GROWTH MINDSET – WHAT IS IT REALLY ABOUT

As Dr. Huberman puts it: a growth mindset at its core is about driving dopamine release from the effort and strain process. In other words, contrary to popular belief, dopamine is not released when you get a reward but rather is released when you recognize that you’re on the right path to get a reward.

“Dopamine naturally causes neuroplasticity of whatever brain circuits were active previously. So it says, ‘Hey, whatever I did to get to this point, this milestone, not the finish line, that is something that I might want to repeat reflexively in the future.’” – Dr. Andrew Huberman

Growth Mindset vs Playful mindset

Striving towards our goals alone isn't what does the trick, to quote Tiger Woods, it’s about trusting the process. Once we combine this with another of FlowCode’s 7 mindsets, the Playful mindset, there is a transition to enjoying the process and just playing.

You don’t have to get everything you want to be happy — you just need to PURSUE growth.

Dopamine also instills more energy in you so that you continue working towards your goals and hopefully complete them:

“The great thing about dopamine is [that] it rewards us and gives us energy … I mean neural energy. And the reason is that effort of all kinds … is generally associated with the neuromodulator adrenaline, also called epinephrine. … Adrenaline in the body is released from the adrenals, and then epinephrine in the brain is released from a couple of places, but there’s one particular place. … It’s called the locus coeruleus. It’s in the brainstem. It wakes us up. It gives us a sense of urgency, and it’s about effort.” – Dr. Andrew Huberman

So now you can see why the growth mindset is so essential for flow. Practice, nourish, and ritualize, and we are here with you every step of the way. It’s the conscious effort, the intention to flow that is doing half of the work, and the other aspect that is vital for us being the internal system of rewards, rather than just the external one.

As Dr. Huberman so nicely summarizes: “We need to think if we’re talking about the nervous system, and we want to make it actionable for high performance … we want to think in terms of processes. … Reward as a verb. Not just as a, ‘Oh, you’re going to just pat yourself on the back.’ No, it’s what you internalize. It’s a process. That’s how the neural circuits that underlie reward get stronger. And the beauty of the brain is that you have this thing of neuroplasticity, which is its ability to transform itself throughout the entire lifespan. And the more you practice this, the better you get at it … It means … you have the energy to continue to push forward.”

*Credit to Neza Karba, FlowCode Academy CEO.

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