A Constant And Challenging Bet To Flourish
In my last video, I discussed why preparation is only half of the battle and it is imperative to take action, as it dissipates the midst of uncertainty.
Obviously, taking action, doing, makes us leave a standstill position, a situation where we might feel we are “in control”.
It sounds like a bet. Should I do something or not?
Staying in the status-quo, we might have found some balance, but it could be quite unstable, things abruptly swinging on one side as soon as some change arises. We might prefer this side of the bet.
Nonetheless, even if we find comfort in this situation, even if it seems “safe”, or “risk-free”, we have to understand that it is not. Nothing is 100% risk-free. We might have this false impression of security because the time frame is longer than the scale we usually use to observe our life.
When we decide to do nothing and remain in stillness, we make a choice, we bet on the fact that things can remain identical and our balance will be preserved.
But this reasoning has two majors flaws.
First, the world is changing, whether we want it or not. Nobody is waiting for us, nobody will stop us. Consequently, things will keep on changing, evolving, transforming, and this position we held, this balance or equilibrium we are fond of – it just won’t last forever. The world and its ever-changing form will come and challenge it, tipping the scales on one side or another.
And we have to be prepared for this challenge.
If we do not, because we are careless or fearful, we will just be a victim of the change, we will suffer it and all its consequences.
Secondly, if we embrace the fact that things will change, that we have to prepare for it, to embrace it, we can change our mindset. We bet on ourselves and our ability to grow.
If we remain in our sameness, we cannot grow, we cannot adapt. On one hand, we would bet that the world does change, so we don’t have to. On the other hand, we would bet on us, on our capability to learn, to grow and not only weather the change but be lifted by it.
So, why are we not preparing for the inevitable wave of change that will crash on our shore?
Because we are scared of failure, we are scared to be seen as “not good enough”, to be labeled as “not capable enough”. Yet, if we can change our perspective and adopt a different mindset, a mindset of growth, we can see these experiences, whether or not they are successful as learning that prepare us better for change.
Because if we do nothing, our skills, our value, they diminish over time, so ultimately we will fail. The scale of time is just greater, but this is a bet with a 100% failure rate in the end.
Whereas, if we bet on ourselves, if we do, we suddenly take a bet with a chance of winning, of being successful. And even if our attempt did not end up where we hope, we will still have learned from it and be better prepared for our next attempt.
Take the bet of growth! This is the winning one!
To Know More About Your Bet To Grow
If you want to learn more about the growth mindset, I recommend reading the excellent book of Dr. Carol Dweck: “Mindset – The New Psychology of Success“.
In her book, she presents the conclusions of the years of research, developing the opposition between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
She explains how people with a fixed mindset, see the world as frozen. Where you either have the ability to excel at something or you don’t. As such, they are in constant fear when challenged by “difficult” or “new” tasks, as it would potentially discredit their “value”, their legitimacy to be part of those of are “great”.
On the other hand, the ones with a growth mindset welcome any challenge as an opportunity to learn, to become a better version of themselves. They know their skills are not set in stone, that they can improve, that they can reach new heights. Failing is just a part of learning, not a “life sentence” to be part of a “losing group”, thus they do not fear change.
If you want to know more about fixed and growth mindset, you can read the book of Dr. Dweck: “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success“, using this link: https://amzn.to/2FvWhZM
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