Having a strong growth mindset requires you to embody a delicate balance.
You must be confident in yourself, yet humble enough to know that you don’t know everything.
How does one maintain such a balance?
Let’s start here – here are 12 things people with a growth mindset never do.
1) Jeopardize their integrity
Growth means change. And change can make your life feel like a whirlwind.
What will keep you from being swept away by life is your integrity. Your morals and values and how well you stick to them!
Integrity can give your life a purpose and direction. Without this foundation, life will feel like you’re just going in circles.
But what if you don’t know what you care about in life yet?
Then contrary to what I just said, I recommend going in circles and observing how everything makes you feel and think.
See what alleviates the dizziness, get dizzy again, and repeat until you don’t need to.
2) Stay in a negative place
AKA, don’t stay somewhere that makes you feel dizzy.
Of course, you can’t live your life constantly blaming how you feel on your environment. But I’ve learned that doing so is actually a part of the process of not doing so!
As you experience the highs and lows of life, you’ll find that you can only control yourself.
Meaning, your goal isn’t to find an environment that makes you feel good all the time. But rather an environment that can facilitate your ability to control your thoughts and emotions.
People with a growth mindset understand the hidden nuances of their likes and dislikes.
They know that they are responsible for their inner world, but that they’re also responsible for matching it to their outer world.
Usually, this means you have to find an environment that encourages you to cultivate compassion, connect with like-minded people, and be creative.
An environment that inspires you.
3) Ignore their intuition
A lot of people talk about their intuition as a tool that helps them avoid danger.
We hear all the time how we should trust our intuition when it comes to people that give off “bad vibes.”
But more importantly, our intuition is actually a tool that helps us get closer to experiences that inspire us.
So this way, you start making decisions rooted in curiosity, rather than fear and avoidance.
It also means you understand the value of fear because it’s what differentiates survival mode from a state of thriving.
4) Regret being in survival mode
Or any “mode” where they knew less or felt less.
This is also one of those things that you have to do before you undo it.
It’s normal to feel shame or grief when you think about a time before you knew better. But people with a growth mindset don’t stay in that place.
They know that it’s just another place to outgrow. Another opportunity to feel their feelings and indulge in self-care to grow a deeper appreciation for themselves.
Because as the theme persists, they know they can’t stay in a negative mindset. And it’s those experiences that taught them how to feel a zest for life again.
It’s important to note that not everything in life is a lesson where you have to take responsibility for the things that happen to you.
Because we live on a flawed planet, with other flawed individuals, sometimes, it’s simply an opportunity to celebrate the fact that you made it out alive.
5) Compare themselves to others
There is a lot of pride to be felt in being on your own journey and trusting your own timing.
Because being who you are is what got you here.
And wanting to be someone else will only help you grow in a way that is harmful to you. It might not be harmful in an overt way, but it will make you feel lost.
Like you aren’t in control of your own desires, and like you lack a connection with yourself.
At the end of the day, it comes down to trusting that you know what’s best for you. After all, you are the one that stuck around and experienced all of your life, right?
It’s the least you can do to show your appreciation for everything you are, and know you’re right on track.
6) Talk down on others
When you have control over your thoughts and emotions, you become extremely self-aware. And you’re able to lead your life with compassion.
Because if you don’t talk down on yourself, why would you do that to another person?
People that have a strong drive for growth encourage others to grow as well.
And because they know what it takes to find your own answers, being around them can feel freeing, but also motivating.
Dare I say inspiring?
So you’ll never find them criticizing others or trying to make people feel ashamed of who they are.
They have the ability to call out bad behavior and stick up for themselves, but it’s always rooted in respect and love for humanity.
7) Play the blame game
Meaning they know the difference between an excuse and an explanation.
A lot of the times when people blame their environments for how they became who they are, it lacks depth.
There’s no desire to learn or understand why things happen the way they do.
But people with a growth mindset are inherently curious and want to get to the bottom of things.
So while they might use their environment or experiences as a part of their story, they reframe them as catalysts for how it helped them become a better person.
Especially if they’re far in their growth journeys, not playing the blame game will show in the way they deal with conflict.
They will seem detached, and less reactive. But their solutions and perspectives will never be hateful or bitter.
8) Stick with the practical
In a world that finds ease in the black-and-white way of thinking, being practical might seem like the thing to do.
But a growth mindset isn’t linear, or a dichotomy of better or worse.
It’s a process of finding your own truth and having a growing trust in yourself as proof.
That means you have to think outside of the box sometimes!
Which means you might be subjected to uncomfortable feelings more often than others. But what a lot of people don’t understand is that this duality is what makes you more innovative.
And in the long run, feel more comfortable within a world of chaos.
9) Devalue their resources
We can’t talk about growth without talking about creativity.
Because when you make a practice of thinking outside of the box, you simultaneously nurture an ability to see more possibilities.
People with a growth mindset know the value of hard work because they honor where they started. But they also honor new ways of being.
Meaning they’re the type to work smarter not harder.
This means that they’re able to maximize their talents, resources and time wisely in a way that benefits their uniqueness.
Especially because they’ve witnessed the greatest transformation that is themselves, they know that anything is possible.
That it isn’t delusional to be optimistic or expect miracles!
10) Give up on themselves
Because not expecting miracles doesn’t change the outcome at all. If anything, it just makes you become more pessimistic over time.
When people don’t give up on themselves, that means they don’t allow external factors to determine their worthiness.
They just take it as a sign that they should go back to the drawing board and try something new. A left turn, not a U-turn.
In a world full of possibilities, there’s no room for taking rejections personally. Which is easier said than done.
But again, it just comes down to being able to identify fear and keep it from influencing your next moves.
11) Expect hand-outs
Not to be confused with accepting a helping hand – which is a good thing.
In fact, people that expect hand-outs tend to not reach out for help at all!
Instead, they stay in a state of indecision. Allowing their circumstances to dictate their life.
This can be rooted in a fear of failure and can haunt you at any point in your growth journey. Because no one is exempt from failure.
It’s actually what challenges us!
Without the presence of failure, fear stays hidden. And when fear stays hidden, we can’t overcome it.
So people with a growth mindset are able to create their own opportunities. Which isn’t something they need to do on their own.
12) Isolate themselves
The greatest misconception about having a growth mindset is that you need to be more alone than not.
But the truth is that you can be yourself, think for yourself, and be responsible for yourself, all in the presence of others.
In fact, being an expert on yourself should help you connect with the right people. Remember the dizzy rule.
Because sometimes, the best opportunities are those created with others.
And sometimes, you don’t even realize that the vision you had in your mind was just a piece of a bigger puzzle.
Sure, you can train yourself to stay laser-focused and eliminate all distractions from your life.
But that kind of mindset will only help you grow everything around you, but yourself.
Remember to grow that person too.
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