What is the most critical factor in pursuing success? Is it luck? Is it a talent? Or diligence? In fact, the research of psychologist Carol Dweck pointed out that it is often the 'thought pattern' itself that determines whether a person can succeed . Your way of thinking, especially how you view 'whether abilities can be changed', determines how far you can go.
In the field of psychology, 'growth thinking' and 'fixed thinking' are two important concepts that are often mentioned. This difference in thinking patterns directly affects your attitude towards failure, motivation to learn, and even the development trajectory of your personality. In the currently hotly discussed MBTI personality test , different types of personality often show different tendencies between these two thinking patterns.
This article will focus on the essential differences between growth thinking and fixed thinking, and at the same time combine it with MBTI personality types to help you understand your psychological growth potential more deeply. If you don’t know your personality type, it is recommended that you complete the Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test first to better understand what kind of thinking you are in.
What is growth thinking? What is fixed thinking?
Growth Mindset refers to a person's belief that abilities can be continuously developed and improved through hard work, strategy and learning . Failure is not the end, but a necessary process to success. People with this kind of thinking are usually more willing to accept challenges, learn from mistakes, and have more motivation to continue to improve.
Fixed Mindset believes that human abilities are inherently fixed . Failure is seen as evidence of insufficient ability, so it tends to avoid challenges and avoid exposing one's shortcomings.
For example, when faced with a complex math problem:
- People with growth mindsets will think, “Although I don’t know, I can learn it.”
- People with fixed thinking may think: 'I am not good at mathematics and I am helpless.'
If you have completed the free MBTI test, you will find that your personality type may be more growth-oriented in some areas and more fixed-oriented thinking in some aspects.
The core characteristics of growth thinking
A true growth mindset is not just as simple as 'believing that hard work can lead to success', but it contains three core elements :
1. Accept discomfort and challenges
Growth is never a comfortable process. Being willing to step out of the familiar zone means being willing to endure temporary discomfort and failure. People with growth-oriented thinking are happy to explore the unknown and even enjoy a state of 'not knowing but wanting to learn'. This is particularly evident in Extraverted MBTI personality types , who are more willing to proactively seek feedback and challenges.
2. Draw energy from failure
People with fixed thinking often regard failure as the 'label' of their own abilities, thus creating shame or avoidance emotions; while people with growth thinking will 'fail with confidence' - they know that failure does not define themselves, but is just a necessary part of improving their abilities. Many confident and firm MBTI types, such as ENTJ , ESTJ and other Assertive personality , also possess this trait.
3. Develop strategies and stick to implementation
Growth is not blind persistence, but planning progress. Growth-minded people are good at setting goals, making plans and implementing actions. This trait is particularly prominent in the MBTI type of Judging characteristics , which focuses on structure, rules and efficient execution.
The Implications of Growth Thinking on Personality Test
Most people will show a mixed state of growth and fixed thinking in different situations. For example, you may be very enterprising in your career development and pursue breakthroughs, but you are still prepared for your past failures in your interpersonal relationships.
Among the 16 personality types of MBTI , different personalities have different thinking patterns when facing challenges and failures. If you don’t know enough about your personality type, you can complete the free MBTI personality test on the official website of PsycTest Quiz (psychtest.cn), or you can read the MBTI advanced personality profile to analyze your growth model, career tendencies, interpersonal style and other dimensions in a deeper way.
Fixed thinking: Is it totally useless?
Actually not all.
Fixed thinking has practical significance in some scenarios. For example:
- Facing unchangeable facts : such as age, genetic conditions, etc., accepting reality is more beneficial to mental health than blind confrontation;
- Avoid unnecessary risks : For example, people who think gambling cannot get rich often avoid impulsive and risky behavior;
- Focus on real interests : A person can choose not to practice basketball, but focus on improving language skills or musical talent.
In this sense, fixed thinking is not completely negative, but a way of thinking for resource management. The key is whether you can maintain a growth-oriented thinking motivation in key areas (such as career, study, social networking).
The correlation between MBTI personality type and growth thinking
Although the MBTI personality type itself does not determine whether a person is growing or fixed-minded, some types do seem to be more likely to show growth tendencies.
for example:
- ENFP (full of curiosity and enthusiasm, tending to explore and grow) : They are brave enough to try new things, regard challenges as growth opportunities, and interpret more ENFP personality .
- INTJ (good at strategic thinking, self-driven) : They are good at setting goals and unswervingly execute them, and more interpretations of INTJ personality .
- ISFJ (responsible and reliable, working hard to complete tasks) : Although introverted, they have solid execution ability and are constantly growing in practice. More interpretations of ISFJ personality .
If you want to know whether your personality type tends to be growth-oriented thinking, you can read the personality interpretation article on PsycTest Quiz's official website, which will provide more in-depth behavioral motivation, potential growth bottlenecks, emotional processing mechanisms and other advanced content.
How to cultivate growth thinking?
- Focus on the process rather than the result : the process of effort is value in itself;
- Actively accept failures : record failed experiences and learn from them;
- Reshape the inner language : use 'can't do it yet' instead of 'can't do it';
- Find role models and feedback : interact with people with strong growth mindsets and get inspiration;
- Use personality tests as a growth tool : Understand your own thinking patterns and adjust your behavioral strategies more consciously.
You can further understand yourself through the personality tools on the PsycTest Quiz official website (psychtest.cn) and continue to track your personality growth path.
At the end: Growth-based thinking can be cultivated
No matter what kind of thinking pattern you are currently more inclined to, as long as you begin to realize that 'ability can be cultivated', you have already taken an important step. Thinking determines behavior, and behavior determines destiny . I hope you can use growth thinking to break through limitations and meet challenges in your future study and life journey.
If you want to learn more about your personality, it is recommended that you visit the official free version of MBTI test portal of PsycTest Quiz website, or you can choose to unlock MBTI's advanced personality profile to obtain more in-depth self-growth guidance.
Your current location is just the starting point. You can grow into anyone you want to be.
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