What are the benefits of a growth mindset? How can a positive outlook on life improve your mental health and career?
David Emerald asserts that a growth mindset allows you to begin moving toward your long-term vision, one small, proactive step at a time. He lists four benefits that you’ll receive from adopting a visionary mindset instead of a helpless one: improved mental health, improved relationships, improved outcomes, and even improved fortunes.
Keep reading to discover more about several growth mindset benefits you can experience today.
Benefit 1: Improved Mental Health
According to Emerald, one growth mindset benefit is that it often leads to a happier and more satisfied life overall. As people grow and overcome challenges, they develop a more hopeful outlook on life. This newfound positivity, he suggests, can fuel further personal development and life satisfaction. Furthermore, you’ll be free of the negative, self-reinforcing cycle of helplessness that leads to stress, worry, and fear.
(Shortform note: According to some psychologists, adopting a visionary mindset can improve your mental health because it can transform your sense of self-efficacy. Broadly speaking, self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to control their life and the events that affect it. As you adopt a visionary mindset, your self-efficacy will improve because you’ll understand that you’re capable of changing your life. Research has linked self-efficacy to higher levels of self-esteem, more life satisfaction, higher performance in academic and work settings, and greater resilience in the face of adversity.)
Benefit 2: Improved Relationships
Emerald contends that not viewing everyone as either an oppressor or savior will open you up to more authentic relationships with people. By maintaining autonomy in your life, you’re free to connect to others and learn from them without living in fear of the problems they’ll cause you or living in the false hope that they’ll make your problems go away. This will lead to deeper and more rewarding connections with the people in your life.
(Shortform note: Research supports the connection between personal autonomy and flourishing relationships. Studies have found that those who have a high sense of personal autonomy and independence have a higher rate of relationship satisfaction overall. They’re more likely to work together with their partners on coping with stress, and are even more forgiving of partner transgressions.)
Benefit 3: Improved Life Outcomes
Emerald asserts that a visionary mindset also leads to improved outcomes in life. This happens for two reasons.
- As you take small, proactive steps toward your vision of the life you want, your life will gradually move closer to this vision.
- As you respond to challenges and difficulties in life with a sense of agency and autonomy, you’ll find better solutions to these difficulties than you would if you were simply reacting to your feelings of worry and fear.
For example, let’s say you’re moving to a new house. If you react primarily to your feelings of being overwhelmed, you might panic and start stuffing things in boxes to give yourself a feeling of progress, or just procrastinate to avoid your feelings altogether. However, with a stronger sense of personal agency and belief in your capabilities, you’ll recognize the overwhelming feelings without giving into them, and sit down to create a plan.
| Developing a Growth Mindset When taking proactive steps and responding to challenges and difficulties with agency, you may also benefit from working to develop what Carol S. Dweck calls a “growth mindset.” In her book, Mindset, Dweck draws a clear contrast between two different outlooks. A “fixed mindset” holds that achievement is the result of innate talents and abilities, while a “growth mindset” views achievement as the result of hard work and perseverance. Researchers found that those with a “growth mindset” were able to outperform those with a “fixed mindset” in academic achievement, primarily by persevering in the face of obstacles and setbacks. As you work on your growth mindset and realize the power to change your capacities, you too can find greater resilience to persevere in the face of obstacles, just like those in the studies Dweck cites. This will empower you to continue making gradual steps toward your vision and improve your life. |
Benefit 4: Improved Fortunes
Emerald suggests that adopting a visionary mindset can also lead to seemingly fortuitous events that support your goals. He describes this phenomenon as a natural outcome of aligning yourself with creative principles. For example, consider a college student who envisions a career in marine conservation. After adopting this visionary mindset, they stumble upon a flier for a guest lecture by a renowned oceanographer. Attending the lecture leads to a chance conversation, resulting in an internship opportunity that becomes a stepping stone to their dream career.
(Shortform note: In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy argues that your habitual mindset can create your life experiences, because your subconscious is directly connected to a higher power. He writes that your daily thoughts gradually shape your unconscious mind, and then your unconscious mind, through its connection to this higher power, guides you, via intuition, toward experiences that match your habitual thoughts.)
