Creating positive self-perpetuating mindsets

The Virtuous Circle of Mindset

The ultimate goal isn't just to have a one-time positive thought, but to cultivate mindsets that reinforce themselves and become our habitual way of seeing the world.

A positive, self-perpetuating mindset works like a virtuous circle: an empowering belief (the mindset) leads us to take more effective actions; these actions produce better results; and these outcomes reinforce and validate our original belief, making it even stronger.

Example 1. From Failure to Learning

Let's consider the mindset about failure.

If our mindset is that "failure is a learning opportunity," when we face a setback, instead of getting discouraged, our action will be to analyze what went wrong and what we can do differently next time.

This learning action will lead us to a better result on the next attempt, which will reinforce our belief that failure is, in fact, a valuable opportunity to grow.

Example 2. From Envy to Inspiration

If our mindset is that "the success of others is a source of inspiration," when we see someone doing better than us, our action will not be to feel envy.

But to study what that person is doing well and how we can learn from them.

This learning action will help improve our own performance by reinforcing our belief that we can grow by b