Lecture 14:

Achieving Better Goals I:

The Right Mindset

“The mind is everything. What you think, you become.”

-Buddha

Developing a growth mindset is an essential practice in increasing long-term happiness. It is the source of all other virtues - increasing our gratitude, vulnerability, compassion, honesty, resiliency, and so much more. Having a growth mindset means knowing you can improve and that every moment, every thing that happens, whether joyful or painful, is an opportunity for growth. That person that annoys you? Opportunity for growth. Investigate deeply in your mind why you feel annoyed - and thank them for the lesson. Yes, thank them. They are helping you grow. Fixed mindset believes that we are fixed in our abilities - that they are innate and unchangeable. A fixed mindset promotes unhappiness by assuming that one is an “unhappy” person and that you cannot change your mindset. A growth mindset promotes happiness by realizing that no matter where you are on the happiness spectrum, you can always become happier.

How can you develop a growth mindset? In addition to meditation, MBSR, CBT, and the 4 C’s of new habits, one of the most helpful methods in developing a growth mindset is to think of your engagement with life as a science experiment. Think of all your thoughts, feelings, and experiences as data - that engaging with life can mean gathering data for an opportunity to develop your understanding in the pursuit of learning. In an experiment, a scientist is not offended by data, nor develops anxiety from negative feedback. In an experiment, all thoughts, feelings, and experiences become objective information, they become neither good nor bad, but essential resources in the progress towards growth. Take after Mahatma Gandhi who wrote his autobiography titled Experiments with Truth, or the Dalai Lama who describes Buddhism as “the science of the mind” – they know failure cannot exist in the eyes of a scientist because failure is still feedback, they know there are only steps towards growth or non-growth. If you still think that talent is innate and fixed, read about the “Polgar sisters” and realize that, with time and effort, you too can change, grow, and become a happiness expert.

Learning Objectives:

Abilities, like happiness, are a mix of genetics, environment, and mindset
Your mindset is changeable and can have a powerful effect on your outcomes (happiness, relationships, education, etc.)
Fixed-mindset means you believe abilities are innate. You are born with a certain level of intelligence, athletic ability, musical talent, happiness, etc.
Growth mindset means you believe you can grow and develop, that while your path may be easier or more difficult than another person, you have the opportunity to learn and acquire new abilities. Performance is viewed more of a learned skill than an innate one
Fixed and Growth mindset people respond to difficulty in different ways. Fixed are more likely to not try difficult tasks after failure. They are more likely to blame others and to cheat and to become depressed
Growth mindset are more likely to lean into failure, to investigate the nature of their mistakes, to learn from them and try again
Giving positive feedback from teachers for Ability vs Effort, promotes a Fixed vs. Growth mindset

Putting Happiness into Practice:

Weekly Activity:

Exercise!
- This week, exercise every day. Go for a walk, run, hike or bike ride - or go to the REC center/local gym with a friend and work out.
- The mind and body are intimately connected together. Exercise not only affects the state of your body, but also the state of your mind. It is a great stress reliever, and with time can increase your mood and even lessen depression.