Get Unstuck by Mastering Your Mindset

Do you feel stuck? Uninspired? 

Does the word “change” bring up feelings of exhaustion and defeat? 

If you’re raising your hand, you may be caught in a Fixed Mindset. 

What’s a Fixed Mindset? 

According to research by Carol Dweck, Ph.D., a Fixed Mindset is a mental state created by the core belief that skills and intelligence are fixed and have little potential to change. 

I doubt anyone wants to be stuck in a Fixed Mindset. 

Especially when you understand the alternative—a Growth Mindset, which is created by the core belief that skills and intelligence can always improve with personal development and hard work. 

The Growth Mindset sounds more effective, right? But getting there doesn’t happen without some intentionality. 

Whether you want to achieve new goals at work, start your own business, or land a better job, I’m guessing you want to believe your life and career can improve. If anything, just reading this blog proves your willingness to try.

First, you have to uncover your current mindset. You can’t change unless you have an honest picture of the starting point. 

So, to start, let’s discover the state of your mindset today—this quick and easy quiz (also based on the work of Carol Dweck, Ph.D.) will score your current mindset.  

Your score will place you in one of four mindsets:

1. Strong Growth (22-30)
2. Growth with some Fixed Ideas (17-21)
3. Fixed with some Growth Ideas (11-16)
4. Strong Fixed (0-10) 

This is your starting point. 

If you’re in the Strong Fixed category, you are so welcome here. No one is immune to this mindset, or the difficult circumstances life throws at us. Please keep reading. I promise you can move your mindset from Fixed to Growth. You can achieve more than you ever thought possible. 

If you’re in the Strong Growth category, continue reading for tips to strengthen this mindset and not fall into harmful habits. 

Regardless of your starting point, these tips and resources will help you master your mindset to feel more confident, energized, open-minded, and ready to grow.  

Four Steps to Mastering Your Mindset

1. Start Journaling
   
   Did you know daily journaling promotes long-term health benefits like improving immune function and reducing stress?
   
   And beyond the health benefits, writing your thoughts brings awareness to the mindset fueling your thoughts, emotions, and behavior. 

Journaling is my secret weapon as a coach, leader, and entrepreneur. 

Complete this quick exercise to gain awareness of your mindset today:

• Set a timer for 10 minutes and write everything that comes to mind.
• Start writing. You can use any type of paper, including the Connections page of The Strengths Journal™, but writing is far more effective than typing for this exercise.
• Once the time is up, reflect on what you wrote. What do your thoughts reveal about your mindset? Which negative thoughts are most prominent? 

Continue journaling daily to gain insight into your thought life. The Strengths Journal™ can guide you with strengths-based prompts, an area for planning, and open pages for reflection.

Gaining insight into your thoughts is the first step to changing them. 

Replace Negative Thoughts

We make growth so much harder than it needs to be by avoiding our negative thoughts. Because by avoiding them, we let them fester. 

But once you’re aware of these thoughts (cue the necessity of journaling!), you can choose to intentionally fill your mind with positive reinforcement.

Rather than just trying to “get rid” of the negative thoughts keeping you stuck, it’s far more effective to replace them with encouraging mantras instead.

These mantras can be as simple as, “I am capable and strong.”

You can also pull inspiration from your CliftonStrengths® report (an assessment that measures your innate talents, providing insight into your top strengths; get yours here!). Pull keywords or phrases from your Top 5 that describe your innate talents. 

Write 1-3 mantras. Journal these mantras. Tape them to your mirror. Repeat them out loud at least three times daily. This process will create new neural pathways for your automatic thoughts, shifting your mindset from Fixed to Growth.  

Download one of our FREE mobile wallpapers with mantras to help get you started!

• Wallpaper 1: Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations 
• Wallpaper 2: Only I can change my life; no one else can do it for me
• Wallpaper 3: I didn’t come this far to only come this far
• Wallpaper 4: Don’t go through life, GROW through life

• Stop the Shame Cycle  

Brené Brown said, 

“Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.”

The worst thing we can do when we fail is shame ourselves into change or improvement. Our brains don’t respond well to beat downs! This cycle of shaming ourselves any time we face setbacks only solidifies a Fixed Mindset.

What should you do instead?

STOP the shame cycle by inviting trusted people into the story you’re telling yourself.

The next time you fail or face a setback, call a trusted colleague, friend, or coach and say…

“____ just happened. And this is the story I’m telling myself about it. Would you be willing to offer your perspective?”

Odds are the other person will relate deeply to the shame story you’re telling yourself. And they will also empathetically remind you that you are an imperfect human (just like the rest of us) trying your best. Perfection is an unachievable goal.

Learning to embrace setbacks as part of your story, rather than view them as shameful failures, trains your brain to process more broadly, promoting a Growth Mindset.

Offer yourself empathy rather than shame to strengthen your Growth Mindset.

• Dare to Dream Again
  
  Daring to dream of a better future for yourself provides positive thoughts and encourages goal setting. It also requires a healthy dose of courage!
  
  Dreaming is risky business because there’s always the fear of failure. But if we stop dreaming, we lose passion and purpose.
  
  And nothing promotes a Growth Mindset more than being rooted in your purpose.
  
  While discovering your purpose may sound daunting, there are tangible strategies to uncovering it. If you’re ready to discover yours, we can walk you through each step of the way (and provide feedback!) through one of our 1:1 coaching packages. In coaching sessions,  you’ll dive into your unique CliftonStrengths® and core values to define your personal mission statement. You can set up a free discovery call here; I’ll pair you with the best coach for you.
  
  The truth is—we need you to dream.
  
  Your top CliftonStrengths® are 1 in 33 million. No one can live out your unique purpose but you.
  
  

Your mindset is your choice. 

Regardless of the setbacks you’ve faced, you can decide today to pursue a Growth Mindset. You’ll be amazed at how improving your mindset will transform your life.

Start journaling, replace negative thoughts, stop the shame cycle, and dare to dream again. 

With a growth mindset, anything is possible. Which first step will you take today?

Resources for Mastering Your Mindset

• Start using The Strengths Journal™
• Work 1:1 with a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach
• Listen to our FREE podcast, Dominate Your Day! 
• Join our e-mail list to receive FREE Monday Motivation each week