Growth mindset

Most people fall into one of two categories of thinking. Either they possess a fixed mindset, which, like its name, is rigid viewing of essential matters -- such as intelligence, talent and abilities -- as stable and unchangeable. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is fluid, seeing the previous essentials as adaptable. Your capacity to develop a growth mindset can be the difference between breaking and thriving. Especially when responding to change.

Few people embrace change in their lives. We are drawn to stability, predictability and comfort. Change disrupts our desire for permanence. Change is, however, unavoidable.

The mindset you develop directly impacts your capacity to adapt or be broken by change. A fixed mindset views change as a threat -- disrupting the stable systems, routines and schedules. A growth mindset, however, while perhaps resistant to change, will adapt. The issue, then, is not how to stop change but how to adapt.

In the Bible, we meet a man named Nehemiah. Nehemiah was one of the captives of Jerusalem transported to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. When we meet him, he serves as the king's cupbearer, and his brother has returned from Jerusalem to Susa. Expecting a good report, Nehemiah asks about the city of his fathers, those who survived, and those who had returned.

The report was not good. The people were in trouble, living in shame, and the city was broken. Nehemiah wept and prayed and wept some more.

If Nehemiah had a fixed mindset, he would have received the news, wept and returned to his job. There was nothing he could do. He was, after all, only a house servant. He didn't know how to lead people and build walls. Plus, his life was stable. He knew what to expect of others, and they of him.

But Nehemiah demonstrated a growth mindset. The Lord put a desire in his heart to restore the walls and rebuild the people. He saw an opportunity that fueled a willingness to risk everything on a God-sized vision. Yes, God can do anything with anyone. But God demonstrates the pattern of working through those willing to bend to Him--those who demonstrate a mindset of faith and growth. A faith mindset sees that all things are possible. A growth mindset that sees challenges as an opportunity for God to do something that only He can. Daily developing a faith and growth mindset is the difference between thriving and being broken by change.