No matter where you are in your career or what you’ve achieved, we all face problems. Some are personal while others are professional. What we learn from those problems is often more important than the solution itself. Those lessons are even more valuable when paired with a growth mindset. In other words, focusing on the journey, rather than the destination, can help apply what you’ve learned as you learn how to cultivate resilience in the midst of challenges.
Here are my top five tips to help you cultivate resilience with a growth mindset.
Listen through the blurriness
Societal problems, a stock market that can’t seem to make up its mind, personal concerns, housing costs…the list goes on and on with problems and challenges that are plaguing us right now.
It can seem overwhelming when you think about it. So don’t. Don’t let those outside factors blur the inner voice telling you that “You can do this!” The louder the outside influences get, mentally turn the volume up on that inner voice. That can help you cultivate resilience when all seems frustrating or even hopeless.
Recognize where you fit in
In some cases, the situations you face are a part of a team-based challenge. Perhaps your company is in the process of an M&A with another firm and your department has been tasked with helping new team members acclimate to yours.
When I say “recognize where you fit in,” it’s not about culture or relationships. Rather, it’s about you personally recognizing your inherent value and how you can help with the current crisis. Then apply that same growth mindset as you work through the challenges, knowing that in the end, this process will help further your skill sets.
Learn to look for opportunities through challenges
Perhaps one of the strongest things you can do for yourself is to develop a growth-based mindset to continually look for opportunities. Let’s continue the M&A example from the last tip. It’s likely that one or two of the new team members won’t mesh as well with your team.
Should you shy away from the challenge of helping them adapt to their new normal? Of course not. This is a perfect opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to your group. It’s also an excellent way to foster growth through this unique situation. Your end goal is for the team to act as a cohesive unit. Along the way, each person (including the new team members, your existing employees, and yourself) will learn something about themselves as well as each other. By embracing this challenge, you were given yet another way to foster a growth mindset.
Recognize that imperfection is not a bad thing
Rewind to your first day on the job at your very first “career position.” How much have you learned along the way since that moment? How much better are you today in your field than when you began?
The mistakes you made yesterday or the challenges you face today will help you become a better version of yourself tomorrow. Imperfections are okay, and no one can be the expert on everything all the time.
Develop a journey-focused attitude
The final tip to propel you towards a growth mindset is to view it through the lens of “I’m on a journey. I’m not where I want to be, but I’ll get there.”
The things you learn along the way are often more valuable than the final result. Those lessons help grow and shape you into a successful leader. Without them, however, the tapestry is incomplete so to speak. It’s what you bring with you from the journey that fills in the gaps.
Personal coaching can also help you maintain a growth mindset
Human nature, when confronted with what seems like an overwhelming problem, is sometimes to run away from it. Reframing negatives, whether they’re interpersonal problems or individual challenges, are the perfect opportunity to apply a growth mindset.
Each of these tips can help you see past the clutter by recognizing what is causing the problem, how you can help fix it and give yourself a fresh view of the situation at hand. Facing your problems and realizing that you’ll grow through them will help you more than you might realize.
I want to help you develop this growth mindset. That’s my passion and why I’ve chosen this career path: to guide others through their profession and help them overcome the challenges they face. If you’d like to dive deeper into developing a growth mindset, schedule a time to chat here.
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