Who doesn’t want to be successful in their career? As written in the post by Travis Bradberry on Forbes, your success doesn’t just depend on your degree, knowledge and level of intelligence. According to a study conducted by Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, your success and achievements depend more on your mindset than your IQ.
According to Dweck’s findings, one’s attitude can be classified into one of two mindsets – fixed or growth. People with a fixed mindset understand very well who they are and how much they can handle. Their way of thinking makes it difficult to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Contrary to the previous group, people with a growth mindset look at challenges more passionately and don’t stop when it’s too hard. They believe in themselves and know that anything can be achieved if they don’t stop trying. This is the reason why people with a lower IQ and a growth mindset can surpass those with a high IQ and fixed mindset. It means that success depends on how you perceive challenges and deal with obstacles.
See below tips recommended by Bradberry that will make you more productive, motivated, and will bring you closer to your accomplishments:
- Don’t be afraid to fail. Learn from your mistakes instead. “There are countless successful people who would have never made it if they had succumbed to feelings of helplessness: Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star because he ‘lacked imagination and had no good ideas,’ Oprah Winfrey was fired from her job as a TV anchor in Baltimore for being ‘too emotionally invested in her stories,’ Henry Ford had two failed car companies prior to succeeding with Ford, and Steven Spielberg was rejected by USC’s Cinematic Arts School multiple times,”says Bradberry.
- Stay passionate in what you’re doing. Focus on your true passions and exclude the distractions, otherwise you might quickly lose track and not succeed at anything.
- Don’t be afraid to take action. People with a growth mindset know there isn’t a perfect moment to take action. Do it now! Taking action will transfer your doubts and fear to “fall” into positive energy.
- Do more than needed to reach your goal. To become successful requires constant development. An average performance will only create stagnation.
- Always expect results! People with a growth mindset know that sometimes they will fail, but they still continue to expect good results (and this motivates a lot).
- Be as flexible as needed to succeed.
- Stop complaining when things get tough.
To become successful, you must be confident and perceive every difficulty as a lesson from which you can learn. Failure is just another motivator that makes you try harder.
The original post “Why Attitude Is More Important Than IQ” was published on Forbes, January 19, 2016 (written by Dr. Travis Bradberry)