with a fixed mindset, "Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?"

With a growth mindset, you view personality and intelligence as starting points for learning, not the result. You believe your essential qualities can be cultivated through effort. You are passionate about continued growth, especially when things aren’t going well. Someone with a growth mindset thinks, “I haven’t solved this problem...yet, and I will keep trying and learning.” In other words; if you believe you can improve, you will.

"Why waste time proving over and over how great you are,” Dweck writes, “when you could be getting better?”

Angela Duckworth, the author of "Grit," echoes Dweck. Duckworth writes it’s not talent that matters, but effort. It’s easier to explain jaw-dropping talent as a gift, rather than to see it as, “in fact, the aggregate of countless individual elements, each of which is, in a sense, ordinary.” You can see Dweck talk about the power of “not yet” (growth mindset) versus “I am not smart enough” (fixed mindset) in this TED talk.

Dweck also talks about how important it is to praise work ethic, not talent, with kids: "(W)e can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent. That has failed. Don’t do that anymore. However, praising the process that kids engage in: their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance, their improvement. This process praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient."

Your belief in a growth or fixed mindset will lead you to dramatically different thoughts and actions, taking you down two completely different roads. It’s a stark choice between passion for learning and a hunger for approval.

I have previously written about how the death of my 2-year-old daughter, Jenna, dramatically changed me. I re-created my life and discovered my humanity out the most profound pain I have ever known. In fact, I adopted a growth mindset. I began living my life with a new purpose using these 10 Steps to Success:

1. Stand up for yourself and declare, “The past does not equal the future.” Our past lives are gone in one second and we must create the future we want to step into in the present.
2. Stop looking at the destination and enjoy the present. “The journey is where the enjoyment is for life.”
3. Don’t drag the past into the present and live as a victim.
4. Remind yourself to always be present in the moment. This takes work.
5. Re-create your life at any time. Nothing should hold you back.
6. Pray for direction and forgiveness. With God, anything is possible.
7. Plant a seed and enjoy the growth. This requires action and then patience.
8. Enjoy the moments and treat them as precious, perhaps even sacred.
9. Look for signs, whispers, and impressions in your life and follow them as breadcrumbs for your path.
10. Surround yourself with good people who have high energy.

We have a saying at Becker Logistics: If nothing changes, nothing changes. As the leader and CEO, I am focused on making sure my management team knows and shares the company vision of operating with a growth mindset and are proactive about communicating that vision to their teams.

I recently took my executive team to a “Fearless Becker Retreat.” We discussed why being proactive is so vital to continued organic growth. We made plans to ensure communication, collaboration and cooperation across all levels of the company.

If you'd like to know more about Becker Logistics, check out our company website or message me. If working for a company like Becker sounds interesting to you, read more on our Careers page.