20/20 Mindset 

Cultivating Your Business Through a Growth Mindset

Day in and day out doing the same thing can sometimes begin to play tricks on your mind. It’s a constant game you play. Your mindset is going to be a huge factor in whether or not your business has what it takes. 

2020 has been a unique year. It’s easy to let negative thoughts enter your head when you have been pushed off your the Merry-go-round. Your days look nothing like they did just 6 months ago. 

One of two things probably happened. 

1. You were able to adjust your business quickly to continue to steam forward through the rocky terrain of this spring. Or…

2. You had to step back, re-evaluate, and wait to see what news came next from the governor, and at what phase you would be allowed to re-open.

Whichever category you find yourself in, you're in a season of change. You have been able to get away with a fixed mindset of how to work and run your business. Now it is time to expand and grow. 

Below are 7 ways you can begin to cultivate a growth mindset to help your business not only survive, but thrive.

1. You Are Your Mindset

This might be a hard one to swallow. There is always a finger to shake at someone else for preventing you from doing things the way you want to do them. It’s easy to say things like “I can’t” or “they won’t let me”, and those things might actually be true, but that’s because of a fixed mindset that you have been chained to. This fixed mindset limits you from seeing beyond how things have been done before. Keeping you trapped. A growth mindset helps you see beyond the traditional ways of doing things. Let go of your old ways of thinking about how things must be done and open your mind to new ways of doing things.

2. Education

Constant education will help you grow in ways you can’t even imagine right now. You’ve been looking for time to take that computer class or learn more about design. Now is a great time to do that. Open your eyes to new ways of getting things done through branding, remodeling, or an enhanced website. Seek out opportunities to educate yourself and you will begin to see growth in the most unlikely ways.

3. Celebrate the Achievements of Others’

It’s only natural to feel frustrated or jealous as you watch others thrive in an environment that you are facing challenges in. However, we all know this is unhealthy behavior. If you are truly seeking a growth mindset, you must align in joy with others. 

It’s good to remember that their success is not your failure. It should feel good when someone in your community is achieving their goals. Congratulate them. Take on the attitude that if they can do it, so can you. Be encouraged by their success and you will begin to align with a successful mindset within yourself. 

4. Continue to Show Up

Your bed is warm, and the world is cold. Making it hard to get out of bed some days. Especially when you have nowhere to be. The dreams of working from home now have new meaning, as setting up at your dining room table to do work is harder and harder to do. There are dishes to be done, floors to be swept, people to be fed, and a host of distractions all around you. This is going to be hard, but you must be tenacious. Growing is hard, stretching your mind into new ways of thinking takes time. At times it might be downright difficult, but you must push through. Keep your goals in sight, and don’t get distracted by the challenges that pop up along the way. This is your old fixed mindset testing you. Seeing if you really do want change. Old thoughts are like that warm bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of. Push through.

5. Adapt to Challenges

Challenges are the universe forcing you to think and move in a new way. They are not meant to be fun, comfortable, or easy. It’s in our nature to feel uncomfortable when new challenges arise, but it is good to remember that challenges along our path help us recognize our vulnerability. And it is from our vulnerability that our strength will come. How often in life is it that the most challenging moments turn out to be the most rewarding. Every obstacle looks daunting until you begin to break it down into bite-size pieces and tackle them one at a time. 

6. Love Where You Are

To cultivate a growth mindset means you are present with your experience. Fixed mindsets are always trying to be somewhere else. If you can accept where you are and love the process you’re in, you will rise. Take time to breathe and remember why you got into your business in the first place. Quit comparing yourself and your business to other people. You are where you are, so accept this. Lean into the freedom you have to direct your future the way you see fit. Any old fixed mindsets that are coming up you either need to pay someone else to handle so you can stay focused, or tackle them head-on so they don’t grow.

7. Listen Up

Compliments are great, and necessary for us, as humans, to feel valued, however sometimes what is most valuable is the other feedback. Feedback brought to your attention to help you improve. Sure, everyone wants to tell you what you need to do, and negative feedback stings. What if you tried to be open-minded when hearing criticism? What if instead of getting angry, you took time to sit on what was said? Sometimes the best advice is to put your ego aside and hear what others have to offer. View their thoughts from a position of wanting to help aid in your success, instead of seeing their thoughts as criticism. Play with it. When something is said that stings, sit with it. Thank the person for their perspective and let them know you will consider what they offer. Hard in the moment, but often good for the long term. 

GROWTH MINDSET VS. FIXED MINDSET

Events happen, circumstances change, situations surrounding our lives come and go. How you mentally and emotionally respond is dependent on our mindset. At the end of the day, you are who you judge yourself to be. 

You can look for what is wrong and what separates you from the whole, or you can place your attention on how to create positive change that connects you to others. Where and how you decide to show up and respond to events is what defines you.

Whatever you decide to focus on will determine the outcome. 

It’s easy to avoid the things that come up and make them someone else’s issue to solve. Many will choose this path, and so will you from time to time, but I bet it’s always when you were brave enough to tackle what once seemed impossible that you thrived. 

You can remain static, and see where the economy will take you, or you can choose to take control and mentally rehearse where you will take your business. It’s all in your mind, and mindset is everything.