Once you escape the false constraints of the Talent Myth, the world is your oyster! To some, that’s immediately exciting. To others, overwhelming.
That’s why it’s vital to also adopt a “Growth Mindset”. And whether you’ve been aware of it before now or not, the chances are high you currently operate under what’s called a “Fixed Mindset” in your musical life. This may only affect certain areas or skills, or it may be happening across all your music learning. Either way, if you want to reach your true musical potential, it’s important to really understand this concept and become aware of how it’s affecting your musical journey.
A behavioural psychologist named Carol Dweck found that people with what she came to call a “Fixed Mindset” believe that they have a certain set of innate capabilities—and all they can ever hope for is to struggle their way towards those built-in limitations. There are things they’re naturally good at or bad at, and the sensible thing is to steer clear of things they’re bad at and try to get better at things they’re good at.
That sounds perfectly reasonable—and certainly in line with what society tells us is true. Except that the research shows it’s pretty much nonsense.
In fact, there’s a different mindset which demonstrates this clearly. And simply by choosing to adopt this alternative mindset, the very same person can quickly become “good” at things they were previously “bad” at.
“Growth” Mindset is the belief that anything is learnable for you. And that struggling or making mistakes is actually a good thing because it shows you where you can improve.
Here’s a comparison:
| A Fixed Mindset says… | Growth Mindset says… |
|---|---|
| Your abilities are limited to what you were born with. | Your abilities come from work and can be improved. |
| Challenges are to be avoided. | Challenges are to be embraced as an opportunity to grow. |
| Making an effort just means you’re not naturally good enough. | Effort is an essential ingredient of mastery. |
| Feedback is something to be taken personally. | Feedback is useful. |
| Setbacks are discouraging. | Setbacks help, by revealing to you what to do next. |
People with a Growth Mindset accomplish more than those with a Fixed Mindset by pretty much any measure, and enjoy the process more.
Here’s the kicker: it’s a choice. This isn’t “Fixed trait” vs. “Growth trait“. It’s not a genetic thing, it’s a mindset which you can simply choose to adopt.
Choosing a Growth Mindset is probably the #1 most important thing you can do for your success in learning music—or life in general!
Now, I’m not going to pretend it’s easy to shake off the shackles of perhaps decades of Fixed Mindset thinking. But you can do it, and step increasingly into that Growth Mindset. As you do, you’ll find yourself more and more able to learn new skills, improve quickly, and reach levels of ability you might have always assumed were beyond you.
In fact the only thing that can truly limit you is the belief that you’re limited.
Commit now to cultivating your Growth Mindset, and I promise you a double payoff.
First, you’ll find that whole new levels of possibility and opportunity open up for you. And second, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the process a lot more too (a.k.a. Enjoying The Journey).
In particular I would really encourage you to take a different view on struggle than you may have in the past. When you try something and it’s hard, or you feel like you’re just not “getting it”, or you start having those thoughts of “I don’t have what it takes”, I would invite you to remember Growth Mindset. See those moments not as a negative sign that you should give up—but on the contrary, a sign that you have found the opportunity to improve, and you are in exactly the right spot to gain the skills you set out to.
Be on the lookout for that inner voice which resists learning when things get tough, or starts to scupper your momentum with discouragement or self-doubt. You’re going to replace it by choosing to think instead “these challenges are awesome, this is where I’m going to learn” and “I’m having trouble right now. Cool, that means I’m pushing myself into new learning and exciting new abilities are on their way.”
Having a Growth Mindset makes an enormous difference to how much and how fast you can learn. And of course Growth Mindset is itself a learnable skill! So don’t worry if that “Fixed Mindset” list sounded more like you right now.
If you can cultivate that kind of positive, encouraging self-talk, all based on the idea that everything is absolutely learnable for you, I think you will be amazed at the difference it makes.