Think the opposite

Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University who coined the term “growth mindset” in her 2007 book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success, but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset.

She found that the key isn’t ability; it’s whether we look at ability as something inherent that needs to be demonstrated or as something that can be developed. The fixed belief that you can’t refine your ability stunts achievement.

The same goes with having the fixed belief of “that can’t be done”. There are times when we think “I am not creative enough to do this” or “I am not good enough at this” — unaware that we are expressing a fixed mind-set.

Sometimes, all it takes is just a push beyond the norm to bring about fundamental change.

In the book “Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite”, one of the case studies was of an Olympian, Richard Fosbury who invented the Fosbury Flop. Prior to the Fosbury Flop, the customary techniques for most elite jumpers was the straddle technique, Western Roll, Eastern cut-off or even scissors jump.

Let us take a step back and think about this for a second. If every other elite jumpers had been using the aforementioned techniques to clear the bar, a set of parameter had been set. Majority of us will try to jump higher while using the similar techniques.

In other words, we are approaching the challenge ahead of us from a fixed mindset. Because it makes perfect sense to improve based on the techniques that have proven to work, right?

But Richard Fosbury thought differently. Perhaps he had spent many hours improving his approach based on the known techniques, but somehow a “what if” popped into his mind. Instead of turning his body towards the bar which had always been the norm for the high jumpers, he lifted his legs and flipped over the bar backwards.

A shift of mindset didn’t just win him an Olympic gold but has also changed the game forever.

“That’s not the right way to do it.” But how do you know what is the right way to do things?

“Isn’t this a sensible thing to do”? We often ask ourselves. As grown ups, we are taught and expected to make sensible decision. It also means that we have been conditioned to not pushing the envelope.

Does it sound a bit too radical to think the opposite? Start experimenting with the little things and challenge yourself to be less predictable.

As Paul Arden rightly put, “it is not because you are making the wrong decisions, it is because you are making the right ones. The problem with making sensible decisions is that so is everyone else.”