The ONE Mindset that keeps you stuck

You may not even realize it’s running the show. Can you spot its patterns in your own life?

In this video, I discuss a common mindset that keeps us from living our full potential in Life and how we can lean into profound growth through 6 perspective shifts. Grab a warm drink, get cozy, and let's dive into it ✨

Transcript

Your problem is not that you lack talent, or that you don't have a creative eye, your problem is that you have been looking at it from an incorrect perspective for years.

This perspective, my friend, is called a fixed mindset. 

I recently watched a movie about indian industrialist Srikanth Bolla’s real-life story. Despite being visually impaired, he built a thriving business. His journey is a powerful example of how mindset, not circumstances, determines what we achieve. From a young age, we are made to compare our progress, whether in school or amongst family & for some reason it's like an unwritten rule that one person’s supposed success means the other’s lack of talent. 

Hi, I am Shruti, and I created Enter Samatvam to talk about how we can lead a fulfilling life through self-awareness

Carol Dweck, a Stanford professor and American psychologist, has spent over 3 decades studying the growth mindset in individuals. Her research shows that mindset isn’t just personal—it’s shaped by education, parenting, and societal systems. In her TED Talk, she highlights how a Chicago school replaced failing grades with “Not Yet,” reinforcing that growth is always possible. All research on mindset available today shows that unlearning our conditioned responses is the key to transforming our behavior. 

8 tell-tale signs of exhibiting a fixed versus a growth mindset

• Seeking Perfection vs Embracing Progress

  • When we see the world in fixed ways, we hanker after perfection, feeling we will be left behind, gathering endless information before starting, fearing failure, and often procrastinating.  We may take several months to deliver at the risk of spending too much time and failing anyway. Or we may leave things half way.

  • When we subconsciously support this fixed belief system - we want to prove that we are smart or special, better than others, so we prioritize the outcome over the process, and success over growth.

  • Growth mindset individuals take action, iterate, and learn through experience, giving themselves the permission to fail often knowing that they will get better

  • They set process oriented goals like writing 10 articles in the next 2 months, or showing up on tennis court for 10 practice matches, rather than hitting outcomes like a 1000 likes, or winning at a match.

    
    

• Relying on Rigid Expectations vs. Staying Open-Minded

  • A fixed mindset clings to rigid expectations and struggles with change. When we remain stubbornly fixed on our opinions and beliefs, we expect life to happen to us in a certain way. A linear way of life. We cannot dream of possibilities or think of the various ways in which situations can change

  • Growth mindset individuals don’t expect immediate results, they understand that success & growth are often non-linear and exponential—just like how building a business, or even personal healing follows unpredictable yet rewarding progress. They commit to practicing Kaizen, the Japanese concept of continuous, small improvements and don’t wait for massive breakthroughs or perfect conditions. So they take consistent action, knowing that progress will compound over time.  

    
    

• Resisting Feedback vs. Embracing It 

  
  

  • Fixed mindset people avoid criticism and find it difficult to take feedback because they think they cannot change and for that reason are afraid of knowing their flaws and unwilling to recognize areas of improvements

    They are only looking for confirmation of their positive abilities

  • Growth mindset individuals welcome feedback, seeing it as a tool for improvement. If criticism triggers them, they ask themselves—does part of me believe it’s true? Growth comes when you’re no longer afraid to face those truths.

    • When you have proved to yourself you can improve, even if it is true, you can accept it and take the necessary steps to move on.

  • Research : Brain imaging studies suggest that those with a growth mindset exhibit greater neural activity when confronted with errors, indicating a stronger ability to process feedback and adjust their approach. This perspective fosters resilience and long-term success.

    
    

• Believing in Talent vs. Valuing Self-Effort 

  
  

  • Fixed mindset people assume success is innate and don’t do inner work necessary for success. 

  • Growth mindset individuals recognize that self-awareness, effort, and consistency create real progress. They invest in developing themselves rather than relying on identities or labels like “ being gifted”

    • They realize the need for self-awareness. so they prioritize it, and are more aware of their weaknesses, their strengths, their limiting beliefs, and areas of improvement. 

      • They work hard to understand the limited mindset that has been driving failure in different areas, what mindset shifts they need to make, and then apply the ones that feel simple to adopt even if it is in minor ways 

    • Ultimately they realize that right actions add more value to their life than the temporary happiness they receive from a successful outcome

      
      

•  Feeling Threatened by Others’ Success vs. Learning from It

  • With a fixed mindset, we see others' success as a personal threat. We believe in the scarcity story that one person’s success means another’s failure

  • Growth mindset individuals recognize that the world holds space for everyone’s success. So they view others’ growth as inspiration and proof of what’s possible. They recognize that when people around them evolve, it’s a reflection of their own potential for growth and transformation.

    
    

• Self-Criticism vs. Self-Compassion

  • Carol Dweck’s research highlights that individuals with a fixed mindset tend to be self-critical and harsh when they encounter failure, since they believe that their abilities are set in stone. This leads to feelings of inadequacy and discouragement.

  • In contrast, those with a growth mindset practice self-compassion and acceptance, recognizing that setbacks are part of the learning process. They view mistakes as learning opportunities for growth rather than as evidence of personal shortcomings.

  • Dweck emphasizes that self-compassion fuels resilience, allowing people to bounce back from challenges, whereas self-criticism can create fear of failure, leading to avoidance and stagnation.

    
    

In truth, people with fixed and growth mindsets are not two types of people. They refer to the same person but at different stages in life.  The former is before we discover that we can outgrow our perceived flaws positively through awareness, composure, and right action. 

How to Shift from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset

• Becoming Aware: Pay attention to what you focus on. Self-awareness practices like journaling, meditation, and introspection can help shift limiting beliefs. That helps to break through inertia of action - (link to laziness video)

• Taking Small Steps: Action breeds confidence. Even minor daily habits—like writing, exercising for a few min, breathwork, or consuming valuable content can help accelerate positive behavioral shifts. (subscribe link)

• Knowing What to Change: Not everything needs to change. Some personality traits are harmless— so focus on what is truly limiting your growth.

• Accepting where you are at and compassion towards oneself - Real change is initiated through self-acceptance of where you are at. On the flip side, being critical only delays impactful action.

Final Thoughts

For years, I was terrified of failure and procrastinated putting my work out there. But in the last year, I decided to commit to learning and taking action. My mom also learned to recite and teach the Bhagavad Gita after retirement and My dad learned yoga in his 60s and still practices regularly at 75.

The question isn’t whether you have the right skills, age, talent, or opportunities. Everyone starts with a fixed mindset at some point or in some area of their lives. But, Life is constantly inviting you to evolve and discover a growth mindset through different opportunities. So the real question is do you want to resist it or are you ready to embrace it?