You’ve probably heard the cliché that mindset is everything. The fact is that mindset truly is everything as it is the very thing that separates you from can or cannot do, can and cannot happen, and can and cannot transform.
Mindset is how you view the world around you. It is shaped by the environment and people around you, and by your core values. People see the world differently; therefore, no two people have exactly the same mindset. But even though mindset is shaped by the world around you, it is something you have control over and can change. You can’t control the environment or other people, but you can definitely shape your own mindset if you’re willing to do so.
Mindset is the key to lifelong learning, be it at work or in your personal life. As continuous learning from school and onward into the working world grows in importance, it can only be done when you have the right mindset.
The way you view the world is important in creating the environment you want for yourself. Of course, we all need to be realistic, but a little more positivity in our mindset can be useful. As the popular saying goes: “Change begins from within”. If you want to create change, you must begin with yourself.
If you want to transform yourself, you need to keep on learning. But in order to keep learning, you need the mindset of a lifelong learner. Here’s how your mindset affects your learning transformation:
First, your mindset affects your motivation and engagement with the learning content and how you apply it. Yes, the learning environment, the content and even the facilitator are important, but without your mindset, all those factors have little weight.
Motivation, most of the time, is rooted in your own ability to self-motivate, and your mindset is what controls this. If your mindset is rooted in positive thoughts, you’ll surely find yourself filled with positive energy and passion for learning.
At first glance, some content may seem interesting and fun to learn, but once you get deeper into the topic, you may find yourself losing motivation. That’s when your mindset can pull you back and provide enough motivation to continue learning. And whether you’re taking a break or giving yourself time off from learning, the right mindset will always bring you back.
With that in my mind, we come to the second point: your mindset affects your consistency in learning. As motivation can fluctuate, a positive mindset brings you back to your learning, helping you stay consistent in your progress.
Consistency is important in learning for many reasons, the most important being that learning calls for practising what you’ve learned — and practice requires you to be consistent in order to master the topic.
Sometimes, as we learn and practice, we might fail. But, with a great mindset, instead of seeing it as a setback, you learn from those mistakes and stay consistent in your desire to keep learning.
A great way to support consistency in learning is to set goals. This way, you know what to aim for and you’ll be able to consistently work towards those goals to achieve them.
Third, your mindset affects those around you, just as others’ mindsets can affect yours. As your mindset is how you view the world, it also dictates how you react in a certain way to certain people in certain situations.
The fact of our world is that change happens constantly, and if you don’t embrace it, you’ll get left behind. While your mindset and your journey towards a better mindset is important, it can still be affected by those around you. But it’s not always so easy when you’re trying to maintain a positive mindset while others around you only see the negative side of things.
In this sense, strengthening your mindset and practising a positive approach, bit by bit, on a daily basis is important. Keep yourself aware of yourself and how you react and affect others. This is important in learning because both positive and negative energy from others is contagious.
We can say that mindset governs all that we do. The changes and advances in our world didn’t happen overnight through magic — they happened because someone set their mindset to achieve something and continued to persevere. If we all begin, we can create the change we want in our lives, communities and nation, and even the world.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer and Managing Director at SEAC (formerly APMGroup) Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Center. She can be reached by email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa