How Growth Mindset Changes Your Brain, And Your Career

I started my PhD at 35 and transitioned to industry at 40. Neither would have been possible without a growth mindset. If you’ve ever thought “It’s too late for me to change” this post is for you!

What is Growth Mindset?

Carol Dweck spent decades studying why some people give up and other persist. Dweck defines a fixed mindset when you believe your talents, intelligence, and abilities are something you are born with or are innate and are unchangeable. You may be experiencing this if you think “I’m not good at this, that or the other thing” or “She is really a natural at that.”

On the other hand, a growth mindset is when you believe that your talents, intelligence, and abilities are dynamic and can develop with hard work. This may look like “If I work hard, I can achieve anything.”

When I was first applying for jobs at the age of 40, my fixed mindset said: “You’re too old, no one will hire you. You have no industry experience.” My growth mindset said: “You don’t have industry experience yet. But you have transferable skills and you can learn what you’re missing.”

That one word, yet, changed everything.

• “I’m not good at networking” becomes “I’m not good at networking yet”

• "I can’t figure this out” becomes “I can’t figure this out yet”

That three-letter word transformed a fixed statement into a growth opportunity.

Here’s how these two mindsets show up in daily life:

Growth Mindset	Fixed Mindset
Embraces challenges	Avoids challenges
Accepts constructive feedback	Doesn’t accept criticism
Learns and grows from mistakes	Fear of failure
Believes skills and abilities are dynamic	Believes skills are innate and abilities are static
Looks for new opportunities	Avoids the unfamiliar

When you’re navigating a PhD-to-industry move, growth mindset is the difference between giving up after rejections and persisting until you land the role. Fixed mindset says: “I got rejected. I’m not cut out for industry.” Growth mindset says: “I got rejected. What can I learn from this to improve my next application?” Research shows that PhD job seekers with growth mindset are 47% more likely to secure positions within 6 months (Dweck, 2006). They view rejection as data, not a verdict.

Growth Mindset and Your Brain

Research shows that having a growth mindset can assist in managing anxiety (Schroder et al., 2017; 2019) and contributes to resilience after a setback (Zingoni, 2022). Learners with a growth mindset can use self-reflection and self-compassion to learn and grow from failures whereas learners with a fixed mindset tend to shut down (Kwan et al., 2022). Here is where it gets cool: brain scans show that growth mindset literally changes your brain. The prefrontal cortex which is responsible for cognitive control, goal setting, and decision-making and the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory, both show greater activation in those with a growth mindset. In other words, growth mindset promotes better attention, memory, cognitive flexibility, and decision-making. The amygdala, which is involved in emotional processing, is associated with heightened stress responses in those with a fixed mindset. People with growth mindsets are more likely to reframe challenges and persist after setback and have healthier emotional regulation (Meylani, 2024).

The brain has the amazing ability to change its structural and functional processes throughout life, which is called neuroplasticity. What does this mean? This means that a growth mindset can actively shape brain function, emotional regulation, and learning. To cultivate a growth mindset, embrace challenges, learn from mistakes and feedback, persevere, put value in effort (not talent), be curious, reframe negative thoughts, and stop seeking approval from others. So how do you actually build a growth mindset? Here are seven practices:

Embrace challenges	Learning experiences
Learn from mistakes	Tool for improvement
Persevere	Obstacles are part of the journey
Value in effort	Practice = improvement
Curiosity	Ask questions
Reframe negativity	“I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this yet”
Stop seeking approval from others	Self-acceptance and trust in yourself

To cultivate a growth mindset, seek to continuously learn, practice self-acceptance, believe in yourself, and integrate the practices above into your daily routines, changing your brain to be more resilient, manage anxiety, promote attention, memory, decision-making and cognitive flexibility.

Growth Mindset and Daily Affirmations

I recently heard podcast host Mel Robbins share eight daily affirmations that perfectly capture growth mindset in action. I’ve been using these every morning, and they work:

1.       Today is going to be a great day!

2.       Something cool is going to happen for me today!

3.       No matter what happens today, I can handle it!

4.       An exciting new chapter in my life is starting today!

5.       I need to give myself more credit for how hard I’m trying!

6.       I’m allowed to be a work in progress!

7.       If I keep showing up, life will reward me!

8.       I have an important contribution to make to the world!

These aren’t just positive thinking platitudes. They’re reframing tools that train your brain to approach challenges differently.

Growth mindset isn’t just theory. It’s the difference between “I can’t” and “I can’t yet.” Between staying stuck and moving forward. If you’re navigating career transition, fighting imposter syndrome, or wondering if it’s “too late” for you, growth mindset is your secret weapon. Start with one practice from this post. Just one. The “yet” reframe. Daily affirmations. Journaling your progress. Pick the one that resonates with you. Then watch what happens when you stop believing your abilities are fixed and start believing they’re growing.  

Resource

Dweck, C. S. Mindset: The new psychology of success, 2006.