Mindset is an important indicator of your likelihood of success in an endeavor. It can make all the difference between success and failure. There are only two basic mindsets: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.

A growth mindset is the preferred mindset for most purposes. You’ve probably heard about it and its characteristics many times. But what about its counterpart, the fixed mindset? Do you understand what it is and the ways it's different from a growth mindset?

One of the primary characteristics of a fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence and moral character are static. These things are fixed by genetics and can’t change or be developed with effort. A person is either smart or not; someone has a good moral character or not.

People with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges and give up on things easily if they don’t come naturally. After all, if you can’t learn to be better, why bother? Another characteristic of a fixed...

Overcoming limiting beliefs is difficult and requires a lot of work and dedication. When your spirits lag and it seems like you’ll never get there, it can feel hopeless and make you want to give up. What you need to do instead is find a way to raise your spirits and give yourself a boost to keep going. Affirmations are great for this. Not only that, but used regularly, they can help you get rid of your limiting beliefs altogether.

What is an Affirmation?

An affirmation is a short, positive statement you use to talk to both your conscious and unconscious mind. They’re powerful sentences that can change your mood and help rewire your brain. They’ve been shown to help with everything from lifting self-esteem to reducing limiting beliefs. An affirmation can simply be thought, or it can be spoken, written, or typed.

How Do You Use Affirmations?

You can use affirmations to reduce your limiting beliefs in two ways. First, as a boost to your lagging...

A complete list of limiting beliefs would be endless because there are an infinite number of them. While some might be uncommon, others occur in many people across time and space and in any number of cultures. This is a list of five more of the most common limiting beliefs.

1.) I’m not good enough to pursue my dreams.

     As with many limiting beliefs, fear is the emotion underlying this one. Usually, the person holding this belief thinks that only people who have extraordinary abilities or talents can succeed in whatever the dream is and that ordinary people are shut out. Naturally, this isn’t normally true, with important exceptions such as the astronaut corps.

2.) It’s impossible to get what you want out of life.

     The consequence of this limiting belief is that the holders often get nothing from life and spend much of their lives miserable and dreaming about the “what if.” Major depression is...

You’ve recognized that you have limiting beliefs and decided to overcome them. You’ve identified your limiting beliefs. What now? The next step is to reframe your limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs. You don’t have to work on all of your limiting beliefs at once; if you have identified several, it’s better to start with only one or a handful of them. Select one or more before you move on.

The Framing of Limiting Beliefs

Limiting beliefs can be identified by their framing, that is, how the belief statement is constructed. The sentence structure tells you what type of belief it is. All limiting beliefs start with something like the following:

“I can’t…”

“I don’t…”

“I could never…”

“I’m not…”

“It’s always been this way.”

These statements are disempowering; they take away your agency and make it seem like things can’t be changed or...

Are you worried you have a fixed mindset? Would you rather have a growth mindset? Don’t worry -mindsets aren’t static! You’re not limited to whatever your mindset currently is. If you don’t have a growth mindset already, you can cultivate one. The process is simple, but it requires hard work and dedication. Here are the things you need to work on to change your mindset.

Embrace Imperfection

You don’t have to be perfect or even good at something when you first begin. Do you know it’s normal to be bad at things the first time you try them? A fixed mindset says that you must be naturally good from the outset or whatever it is isn’t for you. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Most talents are obtained through dedication and practice. It takes 1,000 hours of practice to truly master a skill. If you’re not good at something to start with, don’t give up. Embrace the fact that you’re learning and continue trying.

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