Your mindset is as important as any other character quality in determining your happiness and success in life. This is because it affects your perspective and influences your approach to any issues in your life.
Have you ever thought that you kind of get that but pessimism seems to be your mindset default? Here are my thoughts on what pessimism actually is and how to fix negative thinking patterns.
What is Pessimism?
pessimism is the attitude that things will go wrong and that your wishes or gaols are unlikely to be fulfilled. Pessimistic individuals often expect the worst outcomes and may disregard signs that suggest a positive result.
Different factors could predispose an individual to pessimistic thinking. Studies have shown that genetic makeup can influence pessimism in individuals. It is also common for people to develop pessimistic attitudes after experiencing failure, loss, trauma, or another negative circumstance.
Whatever the cause, pessimism is a destructive emotional state. Pessimism generally causes more harm than good. For example, it encourages a limited mindset.
How Does Pessimism Feed Your Limited Mindset?
A mindset refers to your mental state or beliefs you hold about yourself, especially your abilities and intelligence. Your mindset influences your thinking patterns, values, and actions.
So, what is a limited mindset?
Having a limited mindset means believing that success in life and business depends on innate skill and talent. Individuals with a narrow or fixed mindset have zero trust in their abilities to achieve results in any endeavour.
When you consider pessimism and limited mindset, the connection between both concepts becomes apparent. Part of pessimistic thinking is seeing yourself as unable to affect the outcome of a situation, which is limited thinking in disguise.
Pessimistic people see the worst in situations. Faced with a challenge, a serial pessimist will probably give up because of her limited mindset. In contrast, an optimist with an abundance mindset will never lose belief in her ability to overcome the challenge and achieve success.
Why a Limited Mindset Can Affect You and/or Your Business
Psychology professor Dr. Carol Dweck conducted a now-famous study where she studied mindsets in different individuals. She found two dominant mindsets ― the fixed (aka limited) mindset and the growth (aka abundance) mindset.
Individuals with a fixed mindset often have rigid beliefs about their abilities and potential. They are likely to see themselves as unable to learn new skills, solve problems or achieve like others. They may also do the following:
- Avoid challenging situations
- Face difficulties in learning and self-improvement
- Refuse feedback
- Refuse to innovate because of fear of failure
- Miss opportunities
A limited mindset can spell keep you playing small, hiding away, and massively hinders your business/career too if left unchecked. Fortunately, you can improve your mindset – even if you’re an avowed pessimist!
A growth or abundance mindset is the opposite of a limited mindset. If you guessed that optimism helps in building a growth mindset, then you guessed right. Adopting optimistic thinking patterns enables you to develop positive beliefs about your skills and intelligence.
A mindset of abundance lets you see the silver lining ― the positive in an adverse circumstance. That way, you can manage failures, challenges, and setbacks since you’re always reading to find hidden opportunities to leverage.
Life is a journey, that happens to everyone, but although it can be a rollercoaster with difficulties, challenges, and failures – a positive mindset helps you to be resilient, bounce back from the challenges, bring more joy and happiness into your life, and helps you to believe in your abilities and future.
Want to learn more about the beauty of an abundant? Join my next livestream training!
Join me on Friday, 18th February at 7pm for a livestream dedicated to teaching you all about the immediate ways an abundant mindset can change YOUR LIFE TODAY.