What is a growth mindset and why do we need it?

Every person lives with the desire to be successful and to feel fulfilled by what they do. The world is full of examples of successful people — whether because they have discovered something new and unknown that benefits society, become exceptional professionals in their field, or built wealth that brings them returns. Whatever the reason, we see these people as successful and often hold them up as examples. But what are their achievements due to? What do they do differently from us in order to succeed? And can we also become successful people others look up to?

The answers to these questions are both simple and complex. Studies exploring the reasons behind people's success confirm that, however different their achievements may be in nature and substance, there is one very important thing that connects them: the way successful people perceive the world and what happens around them. Before I tell you more about that, I want to draw your attention to a system that is key to how our brain functions.

The Reticular Activating System

This system is very ancient and extremely important for the brain. It is part of the brainstem, running through it and reaching the diencephalon, and it serves to sort and transmit information from the environment around us. This essential part of the brain is known as the Reticular Activating System, or RAS. In everyday language, it is often described as a "sorting gate." But why is it so special, and why should we pay attention to it today?

In our daily lives, we are flooded with information that our brain simply does not have the capacity to process. And I am not talking only about the things we consciously notice. This is where the RAS comes to our aid. It helps the brain select which information should move further along the chain and be processed. In other words, the RAS determines what reaches our conscious awareness. In the distant past, this system directed our attention toward dangers or opportunities and helped us survive. Today, our survival may not depend on it in the same way, but its influence remains just as strong.

Both in the past and today, the RAS sorts incoming information from the environment and passes on only what it determines serves our conscious mind. Personally, I find this function of the brain very useful, because it helps us ignore a great deal of unnecessary noise around us — every bird flying by as we walk in the park, every word spoken by the people we pass, every engine growl from a car speeding past us, even the grumbling of a partner or child at home. On the other hand, this system can also direct our attention toward the things that interest us.

How the RAS chooses what we see

Here is an example. Our car is getting old, and we want to replace it with a newer model. We go to a car dealership and choose a Nissan model — it is not the newest one, but its advantages suddenly begin to seem obvious. It has beautiful curves, ergonomic seats, a dashboard that is pleasant to look at, an excellent sound system, and overall it offers a comfortable ride, while driving it feels like a real pleasure. Happy to have found a car unlike anything we had noticed before, we buy the Nissan and proudly get behind the wheel. On the way home, we suddenly notice in the rear-view mirror that the car behind us is the same model. At the next intersection, we pass another one just like it. Shortly before getting home, we see another parked car exactly like ours. It turns out that this exact Nissan model is everywhere around us. But why had we not noticed it before? It feels as if everyone is driving it. The answer is simple: because of our RAS. As I said earlier, the RAS is the first filter for the information entering our brain. Before we liked this car and signaled our interest to the RAS, the system simply ignored that information, and it did not reach our conscious awareness. But now that it matters to us, the RAS is ready to show us all the surrounding possibilities.

When the RAS works against us

The RAS, however, has one major limitation. It cannot judge what is good for us, what will help us, or what may actually stand in our way and pose a threat. It is so primitive that it can function only at the level of interest. To give another example — this time one that works against us — I would connect it to a very common habit that unconsciously focuses our attention in a negative direction. Let me ask you: has it ever happened that in the morning, when you get up and make your first coffee of the day, you turn on the television and watch the morning news? Perhaps most of you would answer yes. And has it happened that while watching the morning news, you hear about the number of people infected with coronavirus in the past 24 hours, or about a car accident that took a woman's life, or about the innocent victims of war? Those of you who answered yes to my first question will probably nod again now.

So what is the problem here? By taking in all this negative information, which we cannot positively influence anyway — or at least not directly and not in that moment — we are telling our RAS that all these things interest us. All these troubles become the focus of our attention, and the RAS says, "Oh, so this is what you like? Well, there is plenty more I can show you." After we have finished our coffee, filled ourselves with negative information, and started getting ready for work, the moment comes when we leave home and get in the car. On the way to kindergarten, we get stuck in heavy traffic, and the first thought that comes to mind is: "How have the people at the municipality still not learned that traffic jams happen here, and why haven't they done something about it?" We drop the child off at kindergarten, but because of the traffic, we are already late for work. When we arrive in front of the building, it turns out there is nowhere to park, and the complaint comes up in our mind: "It's always like this — there is never anywhere to park." We walk into the office, already late, and find out that the client we are working with has a very serious problem and will delay the delivery of the equipment we need. The day has barely begun, and we are already thinking how unlucky we are and "why do these things always happen to me?"

The key to development

And perhaps now you are wondering why I am telling you all this and how it affects our development and our success. I am telling you because the key to success lies precisely in the way our brain is tuned. With the right mindset, with the right programming of our RAS, we can become the kind of people who achieve things and become an example for others. Once we train our brain to think in terms of development and growth in every everyday action, the results are only a matter of time. When we accept the challenges in our daily lives as opportunities that develop us and make us better with every new attempt — for example, while sitting in traffic, listening to the audiobook we never seem to have time for, even though it matters so much in our working life — we take the next step toward the final destination: joining the category of successful people.