Positive action combined with positive thinking results in success. Imagine a group of children describing what they want to be in life, from a firefighter, to teacher, to veterinarian, to police officer. What makes the difference between the ones who achieve their goals and the ones that don’t? Many people believe that success is just a matter of good luck. However the truth is that having a growth mindset, deliberate practice, supportive mentors and intentional happiness activities are essential ingredients in whether or not we reach our goals in life.
First, our thought process often determines our ability to rise above obstacles to reach our dreams. After researching important factors to successfully develop achievement, we can see that a fixed mindset is not the path to go. A stagnant type of mindset is described by our belief that intelligence is fixed which makes us afraid to try since we think effort will not change the obstacles we face. In Stanford University Professor Dr. Carol S. Dweck’s provoking Scientific American article, “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids,” she shows examples of a fixed mindset. A perfect example she mentions is a young boy named Jonathan who was very successful in grade school and the parents were mistakenly euphorically praising his brilliance.
As Dweck illustrates, “Jonathan sailed through grade school” in middle school “however Jonathan suddenly lost interest in school”(1). Unfortunately, his parents stimulated his way of seeing school as naturally easy too soon before he would actually struggle and learn to rise above obstacles. In contrast, having a resourceful attitude to overcome difficulties helps us reach our goals. Children should develop a growth mindset and be able to have control of their own ability so they can learn and improve. In one particular study in the 1970s Carol Diner, asked 60 fifth graders to solve difficult pattern-recognition problems. While “focused on fixing errors and honing skills,” one of the kids yelled “I love a challenge!” (Dweck 2). Here, we can see that not everyone has a growth mindset because not all the children have the same resilient outlook.
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In today’s society women compare themselves to men and express their feelings by saying, women don’t get paid enough compared to men and are underestimated. Doctor of Philosophy Professor Heidi Grant Halvorson’s article “The Trouble With Bright Girls” explains the difference between men and women in the early stage of developing of their mindset. While the child is young the upbringing is what will affect the child once they become older. Young girls compared to young boys’ development stages are very different. Girls are frequently known to develop self control before the boys do, whereas the boys are typically a bit of a handful. Grant explains that “bright girls believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable, while bright boys believe that they can develop ability through effort and practice.” Often girls tend to struggle more than boys in middle school. This is because the boys have already developed a growth mindset compared to the girls who have created a fixed mindset. There are many solutions that will help more individuals to be guided on a path to success. Dweck introduces a computer program called Brainology.
This program is designed by having “five modules teach students about the brain- what it does and how to make it work better” (6). She also, mentions “users can click on brain regions to determine their functions or on nerve endings to see how connections form or strengthen when people learn” (6). Children can take this information and use it in the real world while at school socializing and sporting events. Ultimately, numerous research studies demonstrate that people often have a fixed mindset; on the other hand, they are capable to adapt to a growth mindset, which will help them reach their goals in life. With that in mind, our thought process often determines our ability to rise above and make time to be successful.
Additionally the kind of extensive practice we engage in also helps us hone our skills. One key ingredient to become successful in life is to dedicate time in practicing our goal. In Fortune Magazine Senior Editor Geoffrey Colvin’s engaging article, “What It Takes to Be Great,” he describes strategies to be successful. First, Colvin explains how high achieving people follow many techniques which ordinary people can use to achieve their goal. In one experiment it shows the amount of time and dedication necessary to excel for musicians. For example, Colvin shows “in a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers ) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000.
It’s the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport” ( 2). This is particularly strong evidence since 20 years of age is very young and the dedication from the very beginning of their lives was strong. In addition, he discusses this much dedication and willingness to become the best we can be is seen in every job field, whether it is medicine, business, or athletics. For instance, he shares “ Michael Jordan practiced intensely beyond the already punishing team practices” and “had Jordan possessed some mammoth natural gift specifically for basketball, it seems unlikely he’d have been cut from his high school team” (Colvin 3). This persuasively demonstrates that we should never let anyone crush our dreams and never give up on what we love. Specifically he describes, “The more you work on it, the larger your mental models will become and the better your performance will grow” (Colvin 4).
The reason this makes a crucial difference is the saying that “practice makes perfect,” is absolutely true. If we put the right mindset and dedication to our goals we will be able to accomplish more than we actually think. In Malcolm Gladwell’s novel, Outliers he focuses on deliberate practice, purposefully trying to get better. When the Beatles first started they performed eight hours with very little pay. This is an example of deliberate dedication because they didn’t complain about how much they performed, but just focused in improving. For example, Lennon states, “we got better and got more confidence. We couldn’t help it with all the experience playing all night long. It was handy them being foreign.
We had to try even harder, put our heart and soul into it, to get ourselves over” (qtd. Gladwell 49). The reason this makes such a crucial difference is that not many people get the opportunity to have the experience that the Beatles had, but having an open mindset and diligent work ethic helped them rise and flourish in their careers. Another example is the baseball player named Joe DiMaggio. He was known for his outstanding hitting records during the season in 1941. In the article “The Myth and Magic of Deliberate Practice” written by James Clear, he explains a reporter interviewed DiMaggio and asked what it felt like to be a “natural hitter.” After telling the reporter about his practice routine, DiMaggio revealed thousands of marks on the basement walls showing how many practice swings he had taken to become the phenomenon people saw on the field. Then looking at the reporter DiMaggio said, “Don’t you ever tell me that I’m a natural hitter again”(1).
This illustrates clearly that in many cases people who we all look up to never had it as easy as we thought. The people who are considered famous have gone through many hours of diligence and repetition in their career. A beneficial solution to create more individuals who are willing to work hard to reach new heights involves directly teaching children to have a strong work ethic by telling them stories of the struggles successful people like Michael Jordan, the Beatles, and Joe DiMaggio have overcome. In reflecting on these examples of what creates success, we can easily realize that if we put in the right mindset and have deliberate practice, we can achieve our goals.
Not only does a growth mindset and deliberate practice lead us to the path of success, bur mentors play an essential role in guiding us towards productive opportunities. In our society some believe think they can become successful without anyone’s help. This is far from the truth because along our journey we will come across obstacles and we will need assistance. We all go through a time in our lives or a situation that we struggle with. While many people think they are alone and want to give up, they should think again because there are many different support systems that will lead us in the right direction.
A perfect example of this is an article entitled “Liz Murray,” written by Jonelle Davis. Murray’s inspiring story demonstrates that no matter what struggles we come across in life, we can always find help and be successful. Unfortunately, when Murray was young she didn’t experience the life of a typical young girl. Her parents had an addiction to drugs, and they also couldn’t take care of her let alone themselves. First we can see that Murray’s situation began with the “addiction [that] led to both parents acquiring HIV, the virus that causes AIDS,” which led to “Murray having to spend part of her adolescence in group homes” (1).
Because she was becoming homeless, she was sleeping at parks and friends’ houses. At school Murray started losing self esteem because she couldn’t catch up to her classmates, and at first she actually dropped out. Later her father left Murray and her mother. At age 16 her mother had passed away because of AIDS which motivated Murray to go back to school in order to change her life. Later on, “ a guidance counselor, who she’s still friends with today, gave her a folder full of scholarships that she thought Murray qualified for. One was the New York Times Scholarship for needy students” (Davis 2). This was very important since she was very tight with her money. After reading Murray’s story, we can see that no matter how big or long the struggles we face in life, we can overcome them and be successful. Some people think it will happen overnight but it takes time. Many people are given opportunities to get help, but some people think they will do all the work for them. An article that explains how to accept help and how to become successful is “Mentorship Is Key To Career Success For Young Professionals,” written by Chris Myers.
The majority of people are given the opportunity to receive help and then after that they don’t know where to go from there. Many people fail to understand that mentorship is a two way street. We have to understand that this may mean working late, pushing our self in ways we never thought we had to, and working harder than those around us. In the article the author explains his journey on getting his job which led to him being the Cofounder and CEO of BodeTree. He explains that “the key is to have the foresight and humility to ask to be mentored”(1). Mentors are there to help us and to guide us to materials that will get us closer to becoming successful. There are plenty of mentors in our lives and they will not always come to us. We have to be open and be able to ask for help. Having a mentor is when we are on the right track to success.
Many people think they don’t have enough time to volunteer, but some just have a big heart and give a couple hours of their own time. Starting kids starting to volunteer at a young age will allow them to see the world through a fish tank realizing what we have and what we should be grateful for whether we are at a soup kitchen, feeding homeless people, or spending time at an elderly home with people who have no family. In the article, “Why Helping Others Makes Us Happy,” by Philip Moeller he explains that no one is focused to volunteer but there are many positive outcomes if done so. Offering your time at a young age will help you become a better person and help you have a better understanding in helping others. Moeller states, “volunteering improves the health, happiness, and in some cases, the longevity of volunteers,” and “children who volunteer are more likely to grow up to be adults who volunteer” (41).
People who have the opportunity to volunteer will have a better understanding about their life and will also not take things for granted. Those who enlist at a young age will proceed in being a regular volunteer. The teenagers who dedicate their time will also have many benefits in their future. For those who get in trouble there are “positive effects on grades, self-concept, and attitudes towards education,” and “volunteering also [leads] to reduced drug use and huge declines in dropout rates and teen pregnancies” (Moeller 41). Having us start at a young age will allow us to not make bad choices in the future and to be on a path to living a happy life. When we are older and go into the working world we need to go in with positive motivation. The most important thing to keep a healthy and successful company is to have healthy and successful employees.
In the article “Is Happiness the Secret of Success” written by Shawn Achor he gives many examples of how to have a happy life style and the positive outcomes. In the last decade research has showed “the business world proves that happiness raises nearly every business and educational outcome: raising sales by 37%, productivity by 31%, and accuracy on tasks by 19%, as well as a myriad of health and quality-of-life improvements” (Achor 1). This example shows that with a positive mindset our work life will be more beneficial. Achor also had a study which he asked “how much social support employees provided?” (1). People who receive support and are tied into there work “have a 40% higher likelihood of promotion over the next four years” (Achor 1). Here we can see that having a happy lifestyle will put us in many opportunities to flourish our future and become more successful. Having this type of mindset will give us many advantages in the future and will keep us on track to having a successful future.
As we look to the future, it is essential to realize that we don’t want to crush children’s dreams on what they want to be, when they are older. We all want to live a memorable life and become successful. Although we often believe that success is just a matter of luck, the reality is that a growth mindset, deliberate practice, helpful mentors, and intentional happiness activities play key roles in determining whether we reach our goal in life. We are all raised differently but we all have the same mentality of wanting to be successful. There are many opportunities and resources we can use to start our path to success. The question is will we accept the help? With these essential ingredients in creating our levels of success we will have a better understanding on what the process is, in having a successful life. It is important to realize that we are capable to flourish when we have a thought process of having a hopeful outlook and to take the steps to accomplishing our goals.
Works Cited
- Achor, Shawn. “Is Happiness the Secret of Success?” CNN. 19 March 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2018.
- Clear, James. “The Myth and Magic of Deliberate Practice.” James Clear, 1 Sept. 2018. Web. 27 Oct. 2018.
- Colvin, Geoffrey. “What It Takes to Be Great.” Fortune Magazine. 30 Oct. 2006: 1-5. Business Source Elite. Web. 19 June 2016.
- Davis, Jonnelle. “Liz Murray Shares Her ‘Homeless to Harvard’ Story in Greensboro Speakers Series.” Greensboro News & Record. 9 May 2016.
- Dweck, Carol S. “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids.” Scientific American. Scientific American, A Division of Nature American, Inc., 1 Jan. 2015: 1-7. Web. 2018.
- Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Penguin, 2008. Print.
- Halvorson, Heidi Grant. “The Trouble With Bright Girls.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 23 Oct. 2018.
- Moeller, Philip. “Why Helping Others Makes Us Happy.” U.S News and World Report. 4 April 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2018.
