As a freshman in college the author went through a very low phase. The college was new, she was away from home for the first time, and she was lonely, without friends or family. With great difficulty she completed her first year and felt like she could not cope or continue anymore! She finally decided to seek help and met her college counsellor for advice.
The psychologist asked a few questions:
Are you going to classes?
“Yes”, replied the author
Are you keeping up with your reading?
“Yes”, replied the author
Are you doing okay in your exams?
Once again, the answer was in the affirmative.
The psychologist concluded, “Well, then you are not depressed.”
It did not mean that the author was not depressed, she was depressed and yet she was more determined than she was depressed. She was coping the way people in the growth mindset tend to cope – with determination.
She continues, “When people believe in fixed traits, they are always in danger of being measured by a failure. It can define them in a permanent way. This fixed mindset seems to rob them of their coping resources.”
When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failure may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if the abilities can be expanded, if change and growth are possible, then there are still many paths to success.
We can train ourselves to develop a growth mindset. The worse the person felt, the more motivated they became and the more they confronted the problems that faced them, with determination and courage.
The growth mindset keeps you on the road of self-improvement, and continuous self-development. The phrases like, it is not over till I say it is over, or Impossible says I am possible must have been coined by people with the growth mindset!
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