Mindset - a barrier between where you are now & where you want to be

Words by Craig Hankridge

Where to begin?

There is a MASSIVE amount of great content when it comes to mindset, so today will be a starting point, a way to dip our toe in the proverbial ocean of knowledge.

Mindset is all about perception, how we perceive and interact with our world. It affects our decisions, our mood, how we are perceived by others and ultimately how much fulfilment we get out of life.

Here an efficient crash course to get you started.

Growth vs fixed mindset

This is where most of the research sits. What is your default approach to any given situation? A growth mindset tends to be more flexible, open to the new and changing often a focus on lifelong development. They see the value in learning from failure. Meanwhile, a fixed mindset dislikes change, tend to believe in pre-determined abilities that cannot be developed, they tend to dislike challenges and any kind of feedback.

Put simply, it’s this:

Growth mindset

  • failure is an opportunity to grow

  • inspired by new things

  • believes in the power of learning

  • see’s their own ability as something that can be moulded and shaped with effort and attitude

  • inspired by other’s success

  • embraces and learns from feedback

Fixed mindset

  • polarising viewpoints - either good at something or not, with limited ability for growth

  • feedback is always personal or something to be ignored as their way is best

  • new things are intimidating and unattractive

  • abilities are un-changing and exist from birth

  • intimidated by the success of others

Now there is no right or wrong. We are all different for a reason and as individuals we bring a range of qualities to any given situation.

However, having an awareness of your mindset, your beliefs are how these may be limiting or enabling your progression through life is important.

When we look at a career in health there are critical aspects that help to set us up to do our best each and every day.

By focusing on a GROWTH mindset we can:

  • Look at patient set backs as opportunities to find what WILL work rather than focus on what hasn’t so far

  • We can succeed in combination with other modalities as a team focused on the patients best interests, rather than trying to do everything ourselves

  • Focus on continued professional and personal development to maximise ourselves and our patient results rather than just relying on what University taught us 1, 2, 5 or 20 years ago

  • Embrace colleague or patient feedback as an opportunity for positive change, rather than an attack on who we are as a person

Take home points:

1) Step back and find out what your default mindset is, if you’re not happy with it, change it (as hard as that may seem)

2) Think of mindset as a lens that you view the world through, if we can choose it, why not choose a more positive one?

3) Re-think feedback, is it an attack or an opportunity to crush it next time?

Interested in maximising your skills? We can help! Check out our tailored programs that take practitioners from good to world-class.

https://www.dayoneco.org/day-one-book-your-session/

Craig Hankridge