65 Mindset Quotes Inspiring Positivity And Success
Our brains are unique engines. Each neural firing shapes who we are, nudging our behavior and stance in life. They shape discipline, resilience, and even our views on success and failure. If you want to optimize how you think, our collection of mindset quotes and sayings is a pit stop you won’t want to miss!
In the following sections, you'll find words from pioneering growth mindset advocate Carol Dweck to savvy entrepreneurs, inventive minds, and motivational speakers. Remember to pick your favorite growth mindset quote to live by every day.
Related Read: Fixed Versus Growth Mindset.
Quick links to our selection of mindset quotes:
Best Growth Mindset Quotes To Embody Daily
Our brains have a malleable quality called neuroplasticity, allowing us to rewire responses and learn new information. This natural brain flexibility is affected by our mindset – the lens through which we perceive our world.
By acknowledging what our brains can do, we can consciously shape and strengthen our mindset1. And it can only be possible with consistency. Being aware of and working on our mindset should be as routine as brushing our teeth.
Here are some of the best quotes to remind yourself of what kind of thoughts you allow to run in your mind.
"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right."
- Henry Ford
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
- Napoleon Hill
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."
- Winston Churchill
"It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about."
- Dale Carnegie
"The two most important days in your life are the day you're born and the day you discover why."
- Mark Twain
"Starting each day with a positive mindset is the most important step of your journey to discovering opportunity."
- Jay Samit
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Mindset Quotes On Believing Oneself
Believing in oneself is one of the foundations of building a growth mindset. This trust in personal capabilities fuels the needed confidence for accomplishing tasks at hand and even the humility for constantly learning.
Moreover, self-belief helps eclipse the negative influences of self-comparisons. Simply put, knowing our self-worth keeps us anchored and propels us forward.
Repeatedly read the following words to imprint each message to your mind and heart.
"Believing you are unworthy of love and belonging—that who you are authentically is a sin or is wrong—is deadly. Who you are is beautiful and amazing."
- Laverne Cox
"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
- A.A. Mine
"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
- John Wooden
"The best investment you can make is in yourself."
- Warren Buffett
"Believe you can and you're halfway there."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself."
- Wallace Wattles
"It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
- E.E. Cummings
"A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep."
- Vernon Howard
"Know what sparks the light in you. Then use that light to illuminate the world."
- Oprah Winfrey
Encouraging Mindset Quotes On Dreaming Bigger
The next foundation for a growth mindset is the courage to dream bigger. Bold entrepreneurs should set their long-term goals high, even if they want to be as big as the business titans like Jeff Bezos. Fearless kids put time into their studies to be astronauts or find a cure for cancer. Dreams carry weight, and they deserve to be large.
As the following quotes push you toward your loft goals, deny naysayers (including yourself) the chance to diminish the scale of your dreams.
"The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."
- Michelle Obama
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."
- C.S. Lewis
"If you can accomplish your dream alone, then you are not dreaming big enough."
- Scott Rigsby
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
- Earl Nightingale
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
- Anatole France
Insights On The Learning Mindset
A growth mindset thrives on an appetite for learning, regardless of the source. Whether a successful tycoon, a supervisor, a peer, a friend, or a junior, each interaction presents a learning opportunity.
Removing ego from the equation symbolizes a strong awareness and acceptance of our gaps. Remember, these gaps are not flaws but rather room for growth. As you browse the following mindset quotes from geniuses like Einstein to inventors like Edison, get excited about learning.
"You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives."
- Clay P. Bedford
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever."
- Mahatma Gandhi
"Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think!"
- Albert Einstein
"It's not that I'm so smart. It's just that I stay with problems longer ."
- Albert Einstein
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration."
- Thomas Edison
Quotes On Starting And Keeping The Momentum
Nothing drives progress like a growth mindset. It's the spark that sets things in motion. Students don't wallow in disappointment when faced with low test scores. Instead, they see what needs work and focus there. A businessman with a big idea isn’t content to just dream. They'll start thinking and planning right away.
Such resolve exemplifies a growth mindset that remains undeterred in pursuing its goals. Start or keep the ball rolling as you read the inspiring words from industry pioneer Walt Disney to Chinese philosopher Confucius.
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
- Walt Disney
"You can achieve anything you want in life if you have the courage to dream it, the intelligence to make a realistic plan, and the will to see that plan through to the end."
- Sidney A. Friedman
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I'm possible'."
- Audrey Hepburn
"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible."
- Tony Robbins
"To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can."
- Arthur Ashe
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
- Henry David Thoreau
"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."
- Confucius
Mindset Quotes Accepting Life's Challenges
Challenges would never be roadblocks as long as one possesses a growth mindset. The next time we're in a tough situation, instead of surrendering, let’s ask ourselves: What can I learn from this? What areas can I refine? And how can I avoid this hurdle in the future?
As your outlook evolves with the help of the following quotes, always keep in mind that failure is not an end.
"Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
- Joshua Marine
"You're going to go through tough times - that's life. But I say, 'Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.' See the positive in negative events."
- Joel Osteen
"Your attitude is critical to success. If you expect things to be difficult, it will always be easier to solve problems, overcome adversity, and have an enthusiastic energy about how you go about and enjoy your work."
- Nick Saban
"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."
- Sara Blakely
Insights On Resilience And Strong Mindset
People with a growth mindset foster resilience, often drawn from the string of experiences they face and how they deal with it. A quick glance at the biographies of successful entrepreneurs will shed light on their attitudes and beliefs.
As we hear their thoughts through their speeches and interviews, we quickly understand how their success didn't arrive without struggle. After reflecting on the following quotes, listen to Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement speech, where he candidly shares his own experiences.
"Our greatest glory comes not from never failing, but rising every time we fall."
- Confucius
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill
"I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
- Thomas Edison
"Life is like a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."
- Albert Einstein
"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."
- B.C. Forbes
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill
Other Unique Mindsets Toward Reaching Goals
Growth mindset is all about adjusting our perspectives in a way that will benefit us in the long run. For example, the words of Walt Disney suggest achieving the impossible should excite us.
From another angle, Kermit the Frog reminds us that aiming for sky-high dreams, even if we fall short, results in far greater achievement than not aiming at all.
Cultivate better mindsets as you reflect on the rest of the quotes below.
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
- Walt Disney
"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do."
- Kobe Bryant
"It's a whole lot more satisfying to reach for the stars, even if you end up landing only on the moon."
- Kermit the Frog
"I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
- Thomas Jefferson
"If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive."
- Dale Carnegie
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela
"A dead end is just a good place to turn around."
- Naomi Judd
Reminders On Avoiding Fixed Mindset
A fixed mindset revolves around a stubborn belief that abilities and situations are static. For instance, a student who perceives themselves as a 'math failure' believes this is an unchangeable condition, so they stop trying. Or, an employee set for a promotion stops it because of overwhelming doubt.
I am sure we have all experienced this thinking at least once in our life. However, we should be constantly vigilant against such fixed notions for the sake of our dreams. Let the following mindset quotes wake you up whenever you’re deep in negative thoughts.
"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make a mistake."
- Elbert Hubbard
"The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem ."
- Captain Jack Sparrow
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain
"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
More Advice Building A Growth Mindset
Developing a growth mindset requires persistence, resilience, and a supportive environment. While it isn't achievable overnight, it's certainly possible to work for it gradually. This section has more powerful quotes that should serve as a helpful guide.
Brian Tracy urges us to find positivity and lessons in adversities while keeping our goals at the center of our thoughts. Teddy Roosevelt, similarly, advocates for making the best of our present circumstances, utilizing our current resources to their maximum potential.
Read the rest of the quotes and fully understand the core message of each.
"Look for the good in every situation, seek the valuable lesson in every setback, look for the solution to every problem. Think and talk continually about your goals."
- Brian Tracy
"Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation."
- Michael Jordan
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
- Teddy Roosevelt
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
- Martin Luther King
"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy."
- Norman Vincent Peale
"Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power."
- William James
"The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work."
- Harry Golden
Growth Mindset Quotes From Carol Dweck
We cannot end this article without mentioning the person who created the concept of the growth mindset— Carol Dweck. A renowned psychologist, Dweck made multiple studies on how students' beliefs about intelligence impact their academic performance. She observed how those with a growth mindset tend to outperform their fixed-mindset peers.
For more information on her study, hear her talk on the power of yet and the tyranny of now as you watch her Ted Talk.
Today, her studies are relevant not only in the academic world but also in all aspects of life. As you browse this post again, pick your favorite growth mindset quote to live by every day.
"Everyone is a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. You could have a predominant growth mindset in an area, but there can still be things that trigger you into a fixed mindset trait."
- Carol S. Dweck
"In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome."
- Carol S. Dweck
"This is something I know for a fact: You have to work hardest for the things you love most."
- Carol S. Dweck
"Think about your hero. Do you think of this person as someone with extraordinary abilities who achieved with little effort? Now go find out the truth. Find out the tremendous effort that went into their accomplishment—and admire them more."
- Carol S. Dweck
| 1 | Staneiu, R. M. (2023). Nurturing Neuroplasticity as an Enabler for Growth Mindset through Lifelong Learning and Knowledge Dynamics. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence (Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 1264-1274). |
Isabela is a determined millennial passionate about continuously seeking out ways to make an impact. With a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering with honors, Isabela’s research expertise and interest in artistic works, coupled with a creative mindset, offers readers a fresh take on different environmental, social, and personal development topics.
