How can we ensure that our creative process is not hindered by such insecurities and therefore becomes a pain and not a joy?
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck synthesized in her remarkably insightful Mindset: The New Psychology of Success what separates success from failure in every domain of our lives.
The key is the difference between two types of mind-sets. A fixed mindset is when we assume that our abilities, intellectual, creative or otherwise are given and cannot be changed.
Success means the affirmation of these inherent traits. Failure is to be avoided at all costs. We avoid risk and effort because they can indicate our shortcomings and undermine our social status.
A growth mindset is centered around change, challenges and the cultivation of our initial skills, qualities and talents.
Failure is considered necessary and not an indication of being stupid or less talented, but simply a trial that didn’t work this time. Success is believed to be about becoming smarter, more talented, even kinder or wiser through practice.
MORE: 5 Reasons Why You Should Always Embrace Failure
The difference among the two mindsets is that one creates passion for learning, and the other a hunger for approval. When we change our mindset from a fixed one to a flexible one, we can stop obsessing about the hand that life has dealt us and start focusing on how we can become no matter what our initial capacities were.
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