I was attending a conference recently where the keynote speaker was talking about fixed and growth mindsets. He asked everyone who had a fixed mindset to raise their hand and naturally I did.

I was the only one!

Which is crazy because we all have a fixed mindset. In fact the majority of our beliefs and attention are focused on supporting our current world view.

Don’t believe me? Consider these topics… Climate change; immunisation; diversity; feminism; evolution; the government; raising kids; your boss; or even what AI will do to your job. I guarantee you, like me, that you have a fixed mindset in most of these areas. Which is OK, because we can’t be growing in every area, at all times.

So how do we transition from fixed to growth in an area of strong belief?

Learn at the edges.

Take an area where your mindset is fixed and learn or read or consider the complete opposite edge of your current view. Or if your belief is middle of the road, read at the extreme edges of both points of view. As you approach the edges with openness, your views and beliefs will shift. Often not to the edge, but almost certainly from where it was.

Growth doesn’t come from focusing our attention narrowly.

Growth comes at the edges.

 ∴ 

I wonder if the fact that I was the only person to raise my hand about having a fixed mindset, means that I was the only one who actually had a true growth mindset.

Because knowing where our mindset is fixed, is the foundation of true growth.

Author | Andrew Nicol is the founder and CEO of Agoge Recruitment and coHired, based in Hamilton NZ.
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It is something to bump into a family member of a recently employed onsite staff member, but what's more unique is being pulled aside by that family member;

"I hope you realize the impact that you have had on my brother"

He did not mean impact in the sense of putting his brother into work, but the respect and dignity he received throughout his job search with Agoge. When his brother had lost his hope and confidence in finding a job, both his hope and confidence were able to be restored through being caring.

All it takes is the time to smile, listen and genuinely value people as humans to give them hope.

During the application process the brother felt he was valued and like he mattered. Nothing remarkable or extraordinary needs to be done during this process, it just needs to be done with kindness. The brother was able to avoid feeling like a number or a "solution to a client problem" as he previously had. 

Morale of the story: An interaction might not change the world but it could change the world for one person. Even through the hard situations, conversations and interactions people such as the brother enable Agoge to build a legacy. A legacy that everyone would leave feeling a little bit better than they did before meeting us because……… they matter.

​~Andrew South