WILLEMSTAD - According to many personal development experts, the biggest asset in the world is your mindset. So how exactly does one go about measuring mindset and more importantly, how can your mindset be your biggest asset?
It is with this exact question in mind that The Think To Do Institute has conducted a nation-wide research on mindset in Curaçao, and how mindset influences the resiliency of our population. More than a thousand citizens participated in this survey in 2020.
The key concepts of interest in the research are growth versus fixed mindset, and abundance versus scarcity mindset. These concepts were measured by asking participants questions that were answered on a five-point scale.
A growth mindset relates to what extent a person formulates long term goals and strives towards these with determination and persistence. This concept was measured by asking questions such as: “I have achieved a goal that took years of work” and: “I will be able to achieve most of the goals that I have set for myself.”
An abundance mindset relates to what extent a person is oriented towards serving the needs of others. People with an abundant mindset are more inclined to form reciprocal relationships with others. This improves social cohesion and creates economic opportunities. One of the aspects of this abundance concept was measured by asking questions such as: “I am willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good” and “I am proactive (take initiative) in meeting my clients’ needs”.
When combining these mindset concepts together, four different types of mindset form a spectrum and can be distinguished as follows: Fixed_scarcity, Growth_scarcity, Fixed_abundance and Growth_abundance.
The scores from the abundance spectrum and the growth spectrum were used to calculate a new average score, called ‘Mindset spectrum’. Next, the data was analyzed to measure if and to what extent the Mindset spectrum influences positive life outcomes. It was determined that there is an influence on positive life outcomes such as emotional, physical and material well-being. These analyses resulted in the following graph. Each dot on the graph represents the scores of an individual respondent. From this graph it can be clearly observed that the higher the mindset score, the higher the positive life outcome score.
Figure 1. A higher mindset score results in a higher positive life outcome score
The graph can be summarized as ‘better mindset, better life’. This data driven observation is in line with the notion proposed by many personal development experts about mindset being an individual’s biggest asset. A growth mindset and an abundance mindset increases positive life outcomes. Luckily, such a mindset can be taught, nurtured and cultivated in people of all ages and of all backgrounds.
In the coming months, The Think To Do Institute will reveal several of its data-driven community projects that have mindset transformation as one of their core pillars for building a more resilient community.
Are you interested in shaping the future of mindset research in Curaçao? Then visit www.thinktodoinstitute.com and find out how YOU can contribute towards making our community more resilient.
The Think To DO Institute is an independent, apolitical think tank located in Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean. The T2DI has as its purpose to help Curaçao become a more resilient society by producing research that is based in best practice, and which delivers practical solutions to the barriers that hold the community back from becoming more resilient. Research evidence shows that Resilient Societies are created by attention to people, to organizations, to place, and to knowledge. Resilient Societies design, redesign organizations, institutions and systems to better absorb disruption, operate under a wide variety of conditions, and shift more fluently from one circumstance to the next. For more information about the Think To DO Institute, visit the website: www.thinktodoinstitute.com