Now that I’ve been in business for 10 years, I feel like I can say with confidence what I think contributes to success. Not only in your work but really in all areas of your life. One thing I see time and again in the creative, successful people I meet is perseverance—”persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” More specifically, people who have a growth mindset. No matter where you’re at in your creative career, you are going to face challenges, failures and disappointments. This is a given (unless you’re Beyoncé). Why is this such a huge factor in longevity? Let’s break it down.

What Is A Growth Mindset?

The Growth Mindset was coined by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck:

• Growth Mindset: Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies and input from others). They believe that their ability to achieve growth and improvement is unlimited and infinite.
• Fixed Mindset: Individuals who believe their talents are innate gifts and can’t be changed in any meaningful way. They believe that their ability to grow and improve is limited and finite.

Individuals who have a growth mindset view failure as a sign of growth and opportunity. They know there is much to learn from our setbacks and that these things are not a reflection of them as people. Someone with a fixed mindset sees their work as innately them and it fuels their self-worth. When things go wrong they see themselves as failures and it hinders their creative growth.

Why It’s Crucial For Creativity

A growth mindset leads to more flexibility, risk taking and an open mind. These are essential for a thriving creative career. Everyone is going to make things that fail. Failure and creativity go hand-in-hand. While it’s perfectly fine to allow yourself to wallow for a few minutes, you quickly need to pick yourself back up and keep making things. Creativity isn’t a fixed state. It’s also not something that people are born with. I believe creativity is cultivated by practice and experimentation. Having an open, flexible and humble approach to your work will allow you to see failure as a necessary part of the process.

A “fixed mindset” vibe.

Conclusion

As you head into a new decade, try to remind yourself that you want failure! Failure means you’re trying things and putting yourself out there. Don’t allow a fixed mindset to hold you back anymore. Just keep making things!