Fixed vs. Growth: How to fine-tune the internal monologue that scores every aspect of our lives.

You are what you eat, right? Wrong. You are what you THINK! “If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve,” Debbie Millman counseled in one of the best commencement speeches ever given, urging: “Do what you love, and don’t stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities…”

This might seem a little too simple and straightforward to be meaningful, however, in her new work Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck proves otherwise. Dr. Dweck has looked at the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, and how changing even the simplest of them can have profound impact on nearly every aspect of our lives. One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves, Dweck found in her research, has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality, which can be a mindset either "fixed" or "growth" oriented. A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way. A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. From these two mindsets, which form very early on, comes much of who we are. Read this excellent article at brainpickings.org to learn more about why having a "growth mindset" is more beneficial and can help you become the person you want to be, and accomplish the things you value.