King Benjamin warns us in Mosiah 4:30, “If ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard . . . ye must perish.”
Most of us want to follow King Benjamin’s counsel, but how exactly do we go about watching our thoughts? This question is answered by Ryan Gottfredson, who was recently interviewed by Kurt Francom at Leading Saints. Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D., is a mental success coach and cutting-edge leadership consultant, author, trainer, and researcher. He helps improve organizations, leaders, teams, and employees by improving their mindsets.
Gottfredson’s conversation with Kurt centers around mindsets—what they are, how they manifest themselves in the workplace and the Church, and how we can improve our own and others’ mindsets.
What Is a Mindset?
Gottfredson starts his interview with the story of Tom Coughlin—successful NFL coach of the New York Giants who transitioned to the Jacksonville Jaguars hoping to turn their program around. In the end, however, he only unintentionally worsened the situation. How does this happen to great leaders? Why is it that 60% of employees say that their leaders damage their self-esteem?
It all begins with mindsets.
“Our mindsets are our mental lenses that shape how we view the world around us,” Gottfredson explains. Just as glasses can either enable or impede vision, so too can mindsets be either helpful or detrimental to our perception of the world. Most mindsets are unconscious—they are our brains’ way of processing information and have been constructed throughout our lives as a byproduct of our experiences. They impact character and behavior in dramatic ways.
“If we can awaken to our mindsets, then we become empowered to see the world in better ways,” Gottfredson says.
How Desires Affect Mindset
Throughout the podcast, Gottfredson describes a variety of mindsets. Each positive mental lens has its negative counterpart. But how are these mindsets formed? Where do they come from? Gottfredson says that they are produced largely by our desires and motives.
When we focus on lower order, selfish desires, our world views and subsequent behavior will emerge negatively. Some incentives we should avoid include the following:
- The desire to look good
- The desire to be right
- The desire to avoid problems
- The desire to get ahead
However, the opposite is true—the more we develop positive desires, the more powerful our mindsets and actions will be. We should strive to cultivate the following motivations:
- The desire to learn and grow
- The desire to find truth and think optimally
- The desire to reach goals
- The desire to lift others
The Four Sets of Mindsets
In his research, Gottfredson has found that these varying intents of the heart develop into four different pairs of mindsets: fixed versus growth, closed versus open, prevention versus promotion, and inward versus outward.
Fixed and Growth Mindsets
Most people have heard of fixed and growth mindsets before. A fixed mindset is possessed by people who see themselves and others as incapable of development—their traits are innate and unchanging. They are prone to say things like, “That’s just how I am.”
A growth mindset, on the other hand, is a powerful incubator for progress and eventual success. Those with a growth mindset are not afraid of challenges because they know they will grow as a part of the process—even if failure is a part of the process. They are focused more on learning than they are on impressing others, so they dare to exit their comfort zones and experience the new. “We get elevated by the Spirit when we put ourselves in [challenging] situations,” Gottfredson says. “At the end of the day, our mindsets actually dictate the degree to which we have interactions with the Spirit.”
Closed and Open Mindsets
Closed and open mindsets are another well-known contrast of world views. When our minds are closed, we are like a full bucket incapable of being added to. But open minds have a “soft front—allowing ideas to come in.”
In our Church culture, we often run the risk of developing a closed mindset when we say things like, “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt.” A red flag of a closed mind is, in fact, the assertion that one already has an open mind. “The people that can be the most damaging in an organization are the ones who think they are open minded when they are actually closed minded.” Open minds are comfortable with ambiguity and willing to hear other viewpoints. They focus on discovering truth rather than on always being right.
Prevention and Promotion Mindsets
“When we have a prevention mindset, our primary focus is on not losing. When we have a promotion mindset, our primary focus is on winning and gains,” Gottfredson says.
Gottfredson illustrates this contrast with an analogy: a ship captain with a prevention mindset focuses on not sinking. When a storm comes, he flees to safe harbor, ultimately ending up at a destination different from his original goal. A promotion-minded captain, however, braves the storm, winds, and sea—focused on succeeding rather than on avoiding failure.
Our greatest leaders possess strong promotion mindsets. Gottfredson points out that in the early Church, Joseph Smith tried a wide variety of congregations before he discovered the truth. He was purpose-driven rather than comfort-driven and willing to question the status quo.
Inward and Outward Mindsets
The final set of mental lenses is inward and outward mindsets. An inward mind is focused on self-promotion and self-protection, whereas an outward thinker is driven by the desire to build and lift others up. Leaders with outward mindsets recognize the value and individuality of others and help them see that their opinions count and that they are cared about as individuals. Whereas an inward mind seeks to be loved by others, an outward mind strives only to love others and has no concern for outside approval.
This might be a lot to take in. Use this chart to sort out how your own desires might be shaping the mental lenses with which you view the world.
Shifting Mindset
Gottfredson’s first suggestion on making a mindset shift is to assess. His website—ryangottfredson.com—makes this step very simple. There, anyone can take a free self-evaluation to discover their strengths and weaknesses. “It’s a self-awakening moment,” he promises.
But learning your strengths and weaknesses is only the beginning. You must internalize the principles behind the mindsets on a regular basis in order to see the positive behavioral change that you hope will follow. Immerse yourself in these ideas—perform journaling exercises, watch videos, and read books by Gottfredson and others.
It’s important to remember that this shift will not happen overnight. Encourage yourself and others in this process by recognizing that everyone believes that they are doing their best. Consider how you can help others and yourself feel greater safety when facing potential slip-ups.
Mistakes are a part of repentance, and repentance is exactly what a change of mindset is. We are improving the lenses through which we see the world. In the process, Christ’s Atonement frees us from fear and empowers us to become what God intends for us to become.
Brooklyn Edwards is a 21-year-old student from Evergreen, Colorado, attending Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She is majoring in editing and publishing with a business minor. Her experience in Church leadership includes a full-time mission in Sweden as well as various callings within YSA wards, including service in Relief Society presidencies and activities committees. Brooklyn interns as an editor for BYU Continuing Education’s strategic marketing team. Along with writing, she loves running, reading, violin, cooking, and spending time with friends and family. Her desire to lead by following the Savior is what brought her to Leading Saints and keeps her passionately listening to and sharing its messages.
