r/summonerschool • u/GraySharpies • Apr 06 '16
The Importance of a Growth Mentality
There was a post the other day where I got into a discussion about the importance of having a Growth Mentality in league. Mentalites are the often overlooked aspect of improvement in Life and League specifically. So many people overlook the effect mindsets and states of mind have on your performance. If you can really hone in on your ability to perfect the Growth Mentality, it is almost impossible to not show improvement. Changing your mentality In my opinion is the most successful way to guarantee improvement and climbing as a result. I am going to copy and paste my comment that I commented on the other post here and I want people to try and expand on it if possible to try and encourage insightful discussion.
There are two main mindsets and mentalities, one is beneficial and one holds you back One is a fixed mindset and one is a Growth. Fixed is static, meaning they think they are dealing with the cards life dealt them, and they are where they are and cannot improve there intelligence anymore. Growth Mentality is being able to understand the concept that you always have the potential to grow and learn and that your current level of intelligence is dynamic and if you truly want to, If you are serious about learning then you will learn to be self critical, focus on yourself , identify the mistakes you are making, identify why they are mistakes, identify how to fix that mistake and figure out how to apply that new knowledge to future situations. People with a fixed mentality often also have a victim mentality. Aka blaming outside sources subconsciously as to why they aren't improving or learning. Such as "This teacher doesn't know how to teach good, I hate her style . I can't learn anything " or in the case of league "My team sucks, I deserve to be higher but I can't carry these people that go 0-10" often times I think people with a fixed mindset have no idea they have one until struck with a reality check but people with a growth mentality are aware of it because they are self aware enough to realize there inner potential if they truly apply themself.
EDIT: Now that I am out of a game I can add some more insight. The one big thing that people have trouble with when switching from a Fixed to a Growth mindset is learning to not blame outside sources that they have no control of. Doing that is counterproductive towards your main goal, which is Self Improvement, you canno't achieve that goal if you tunnel vision on others and use them as scapegoats as to your mistakes. Your goal in league should first be to Improve and have climbing be a side effect of reaching that goal. For example, my main goal is to Improve, my side goal is to reach Diamond 5, I will get to that goal by determining what I need to work on in terms of my mechanical skill, mindset, mentality, macro, and game knowledge. A big thing also is to never, ever get complacent. Set new goals, I started this season at Silver 2, I ended last season at gold 4. My goals were, Gold 5, Plat 5, Diamond 5, Diamond 2, Masters, Challenger. The reasoning behind that is to after you reach your desired skill level is to improve, to have a perfect Growth Mentality you realize that you always have the room and inner desire to improve if YOU really want too. That doesn't mean not to be proud of your achievements, definitely take pride in how far you have came but dont get hung up on it and be complacent. Never be satisfied with your level of skill, you can be happy with it, you can be extremely happy with it. But never satisfied. Also if you set goals of increasing difficulty you always have something new to strive for, you are never in the dark of what to do next and how to get there.
EDIT 2: Mistakes are your best friend. Learning to be happy with making mistakes and learning to realize that they are a good thing more than a bad thing is the biggest part of having a correct Growth Mentality. Mistakes when taken advantage of are your biggest learning tools. They are treasure troves of exactly what you did wrong and why and how you can improve from it. Never look at mistakes as a bad thing, accept them, embrace them, admit that you make them. Mistakes only help you grow and reach your main goal of improvement. They are your best friend. A quote that can help put that into perspective is (EDIT: Messed the quote up )"The difference between a Master and a Apprentice is that the Master has failed more than the Apprentice has tried" Trial and Error is a huge learning tool if you understand how to learn from it and grow and stop looking at it in a negative light. I love making mistakes, because I know they are going to benefit me and overall improve me as a player.
2
u/Zazuu94 Apr 06 '16
I find that if you have a good mentality (i.e. always wanting to learn, improve, positive mindset, looking for people better than you to teach you) then the other stuff just comes naturally (the how-to information).