12 Mindset Quotes To Make You Think Differently

In today’s post we review 12 of my favorite mindset quotes, but before we get to them let’s first hear a quick story from author Tim Grover from his amazing book Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. The story is about basketball superstar Michael Jordan and is a great example of the mindset necessary to be successful:

“After every game, I used to ask Michael one question: 5,6 or 7? As in what time are we hitting the gym tomorrow morning? And he’d snap back the time, and that was it. Especially after a loss, when there wasn’t a whole lot else to say. No discussion, no debate, no lame attempt to convince me he needed the morning off. Are you good? I’m good. See you in the morning. And the next morning at whatever time he’d decided, he’d awaken to find me standing outside his door. No matter what happened the night before-good game, bad game, soreness, fatigue – he was up working out every morning while most other guys slept. Interesting how the guy with the most talent and success spent more time working out than anyone else.” ²

Before we get to the mindset quotes, let’s do a bit of a deeper dive into the concept of mindset.

Mindset:  The Difference Between a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset

In her great book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, author Carol Dweck compares those who have a fixed mindset with those who have a growth mindset.

Dweck says that those who have a FIXED mindset believe that intelligence is static which leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to:

  Avoid challenges
  Give up easily
  See effort as fruitless or worse
  Ignore useful negative feedback
  Feel threatened by the success of others

As a result, these people may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential. All this confirms a deterministic view of the world.

On the other hand, she says those who have a GROWTH mindset believe that intelligence can be developed which leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to:

  Embrace challenges
  Persist in the face of setbacks
  See effort as the path to mastery
  Learn from criticism
  Find lessons and inspiration in the success of others.

As a result, these people reach ever-higher levels of achievement. All this gives them a greater sense of free will.

By embracing challenges, persisting in the face of setbacks, seeing effort as the path to mastery, learning from criticism and finding lessons and inspiration in the success of others we can each cultivate a growth mindset.

12 Great Mindset Quotes

Speaking of mindset, let’s a look at some of my favorite quotes on mindset along with some commentary and ways to make it actionable:

(1)  “The mind is like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets and the more it can expand” – Idowu Koyenikan

There are several ways we can do this including simple meditation, daily reflection, and journaling to name just a few.

(2)  “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” – Germany Kent

One way to do this is to simply write down 3 things we are grateful for every day.

(3)  “The biggest game you will ever play is the game in your mind. Master your mind, master your world.” – Kevin Abdulrahman

Research has shown that up to 75% of our thoughts are negative. One strategy we can use to overcome this is to talk to ourselves better using positive self-talk.

(4)  “Many limitations exist only in your mind.” – Francis Shenstone

This one reminds me of a similar quote by Bruce Lee, which is my favorite quote of all time: “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

Never put limits on what you can do.

(5)  “Resolutions are a wonderful thing if we can keep them, but many resolutions go by the wayside because we have not done anything different with our mindset.” – Monica Johnson

This one is timely as we enter 2020. Statistics show that only 8% of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions. Of those who do not reach their goal, it likely isn’t that they were unable to achieve their goals physically, it is that their mind let them down.

(6)  “I’d been reading Eastern philosophy since I was a kid. And I meditated. I did it on a daily basis. It’s the one thing I do with any consistency. Meditation gives you a different kind of mindset. It’s very powerful.” – Forest Whitaker

Simple meditation is something that I have been practicing every day for years and it has been instrumental in helping me focus better and remain calm and poised.

(7)  “Ability determines if you can, attitude determines if you will.” – Jostein Gaarder

I love this quote.  It is similar to #6 in that most of us have the ability to accomplish our goals, but many of us don’t have the attitude or mindset to follow through.

(8)  “An idea is a mental spark; a mindset is a mental inferno.” – Dany Dover

Ideas are nothing without the mindset to execute on them.

(9)  “My Dad encouraged us to fail. Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.” – Aristotle

I love this quote from Aristotle and the fact that his Dad challenged him like that!

(10)  “I truly believe in positive synergy, that your positive mindset gives you a more hopeful outlook, and belief that you can do something great means you will do something great.” – Ben Franklin

This one is similar to one that Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” and they both show how critical your mindset is to success or failure.

(11)  “Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – George Washington Carver

So true, if everything were easy, life would be boring and meaningless!

(12)  “The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail but that we aim too low and succeed.” – Michelangelo                                               

An amazing reminder from the great Michelangelo to always set our sights high!

Speaking of Michael Jordan That Reminds Me of Another Great Quote from Him

You may be familiar with it if you have seen his famous Gatorade commercial, it goes like this:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Until next time, I hope you enjoy these mindset quotes, be like Mike and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

What Do You Think of These Mindset Quotes?

Are there any of these mindset quotes that resonate with you more than the others? Do you have any other favorite mindset quotes that we didn’t mention? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

¹ 365 Mindset Quotes: Daily Mindset Quotes to Build Strong Habits, Self-Discipline and Achieve Your Goals

² Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover