Why it’s important to build a growth mindset in your personal and professional life — Review
“There’s no such thing as failure, only results” - Tony Robbins
As I prowled the world wide web on one of many late nights (or wee hours of the morning as I tend to lose track of time these days) looking for for literature centered on growth hacking or marketing, I became overwhelmed with anxiety. As much as I advocate the habit of reading and finding out as much as possible, it came to a point whereby it became more overwhelming than helpful as I felt bombarded by too much information. In short, my brain has since experienced various short circuits and sadly, I developed paralysis. It felt like I had been overloaded with so many potential points of action to hack the growth of the company that I am with, but I could never quite muster the courage to hack my way. It then struck me that perhaps it would be a good time to invest my time in doing a course on the matter as a step forward to push myself towards taking action and applying, instead of just staring at my screen feeling hopeless that nothing would happen. I mean, choosing to do it and actually following through is a form of action isn’t it?
Having stumbled upon CXL Institute, the universe was screaming out to me to just give it a go. Fast forward two weeks since my application, and here I am today. Step one — accomplished.
Step two — time to unlearn and relearn.
One key takeaway from growth hacker John McBride is that growth marketing is a mindset that you need to place yourself in and build over time. Sometimes, I would like to think of it as a human’s natural learning ability that has in some way regressed no thanks to rigid education systems and (depending on which part of the world you live in) expectations of others to perform much like a machine. Observe the way children learn. Curiosity is a natural instinct of theirs, and the reason why they are so destructive is because they are always experimenting because that is how they learn. Over time, after countless experiments, they will find new and better ways to do things and leap frog into further sharpening their skills and abilities. It’s no wonder they are called little scientists.
In a professional environment, being a growth marketer is much like being little scientists. It is all about testing hypotheses and running experiments in order to derive outcomes that can better indicate your next course of action. However, it becomes that much harder to accomplish this professionally if you do not apply this to your personal life. Some of you may probably be thinking — why the heck would I want to apply the same growth mindset that I exercise at work in my personal endeavours too?
If you consider individuals who employ a growth mindset both in and out of the office who are wildly successful, you will notice a common narrative. Most, or if I dare say, all of them have achieved the holy grail of their professional successes by exploring curiosity through their passion projects. And as passions go, these evolve over time. One minute it could be fitness, the next it could be meditation, two hours later it could be chocolate and the next day it could be rock music. That doesn’t mean it is bad, just think of it as an avenue to explore new territories. For all you know, the passion may not necessarily stick longer than two weeks but the key thing is that you actually learn something from it — which is far better than questioning “what if?”.
So how can you develop and practice a growth mindset? I am no expert, but here are some ways that I have found to be personally beneficial and has served me well in both my personal and professional settings:
Take ownership of your weaknesses
Nobody is perfect — you included. Having weaknesses is not a bad thing, it is part of being human! The most important thing is to embrace your weaknesses and be clear about them — be it to your colleague, boss, family or friend. The sooner you do so, the quicker it is to rectify those weaknesses.
Be willing to take risks
Do not spend your life wondering about possibilities. Take charge of those mad, crazy ideas you have and just roll with it. The worst thing that can happen if you do so is that it doesn’t work out. It’s not the end of the world.
Develop a love for learning
A couple of years ago, I applied for a job in PR without ever having done it in my previous roles. I ended up landing the job and went on to enjoy my time in the company until there came a time that I wanted to pursue something else. Looking back, I would like to believe that the most important factor that landed me the job despite my near zero experience was my passion to learn. I was hungry, curious and eager — traits that you can’t necessarily teach someone.
You are your most valuable investment
You do not necessarily need to land a specific job to practice existing or new skills. There are so many ways to do this! Practice with your personal blog, take on side projects. Check out courses on Udemy and Coursera. View yourself as an investment, and others will view you the same way.
Find your purpose
Though this may be a continuous and ever-changing mission, it is always important to self-reflect and re-assess where you are at various points in your life to remember your purpose. Life with no purpose is no life to live by. So take the time that is needed to unearth your reason for being.
Moulding the mind to become growth-driven is an ongoing journey. Learn to embrace your journey on your own time. As a popular Malay saying goes “Antara nak dengan tak nak je” which translates into “It’s between whether you want it or not”. You can begin your journey right now as you read this. It is never too late to start.
