Introduction

I recently completed a course for assistant managers and learned about something called a “growth mindset.” Turns out, I’ve had one all along—I just didn’t know it had a name.

Lessons That Stuck

• Challenges = growth.
• Feedback isn’t personal—it’s fuel.
• Skills improve with effort and repetition.
• Failure is the path to success not the opposite.

External Influences

I remember when I was about 11 years old I made many mistakes playing football in the street with my friends. I was not very good at it, but I loved the game. One of my best friends said that I was really bad at it. That didn’t stop me from playing, but it was comments like that which could have discouraged me and unconsciously made me have a fixed mindset when I encountered difficulty at something. Instead, I kept playing and practicing, and eventually I got better. This experience taught me that external influences can shape our mindset, but we have the power to choose how we respond to them.

The Super Mario Effect

Usually whenever I tried something new that I wanted to be good at I would practice a lot and fail, got frustrated and sometimes feel in the trap of thinking that I would never get good at it. I would push through and got better. I recently learned that this is a common experience. What really has helped me is reading about the Super Mario effect, which is the idea that the more attempts at something usually leads to success.

Mindset Matters

Learning PowerShell has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my tech career, it’s made my job more interesting and I have been able to provide a lot of value to my company. But sometimes I compare myself to others and wonder if I’ll ever reach their level. But then I zoom out and see how far I’ve come. The journey—filled with setbacks, retries, and small wins—is where the real growth happens.

Another important aspect of a growth mindset is the belief in yourself and your ability to improve. Recently my mum bought my kids some Tech Deck finger boards for my kids. I was intreged by them, I got curious and watched a video on how to ollie, I remember what an ollie was from playing the Tony Hawks Pro Skater video game. I had a lot of time on my hands during a family holiday and started practicing. I maintained the belief that I would eventually get it, slowly but surely I got better and at the time of writing I can ollie successfully 90% of the time. Anyway the point is to keep going, I remember when I couldn’t even get the board off the floor but I kept the belief.

🎉 Celebrating Small Wins

Sometimes progress feels invisible—until you zoom in. That first successful ollie? A win. Not giving up after a frustrating attempt? Another win. These moments might seem minor, but they’re proof you’re moving forward. Stack enough of them, and suddenly you’re not just better—you’re transformed.

🤔 Final thought

I also realised that being kind to people is important because everyone has potential and the ability to improve. Instead of bringing people down when they make mistakes or if they’re not good at something we can encourage them and lift them up. This is something I am trying to do at work and as a dad.