How to Actually Shift Your Growth Mindset (Not Just Talk About It)
Four research-backed strategies to improve your growth mindset
I spent hours reading everything Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth have written about grit and growth mindset. Not just out of curiosity, but because a CEO I coach asked me a question I couldn’t answer: “How do I actually shift my mindset?”
She was struggling with feeling like an imposter in her role. The voice in her head kept saying, “You’re not good enough for this. You don’t have the story, you aren’t a founder.” She knew it was fixed mindset thinking. Knowing didn’t help.
Turns out, there’s a gap between understanding growth mindset and actually changing your mindset. So I compiled all the research into actionable strategies. Here’s what I found.
First, A Quick Refresher on Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford, popularized the concept of growth mindset in her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. She defines two core mindsets:
Fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence and talent are innate and unchangeable. This shows up as labels: “I’m not a math person.” “She’s a natural leader.” “I’m just not technical.” When you have a fixed mindset, you avoid challenges because failure would cement your lack of ability. Natural talent alone should be enough to reach the top.
Growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and talent can be nurtured through effort. Challenges and failures become learning experiences rather than judgments of who you are. Hard work yields improvement. Failing equals learning. Even the best people have to work hard to get to the top.
Many of us know these terms already. The question is: what do you actually do to shift from one to the other?
Strategy #1: Identify Your Fixed Mindset Triggers
The first step is spotting your own triggers, because you can’t change what you don’t notice.
Common triggers include:
Having to work hard - feeling discouraged when something requires significant effort. If it were meant to be, it would be easier, right?
Facing setbacks - an external factor derails your success. Bad timing, an oversight, circumstances beyond your control.
Getting negative feedback - receiving criticism that feels like a judgment on your abilities rather than your work.
Being challenged - having to do something outside your comfort zone that you’re not immediately good at.
Seeing others’ success - watching someone else excel in an area where you struggle.
For me, the trigger was physical activity. Every time I tried something athletic, that voice would kick in: “This isn’t for you. Everyone is so much better at this. You’re not built for this.” For my client, it was telling the external story. The moment the conversation shifted to brand and evangelism, her fixed mindset voice would start running.
Take a moment to identify your triggers. What situations consistently make you feel like your abilities are fixed? When do you catch yourself thinking “I’m just not a [blank] person”?
Strategy #2: Respond to Your Fixed Mindset Voice with Your Growth Mindset Voice
Once you can spot the fixed mindset voice, you can start talking back to it. This isn’t about positive affirmations or forcing fake optimism. It’s about having a more accurate, evidence-based conversation with yourself.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Fixed mindset: “You can’t do this. You’re just not talented enough.”
Growth mindset: “I believe I can master this with practice.”
Fixed mindset: “What if you fail? You will fail if you attempt this.”
Growth mindset: “Most successful people fail along the way.”
Fixed mindset: “If you had the talent, this would be easy.”
Growth mindset: “That’s not correct. Elite athletes put in countless hours of practice to hone their skills.”
Fixed mindset: “My proposal was rejected. I was judged to be a failure. I am a failure.”
Growth mindset: “It’s their job to find every possible flaw. My job is to learn from the critique and make the proposal even better.”
The key is to catch yourself in the moment. When I started running, my fixed mindset voice was loud: “You’re too slow. Everyone is passing you. This is embarrassing.” I would catch it, and apply my growth mindset response: “I ran three miles today. That’s three miles more than I ran last year.” As the miles mounted, it became easier to believe because I had hard evidence of my transformation.
Strategy #3: The “Not Yet” Technique
This is my favorite reframing tool because it’s so simple. Add “not yet” to any fixed mindset statement.
“I’m not good at public speaking” becomes “I’m not good at public speaking yet.”
“I don’t understand how to read a P&L” becomes “I don’t understand how to read a P&L yet.”
“I can’t build strong relationships with my board” becomes “I can’t build strong relationships with my board yet.”
Adding “not yet” changes everything, because it reframes it from a permanent state to a temporary one. There’s a possibility for change.
The key to improving is to deliberately operate just outside your comfort zone, where you’re not quite as confident in your abilities. Find opportunities that are a stretch and practice them.
For example, mine was: “I’m going to challenge myself to write a series of essays on Substack.” Not because I’m naturally confident, but because I’m not confident yet and this is how I get there.
Strategy #4: Journal to Change Your Perspectives
Reflection is where mindset shifts actually happen. It’s easy to stay stuck in old patterns if you never pause to examine them. Try blocking time weekly and daily for specific reflection prompts.
Four weekly planning questions:
What am I struggling with right now?
What do I want to learn by the end of this week?
What is one thing I will try that will get me out of my comfort zone?
Who can I reach out to for help this week?
And then daily, keep it simple:
What did I do today that made me think hard?
What new strategies did I try?
What mistake did I make that taught me something?
These questions celebrate action over attributes. They force you to actively look for learning opportunities. And they reframe criticism and mistakes as gifts rather than judgments.
One of my clients tried this and realized he was spending too much time in his comfort zone. Noticing it was enough to push him to stretch into an unfamiliar and less comfortable project.
Putting It Into Practice: Real Dilemmas
Theory is helpful, but let’s look at how this plays out in real situations. Here are some common dilemmas and how growth mindset would approach them differently:
Dilemma #1: You’re passed over for a promotion
Fixed mindset response: The company doesn’t value my contributions. I’m unworthy. I’m not leadership material.
Growth mindset response: My goal is to get promoted. What did I learn from this experience and how can I achieve it next time?
I can ask for specific feedback on what I need to develop.
What else can I spend my time learning and working on since I’m well-versed in my current role?
The key difference? The growth mindset doesn’t torture you with labels about who you are. It focuses on what you can do and learn.
Dilemma #2: You’re a first-time parent feeling overwhelmed
Fixed mindset response: Good parents are naturally nurturing. I’m failing at this. Other parents seem to have it figured out and I don’t.
Growth mindset response: Parenting is a huge learning curve that takes adjustment.
I can spend time with experienced parents, ask questions, and learn from their stories
I can read about child development to understand what’s normal.
I can be patient with myself as I develop these skills. Every parent went through this learning process.
Dilemma #3: You’re an engineer presenting to the company all-hands
Fixed mindset response: I’m a technical person, not a presenter. Public speaking isn’t my strength.
Growth mindset response: Switching from writing code to presenting is a skill that can be developed.
I can watch talks from engineers I admire and study what makes them effective.
I can practice my talk with colleagues and get feedback.
I can work with someone who’s good at presentations to understand their process. This is an opportunity to develop a skill that will help my career.
Dilemma #4: Your startup pivots and your original role becomes less central
Fixed mindset response: I’m a founder but my experience isn’t relevant anymore. We aren’t the right team to tackle this problem. The company values me less.
Growth mindset response: I don’t have the core skills for this new idea, yet. But not many people do. I can work hard to understand the new market and direction and find ways to contribute. What new skills do I need to be valuable in this next phase?
The pattern across all of these? Growth mindset moves away from judgments and labels toward understanding and skill development. It focuses on what you can control and the actions you can take.
Making It Stick: Create a Concrete Plan
The final piece which I’ve learned from this: awareness isn’t enough. You need a concrete plan.
Every day, people have good intentions about growth mindset, but they don’t actually do it. “I’m going to run more” is a losing proposition. Instead, try “I’m going to put out my shoes and run first thing on Monday and Thursday”. Be specific about when, where, and how you’ll practice these strategies.
For example: “On Wednesday morning, after I get up and brush my teeth, I’ll spend 10 minutes journaling on the three daily questions.”
Or: “When I’m in Friday’s leadership meeting and feel intimidated about speaking up, I’ll remind myself ‘I’m not confident in these settings yet, but this is how I practice.’”
Or: “Next time I get critical feedback, I’ll wait 24 hours before responding. During that time, I’ll write out my fixed mindset reaction and then my growth mindset reframe.”
The more specific your plan, the more likely you are to follow through.
A Final Thought
Shifting to growth mindset isn’t a one-time decision. It’s a practice. Even after months of deliberately working on this, I still catch my fixed mindset voice all the time. The difference is that now I notice it, and I have tools to respond.
The CEO who asked me that original question? She’s been working on this. Her awareness of the situation helped her lean into some of the more uncomfortable tasks she had to do, like drafting a vision to share with others. Is she fully there? No. But as she’s taken action, the evidence is mounting and it’s shifting her self-perception.
That’s the real power of growth mindset. It’s not about becoming perfect or being good at everything. It’s about believing that you can get better at the things that matter to you, and having a concrete process for doing it.