Mindset: Intrinsic Psyche for Success
Navigating the Labyrinth of our Sentient Nature
The human brain is a divine marvel of evolution. An ancient apparatus refined to undergo the most advanced processing known in the universe. A Stanford study by Stephen Smith reported 125 trillion synapses in the cerebral cortex or roughly the amount of stars in 1,500 Milky Way Galaxies. Each synapse contributing to the elaborate web of communication processing a vast expanse of data. Scientific American claims the brain’s memory capacity is equivalent to 2.5 petabytes. A biological climax from the storied abiogenesis nearly four billion years prior when our Least universal common ancestor (Luca), mutated into what became the tree of life known on planet Earth.
Gigabyte (GB) = 1.0 x 10⁹ bytes
PETAbyte (PB) = 1.0 x 10¹⁸ bytes = 1 quadrillion bytes
(Check out TREE(3) to fall into the data black hole event horizon)
Evolutionary Anomaly
This is incomprehensible for the human mind to understand its own complexity. It can only be reasonably perceived with analogies. How about let’s just agree the brain is a powerful instrument. A collection of collaborative minds presents a formidable technological brigade of information.
All of your senses, cognition, and primal instinct stem from this soft mass of supportive tissues and nerves. More than 500,000 years ago, Sapiens experienced a vault of positive selection of genes involving both brain function and behavior. The development of the nervous system created an advantageous mutation in our anatomy, creating the initial genes responsible for communication and speech (The Evolution of Modern Human Brain Shape, 2018). The social revolution of our species would accelerate the once lowly Homo Sapiens to topple the hierarchy of life.
We have come a long way since the dawn of revolutionary brain morphology. Clearly, it was pretty beneficial… I don’t see any Neandertals or Denisovans roaming around in the 21st century. Sapiens dominant this planet.
Cognitive Analysis
This organ continues to command our every human assertation. It’s all-knowing power has the reign over your humanistic psychology. This view emphasizes that you are are responsible for your own happiness and well-being.
You control your outlook, your energy, and your attitude. A choice you willingly make without regard, constantly. If you work to control your psychological chemistry, and direct your focus to have a more elevated persona. An appetite to address adversity with the inertia of a positive, forward rationale ensues.
Dr. Carol Dweck pioneered a movement on the basis of the behavioral analysis in her extensive mindset research studies, and the body of sources confirming her conclusions across representative samples of our entire species. Dr. Dweck’s novel, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, can be minimized to a simple concept:
Those who believe their abilities can be developed psychologically construct a positive feedback loop geared toward success.
A disarming majority of society is encapsulated by a fixed, mindlessly-rigid mindset to the world. During their life, they been told they aren’t gifted enough, don’t have the genes, or can’t get the resources. This static stance dissolves any mindful reflection necessary to learn.
When you stop fighting to pursue aspirations, you write a self-fulfilling tale of the inability to overcome failure. This negative perspective is a disease which consumes its host, overrunning them with fear and insecurity. A war must be waged to combat this self-destructive front.
The Journey to a Growth Mindset:
- Accept you have both mindsets.
- Identify the triggers of your fixed mindset.
- Understand how this persona affects your work and relationships.
- Educate yourself on remaining on-course in your growth mindset journey.
- Continue to educate yourself and refining your processes to succeed and foster growth.
If you approach all your problems with a growth mindset, it won’t be easy. Life will continually test you, but you wish always be receptive to advancing your knowledge and personal development. This leads to an unprecedented ability to continue transform your life. Dr. Dweck concluded:
“Change can be tough… It’s for you to decide whether change is right for you now… When you bump up against obstacles, you can turn to [the growth mindset]. It will always be there for you, showing you a path into the future.”
Imagine the collective advance society could take towards being more open, loving, and accepting. A colossal stride can be made to enhance the quality of life for all. Do your part.
Choose the growth mindset.
John Rawley is a writer, entrepreneur, and mountaineer. Following a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he set off to conquer the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. A passion for self-improvement, nature, and technological advancement ignited Summit Pioneer.
