Many people—perhaps you yourself—feel stuck in a variety of ways. Maybe you feel stuck in a job you don’t love, for example. Maybe you have been working to develop a skill of one kind or another, but you feel like you have plateaued and can’t get any better. Maybe you feel stuck because of someone else’s expectations for you (or what you perceive as someone else’s expectations).
That feeling of not being able to move forward is a frustrating one. Or at least it is at first. Some people, however, come to accept the notion that they are stuck—that nothing about themselves or their situation can be changed. When that happens, the frustration they felt at first is likely to settle down into disappointment and regret—and those emotions might be followed by a sense that might be summed up as “it is what it is.”
All of those feelings—the frustration, the disappointment, and the resignation—can be amplified by something known as a “fixed mindset.” On the other hand, all of those emotions can be overcome by something known as a “growth mindset.”
What’s the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset—and what does any of this have to do with your recovery from a substance use disorder? We’re glad you asked.
A Fixed Mindset Sets Limits
Imagine you decide to learn to play the piano. You sign up for lessons, learn to read music, start playing some easy pieces, and steadily develop more and more skill. Sure, you might not be on your way to having people call you the “piano man” (and truthfully, if you are in recovery, you probably should not be hanging around piano bars anyway). But you continue to get a little better and a little better over time.
Now, let’s say you decide what you would really like to do is play music by ear—that is, you want to be able to hear a song and then sit down and play it. You have seen people do it, and you want to do it too. So you give it a try. And you discover you can’t do it.
Here’s the moment where a fixed mindset and a growth mindset will lead you to different conclusions. With a fixed mindset, you might conclude that playing by ear is a talent a person either has or does not have. And since you don’t seem to have it, that must be the way things are going to be, right?
Well, maybe. But let us point out that when you first decided to play the piano, you did not know how to do it. You worked at it and got better as you stuck with it (that perseverance is different than feeling stuck in your life). If we cannot grow beyond our predetermined talents, how did you do that?
A Growth Mindset Reveals Possibilities
As it would turn out, you can learn to play the piano by ear. It might not be easy, and it might take some time. But then again, it probably wasn’t that easy to learn to play the piano in the first place—and that took time, too.
When you have a growth mindset, you believe that you can accomplish new things and are not solely limited to the talents you were born with. Think of the power of that idea. A growth mindset is all about possibilities rather than limitations.
The advantages of a growth mindset apply to nearly every area of your life—but we want to point out its particular usefulness as a way to approach recovery from a substance use disorder.
After all, if you approach your recovery with a fixed mindset, you will be less able to effectively deal with setbacks and challenges.
Relapse: Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Let’s say you experience a relapse. (We, of course, hope you don’t, but they do happen.)
If you are operating with a fixed mindset, you might think of the relapse as proof you can never really change and that you might as well give your life over to drugs or alcohol.
If, however, you have a growth mindset, you are more likely to realize that you need to restart your recovery and try again. A growth mindset does not remove challenges you might face, but it gives you a more optimistic approach to addressing them.
That commitment to growth can translate into a willingness to try and try again in pursuit of a worthy goal. And lasting recovery from a substance use disorder is certainly a worthy goal.
Get the Help You Need
Having a growth mindset does not mean you have to try to do everything on your own. If you are struggling with a substance use disorder, we are here to help.
At The Farley Center, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, we provided individualized treatment to help people leave drugs or alcohol behind them. We offer a range of treatment programs, and our work is grounded in evidence-based practices. We are ready to help you grow beyond your dependence on substances so you can rebuild your life.
