Growth Mindset

 

In the last chapter, we looked at the importance of overcoming fear – even overcoming a fear of death. 

And similarly, it is equally important to be willing to be uncomfortable and to experience small amounts of hardship.

Growth Mindset

How can you lose weight if you are afraid of dieting? How can you expect to progress in your career if you shy away from hard work? But this is the reality for many of us. 

We are simply unwilling to do things we don’t want to do or to put up with hard times. We have become exceedingly weak and it is ultimately making us unhappy.

Why We Have Become Weak 

Consider your dog and compare them to a wolf (if you don’t own a dog, consider the one you know). Look at the differences. 

Your dog might be loving, loyal, and fun but it is entirely dependent on you. It wouldn’t survive a day in the wild and it’s certainly not a warrior like a wolf is. 

Why not? Because it has been domesticated. And that my friend, is your problem as well. We have not only become domesticated but we have also become lazy, spoiled and overly indulged. 

Strength is Life Weakness is Death, Expansion is life Contraction is Death, Love is Life Hatred is Death

In modern society, everything is disposable, everything comes easily and we never have to wait. Hungry? Order a takeaway. It will be with you in five minutes and it will be packed with salt and sugar so you feel a rush of reward hormones. 

Horny? Watch some porn. Bored? Turn on the TV and laugh at someone falling over. Need information? Just ask Siri. Want to get into better shape? Naah, that seems like a lot of effort. 

Being so constantly indulged in whatever we want means that we find it harder than ever to put in effort when it is needed. Why would we put in effort when we can have so much, so easily? 

And likewise, when we are used to getting whatever we want, we feel absolutely distraught when the shower doesn’t heat up properly. And here’s the thing: in the wild, you would have only had cold water to wash in. 

 Eating would have required hunting or foraging in the rain while avoiding predators. You could be so much stronger and so much tougher – mentally and physically. But as we are, we’re fat, lazy, and low on motivation.

How to Get Tough

So with that in mind, how do you go about getting tough? The first thing you need to do is to try living with less. 

Tough people handle difficult situations with strength and grace. They stay positive instead of letting cynicism rule the day, and they're the ones who volunteer to help when someone needs to take the lead. Like wisdom, toughness can only be acquired through experience.

• 

  Handle Difficult Situations

  Focus on just one point. 
• Park negative emotions.
• Relax your mind between points.
• Strategize, don't analyze.
• Stay confident, avoid self-doubt

Growth Mindset

And that’s a key point actually: to keep a growth mindset at all times. 

Each challenge that comes your way is a chance to get stronger, smarter, and better. By dealing with these hardships, your life has a greater purpose (life is meaningless when it is easy) and you become better equipped to take on similar challenges in the future. 

So, the next time you find yourself in debt, instead of letting it defeat you, instead see it as a challenge. How can you earn the money you need to get out of it?

Avoid Stress And Anxiety

How can you become better? Don’t wallow in stress or anxiety – that helps no one.

 See it as a chance to grow and to prevent this from happening again and take the necessary steps. 

Don’t worry about how it looks to others, don’t blame yourself for letting yourself get into that situation before. Just take action. 

And learn from it. You were not good enough before but now you are going to be better. In fact, growth and challenge are things that the brain is actually wired for.

 

We thrive when we are challenged mentally and physically and this results in the production of hormones like dopamine, brain-derived neurotrophic factors, and more that keep us focused and that help protect our brains into old age. 

Not only should you welcome the challenges that come, but you should also seek them out. During ‘times of peace, you should prepare for battle by learning (reading books, adopting new skills) and by training your body.

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