How Maintaining a Growth Mindset Fights Aging of the Mind and Body

Other than our waistlines and the hair on our ears, men over fifty stopped growing physically decades ago. Sure we may not become fitness models any time soon, but for many of us, our minds are sharper than ever.

Maybe we struggle with the latest tech gadget or remembering what we had for breakfast, but we have a wealth of experience and knowledge at our beck and call. These mental skills are like muscles – if we stop flexing them, they will slowly deteriorate.

The difference between growth and fixed mindsets determines if we continually flex our mental muscles or move our brains to a retirement home in Boca.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

For years scientists believed that the human brain stops developing in childhood. Remember the old adage about only having so many brain cells and not wasting them doing stupid things? Well, it seems that like much of our outdated thinking, science didn’t quite have this one right.

In fact, brain imaging now proves that our minds constantly evolve and change. Our brains are like computer software that can be upgraded through learning.

According to Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, there are two main ways people think about intelligence.

• Fixed mindset people believe that their intelligence is fixed and static. People with a fixed mindset typically see their intelligence as innate or God-given and cannot be improved.
• Growth mindset people believe that intelligence and talents can be improved through effort and learning.

When it comes to aging, fixed mindset people fail to think that they can improve their bodies and minds while growth mindset people are constantly improving at every age.

What’s the difference between the guy turning sixty who considers himself as being put out to pasture and the one who decides to learn to skydive? Are we going to continue learning and practicing or get a carpal tunnel on our TV remote hand?

How do you develop and maintain a growth mindset?

For some people, a growth mindset is part of their operating system. These guys have continued working and learning their entire lives and don’t plan to stop any time soon.

For others, achieving a growth mindset takes intentional effort. Realizing the possibility of future growth is the first step in the journey, but here are a few tips to help us keep going.

Sense of Purpose

To achieve anything, we must know why we’re doing it in the first place. The larger purpose keeps us invested in the small, often difficult steps it takes to accomplish any goal.

Whether your purpose is becoming a novelist, winning the club championship, starting a band, or simply staying off the sofa, knowing your “why” is a necessity.

Be Realistic

It takes time and effort to accomplish anything. Picking up a tennis racket and standing across the net from a guy that’s been playing his entire life shouldn’t come with high expectations. Set your goals according to your abilities and raise the bar as you improve.

Stop Seeking Approval

Too often, we prioritize approval over learning. What will people think if I do this or that? Most of us spend an entire lifetime seeking approval from a parent, teacher, boss, or some mentor.

Along with the longing for approval comes the effort to save face in front of others. It’s okay to take some risks and fail in front of other people. In fact, it’s sometimes failure that frees us to take future risks.

Find Your Tribe

One of the best ways to find success is finding like-minded people working towards the same goal. Not only will other people help us celebrate our victories, but we will learn from their mistakes.

Do you think it’s easier to train for your first marathon in solitude or join a running club and learn other runners’ best practices and common mistakes?

Effort > Talent

Hard work beats talent the majority of the time, and the reward of effort is greater than the realization of talent. Relish the opportunity to improve instead of playing below your level and winning against inferior opponents.

If you’re the smartest person in the room or the most talented player on the field, you’re in the wrong place.

Not Yet!

Remember that growth can be difficult, and struggle is part of the process. You may not ever achieve mastery of a craft or completely understand the Theory of Relativity, but at some point, you will be better than you are today. You’re just not there yet.

Own Your Attitude

In his best-selling book Atomic Habits, James Clear says in order to achieve something, you need to make it part of your identity. You’re not the guy who’s trying to quit smoking. You’re a non-smoker.

Making something part of our identity alters our self-image. Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and own your attitude about having a growth mindset.

Let attitude be your guide.

In the company of men

Teiichi Igarashi started climbing Mt. Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain when he was 89 years old and accomplished it every year until he was 100.

Paul Cezanne was 56 when he first exhibited his art in a gallery.

Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken at 65 years of age.

William Ivy Baldwin walked a tightrope across a canyon in Colorado when he was 82.

John Glenn orbited the earth 134 times aboard the space shuttle Discovery at 77 years old.

Oscar Swahn earned an Olympic silver medal when he was 72.

What are you going to do today?

 

Take care, even down there.

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