🏢WorkLife Wednesday: Adversity Defines You

Welcome to WorkLife Wednesday, where we take a look into best-practice leadership methods to make your WorkLife awesome.

Adversity defines you. Who do you think of when the word “adversity” comes up? A parent, colleague, sports figure, musician, president, or even a close friend? Resilient people are few and far between, and they’re all remembered by that one thing they overcame.

Hellen Keller is an excellent example. Born deaf and blind, she overcame her disabilities to become an influential author, lecturer, and advocate for people with disabilities. Her story is a powerful testament to the human spirit's ability to triumph over seemingly insurmountable challenges.

There’s thousands of role models who have overcame adversity. But how can you be that for somebody else? To tackle the biggest obstacles life throws in our way, we should develop a mindset of growth to overcome them.

A key difference in people who lay down at the feet of adversity versus those who overcome it is their mindset. There are 2 main mindsets that determine how you adapt to change:

• Fixed Mindset: The belief that abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits. People with a fixed mindset often think that these traits are inherent and unchangeable.

• Growth Mindset: In contrast, a growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning.

Characteristics of Growth Mindset:

Seeing challenges as opportunities to grow and learn, rather than as insurmountable obstacles will keep you persistent and level headed in tackling your challenges. View your ourselves and the people around you in a respectful light, understanding failure not as a reflection of one's intelligence or character but as a natural part of the learning process will give you an open perspective to your challenges. And when you do mess up, realizing that you have to use constructive criticism as a tool for learning and self-improvement, and putting in the effort to actually improve.

Tips for developing the Growth Mindset:

Adapting to the Growth Mindset gives us a new perspective on our challenges but it takes time and effort to make this our regular way of thinking. There are actions you can take each day to train yourself to regularly think in terms of the Growth Mindset:

For the next week, try this 7-day challenge by acting on one of these tips each day.

1. Acknowledge and Embrace Imperfections: Hiding from one's weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them.

2. View Challenges as Opportunities: Each challenge is an opportunity for growth.

3. Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning”: When you make a mistake or fall short, you haven’t failed; you’ve learned.

4. Stop Seeking Approval: Focus on improving and growing instead of trying to prove yourself.

5. Value the Process Over the End Result: Intelligent practice involves reflecting on what you’ve learned, and failure is part of that process.

6. Cultivate Grit: Persistence and passion for long-term goals are key.

7. Use the Word “Yet”: Adding “yet” to statements like “I can’t do this” transforms them into “I can’t do this yet,” which opens the possibility for growth.

Benefits to the Growth Mindset:

Adapting the Growth Mindset is powerful in overcoming adversity. This framework, as developed by Carol Dweck, alters how we confront challenges, turning obstacles into opportunities for personal growth. When faced with adversity, individuals with a growth mindset are more resilient; they view setbacks not as insurmountable failures but as valuable learning experiences. This perspective fosters a proactive approach to problem-solving, encouraging individuals to engage with their difficulties actively and creatively. It's about understanding that effort and persistence are essential in overcoming hurdles, and that abilities can be honed and expanded through this process. In essence, a growth mindset transforms adversity from a barrier into a catalyst for development, resilience, and ultimately, personal success.

_{Written by Bailey Hepler}

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