How to maximise your growth mindset

In his seminal book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the feeling of performing at an optimal level (maximising performance) as ‘flow’ or being in the ‘zone’.

In her book Mindset investigating the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, Carol Dweck explained that individuals with a ‘growth mindset’ believe their talents can be developed through effort, focus, planning and feedback. So if you believe you have a growth mindset how do you maximise it to operate at an optimal level and therefore maximise your performance?

The simple answer is you need to operate in the ‘Growth Zone’. Why? Because it’s the law. The Yerkes-Dodson Law. In 1908 psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson discovered the relationship between pressure (arousal) and performance. They defined that performance increases with physiological or mental arousal (pressure), but only up to a point.

When levels of arousal become too high (pressure turns to stress), performance decreases. If pressure (arousal) is too low performance also decreases. So the law shows that to maximise performance you need to stay in the ‘Growth Zone’, an area between stasis and stress.

For more information on how to stay in the ‘Growth Zone’ and maximise your growth mindset connect with me through a complimentary discovery session. Book a conversation now, click here.