Mindset has more to do with mental health than you think

What is mindset?

A mindset is a set of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that shape the way a person perceives and responds to the world. It influences how we interpret experiences, face challenges, and make decisions. Our mindset can determine whether we approach life with curiosity and resilience or with fear and limitation.

Many factors contribute to the formation of a person’s mindset, including personal experiences, cultural background, education, and social environment. Because mindsets are made up of learned beliefs, they are not fixed - we can change them. This means that just as we learn new skills, we can also develop new ways of thinking and responding to life.

A personal example…

Even though I grew up in a well-off home, my father had grown up humble, and his scarcity mindset has never left him to this day. Throughout my childhood, he would often say that we were going to run out of money, even though that was far from reality. But his mindset around money rubbed off on me, creating a sense of dread, fear and anxiety around financial matters.

He reinforced clichés such as “money doesn’t grow on trees” and “you have to work hard for money.” Unsurprisingly, I developed poor financial habits and struggled with money until I was 31. It took burning out at 27 and being so tired of working so hard to shift things for me.

It took reading numerous self-help books, listening to podcasts, and investing in a $3,000 course to shift my mindset completely. That course was a turning point, teaching me how to reshape my financial beliefs, create smarter habits, and build confidence in handling money. Since then, I have restructured my life, now working only three days a week while earning the equivalent of a full-time salary. This has freed up time for other pursuits and passions.

I had to actively decondition my mind from scarcity-based beliefs and rewire it for abundance.

I surrounded myself with examples of people living with financial freedom and adopted a mindset that allowed me to see new opportunities. Just as it takes time to learn new concepts, it takes time to unlearn limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering ones. I started tracking my finances, making intentional spending decisions, and setting clear financial goals - something I had never done before. With time and consistency, my entire approach to money changed, and so did my financial reality.

This leads me onto explain two popular mindsets you may have heard about:

Growth Mindset: individuals with a growth mindset believe that abilities can be developed through dedication, effort, and learning. They see challenges as opportunities to learn, embrace effort as a path to mastery, learn from criticism, and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. This mindset is associated with resilience and a love for learning.

Fixed Mindset: Individuals with a fixed mindset tend to believe that their abilities, intelligence, and talents are fixed traits. They may avoid challenges to avoid failure, believe that effort is fruitless, are sensitive to criticism, can feel threatened by the success of others and are generally harder on themselves. This mindset can limit personal and intellectual growth.

Mindsets also have a lot to do with mental health. 

Mindset plays a crucial role in mental health. Research has found that individuals with a fixed mindset are more likely to experience mental health challenges.

One study found that young people with fixed mindsets were more prone to mental health issues (Schleider et al., 2015). Another study reported that individuals with fixed mindsets had more self-reported symptoms of psychological distress (Tao et al., 2022).

Additionally, Zhu and Wong (2022) found that people with stronger fixed mindsets were more likely to experience suicidal ideation compared to those with only depressive symptoms.

There is a clear link between a fixed mindset, low self-esteem, and learned helplessness. Learned helplessness is also associated with suicidal ideation.

What’s troubling is when someone has grown to develop a fixed mindset, not realising or noticing what an impact the mindset has: mentally, emotionally, the opportunities they pursue, the new skills or hobbies they want to try but don’t try. When it’s all someone has known, they may not always question their way of being, they may assume that “this is just how I am,” which is, in itself, a fixed belief.

How to shift towards a growth mindset

The first step is awareness. The next step is what you choose to do with that awareness.

Having a growth mindset acts as a buffer during difficult times and can help you reach your potential instead of staying small. Thanks to neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to change - we know that thoughts, beliefs, and neural pathways can be rewired. It is never too late to adopt a growth mindset and break free from limiting beliefs.

If you ever feel called to work with someone professionally to move through limiting beliefs and blocks, please feel free to reach out. Even if it’s for a casual chat to get some tips, recommendations, or guidance in the right direction, I would love to help you get started.