There is no denying that modern life throws countless obstacles at us. However, if Marcus Aurelius used to say‘The mind adapts the obstacle to our action and converts it to its own purposes. What stands in the way becomes the way.” What this ancient Roman emperor meant by this is that as long as we can grow and continually change our frame of reference, we can turn any obstacle into an opportunity for improvement and look for solutions in new creative ways.
To make all these things possible, we have to do that be willing to wait for challenges with open arms and adopting a growth mindset that will help us turn every challenge into an opportunity to better ourselves. Let’s see if we can help you with that.
Take a moment to think
Your goal here is to take a good look at yourself with all your good qualities and your shortcomings. This may feel painful at first, but knowing where you can make improvements is the first step in making those improvements happen. It is also very important to embrace all your quirks, idiosyncrasies and flaws as part of your personality, not be afraid of them and use them to your advantage. Richard Branson for example – one of the most famous celebrities with ADHD – used the courage, creativity and energy needed to cope with this disorder to fuel his business empire. Throwing problems under the rug doesn’t help much.
Remove friction
To develop each new habit you have to make that habit easy and attractive and at the same time try to make all the things that distract you unavailable and repulsive. For example, if you want to encourage yourself to learn, give yourself a small reward for each new skill or piece of information you acquire. Surround yourself with books and people who love to grow. Associate new habits with existing ones. If you’re into fitness, start an audiobook while you’re running. At the same time, all the things that slow you down should be made difficult to access and come with a small fine.
Make learning efficient and easy
Any new habit is much easier to develop when you see tangible benefits and results. So if you lose focus as you review challenging material over and over again, try using other resources. For example, Australian students use UNSW notes for studying have had great success with this strategy because the materials are created by former students and use their experience to make learning easier. Also try to put into practice the things you have learned, use previous learning knowledge to promote new learning and teach it to other people. This is the best way to understand new topics.
Take on new challenges
Here we can learn a thing or two from bodybuilders. You see, you don’t make any gains with weights you can lift. To grow your muscles, you need to try out the weights you can lift. Of course you will fail and you will fail more than a few times, but at some point your body will adapt and you will pass the milestone. The same philosophy can be applied to all other areas of your life. Take on new challenges, especially those you don’t think you can handle, and don’t be afraid of failure, as this is an essential part of any development process. The more setbacks you experience, the better results you will achieve.
Encourage your growth by nurturing grit
Grit can be described as a positive attitude that promotes overcome obstacles on the way to a certain goal. To get that powerful mental fuel, you will need to find your North Star that will guide your future endeavors – something deep within your personal core that you value more than any comfort you will have to sacrifice in order to grow. Tie your goals to that priceless part of your personality. Do you want to master a new skill? Remind yourself that you are a social animal, for example. New skills will help you make more friends and maintain an active social life. Act from this deep need for connection and you will find the strength to persevere.
Develop habits instead of pursuing specific goals
Specific goals are an excellent tool for structuring short learning sessions. But in terms of personal growth, they do more damage than harm. When you achieve them, you burn the sense of achievement. If you don’t, you will feel frustrated. So, instead of trying to learn to play the guitar until a certain date, focus on developing the habit of playing for at least half an hour every day. Even better, ditch the results altogether and turn playing into something you enjoy without pressure. Not only will these new habits produce better results, they will also make you fall in love with music, which is a very powerful motivator.
We hope these few tips will help you get an idea of the small strategies you can use to fall in love with learning and develop a growth mindset. Change and evolution are essential for professional and personal development. Instead of seeing these changes as disadvantages, we should embrace them and stay positive when we find ourselves in the position of learning something new. These few tips we’ve given you are far from a complete guide, but they are an excellent place to start your development.
Sophia Smith is a beauty and lifestyle blogger, graphic designer and food enthusiast. She has a great passion for environmentally friendly and green topics, sustainable fashion and conscious entrepreneurship. Sophia’s other hobbies revolve around her love of yoga, wellness rituals and living in balance with nature. She enjoys sharing meaningful content that inspires people and has covered topics ranging from organic beauty products and sustainability to self-care and mental health. Sophia has contributed to a number of publications including Eco Warrior Princess, Naughty Nutrition, Herbs Mother Earth Living, Sivana Spirit, Urban Naturale, Carousel and Cause Artist. You can learn more about her writing by following her Tweet @sophia_bri.
Image courtesy of George Milton.
