Why Having a 'Learning Mindset' Is Key To Our Wellbeing and Success. - The Good Men Project

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Whether we like it to accept it or not, life is often the result of the story we tell ourselves as it’s the narrative inside our mind that impacts the way we see everything inside and around us.

For this reason alone, practicing a positive outlook is a key skill we must develop if we want to decrease our stress levels and increase the quality of our lives. In fact, according to science, having a positive outlook is considered one of the four most important aspects to cultivate if we want to experience greater well-being and fulfillment.

We might be experiencing a sense of uncertainty for what’s happening in the world right now and while that is understandable, it’s not the most useful approach to take. Our brain is designed to reinforce its internal belief system based on the food we feed it (our thoughts in this case), thus the more negativity and blame we channel inside our mind, the more it believes it’s the right way to think. What does this mean? Practicing mindfulness and self-awareness is key if we want to change the way we think!

One of the most powerful approaches we can take to shift the way we look at our daily life is what Carol Dweck calls a growth mindset. In her book, Dweck talks about the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset, as the name suggests, believes that his talents are fixed, that he cannot grow further, and that receiving feedback is a sign of weakness.

A person with a growth mindset, on the other hand, looks at every event whether positive or negative as an opportunity for further improvement. She is someone who embraces challenges, persists in the face of setbacks, and learns from criticism. What I have experienced first-hand is that to develop this positive and expansive mindset, a great dose of self-compassion is needed.

Our life might not always go how we intend it but in many ways that is the beauty of it as growth happens at the end of our comfort zone. While it might feel uncomfortable at times, if we learn to forgive ourselves and have more compassion for us and others, we waste less mental energy on negative thoughts while strengthening our resilience and proactivity.

After all, no one judges us more than we judge ourselves and so when we move on from our limiting beliefs and transform our perceived misfortune into an opportunity for learning, our whole-body chemistry changes.

As Nelson Mandela said, “I never lose, I either win or learn”.

We live in a world of constant evolution were to stay relevant we need to evolve with it. While learning about our inner world is fundamental if we want to understand how to live more fully, learning new subjects and skills is also tremendously critical for our self-actualization. This is not only key for our professional development but for our brain health too!

Each time we learn something new and practice it, our brain will either change the structure of its neurons or increase the number of connections allowing them to send and receive information faster. Neurons that continue to activate one another in this way strengthen their connections improving our neuroplasticity and stopping our brain from aging.

When it comes to learning, I believe there are two aspects we must focus on if we want to optimize the quality of our experience. The first one is to focus on having a multidisciplinary learning approach, in simple words learning disciplines from different fields. This is a great way to create new connections in our brain, expand our creativity and lateral thinking abilities.

Furthermore, It’s being shown that knowing or focusing so much on one domain only can make it more difficult to embrace or create new ideas, adapt or find solutions to a problem in that field. In an ever more complex world full of learning possibilities, let your mind wonder!

The second aspect to focus on is to make learning a social activity. Studies show that almost 90% of our learning happens with others, what a perfect excuse to create cross opportunities for learning! As one of the most effective ways to retain valuable information is through repetition and emotional engagement, peer to peer coaching can represent a true win-win. Why? It enables us to cement what we know, help others, and get something back in return. The more diverse we learn, the more we gain, and the more we gain, the more we can give; and when do so, we are taking a powerful step towards expanding the world of our possibilities.

Previously published here and reprinted with the author’s permission.