“You’re a TOPA!” This is the expression in my circle of friends for when you’re stuck in something and they don’t see a chance of you ever getting out of it. In this article, I’m going to try to prove why it’s good to consciously dare to be fools.

When I talk to participants at trainings and workshops, we always get to the point where it’s worth strengthening our growth mindset? It’s important to emphasize here that the first milestone in progress is to accept that we don’t have a growth mindset in everything. It’s an inspired moment in these trainings when people are relieved that the growth and fixed mindsets are not a general sauce. Everyone has areas in their thinking where they are growing and there are areas where they are fixed. Of course, the ratio of these can vary. I’m going to color this picture so much that I think it can be divided into four areas, the application of the mindset. Let’s see them!

Let’s review the areas one by one:
Developing:

When we are in this part, we devote time and energy to becoming better at something. The emphasis is on the better! We do the work we invest because we are interested in the area, because we want to refine our skills and strengthen our knowledge. In the development mindset, the journey, the effort are the key. We truly move in this area when we consider success to be the fact that we have given our all. I do not want to hide from the goal-oriented multicultural approach. Of course, the result also matters. At the same time, whether it is a project, learning a system or even improving our communication skills, I believe that every minute spent on it pays off. If the result is not the right one, then the problem is not with the effort, but with its direction, i.e. I need to try a different method.
Fixed:

Who hasn’t said or heard something like: “I have no sense of language”, “I’m bad at math”, “Cooking wasn’t invented for me”, “I’m incapable of establishing relationships”.

Right! Few people think that whoever says this is exempting themselves from daring to develop! #Daretodevelop!

What does this mean? It’s nothing more than that we have an acceptance that we are not / will never be good in this area of ​​our lives. Well, this is the fixed mindset. When we think that we have been dealt cards that we can’t change anyway, then we have walked into the trap of the fixed mindset. I don’t make an effort, because that’s all I’m capable of. As an organizational developer, how many times have I encountered statements like this in connection with a change: “This won’t work for me/us” “This method was definitely not invented for me” “We weren’t hired for this task”. And we are already at the point where it will be much more difficult to achieve results, because changing the mindset is much more time-consuming.
Outsider:

Let’s recognize which areas in our environment we view from a distance, or which are outside our actual sphere of interest. It’s also good to know that if my environment has gone crazy over crypto, AI, intermittent fasting, I still have the opportunity to feel like an outsider in this. I don’t care, I don’t have to get involved in this at any level, this is not an area of ​​the developmental mindset. (Of course, the question may arise as to how long I can actually remove myself from the aforementioned examples? But this could be a very different matter.)
Hobbies:

We have arrived at “sloth”. Oliver Burkeman’s book Life is Short was published in Hungary in 2022. In the chapter on Rest Reloaded, he describes how we cannot truly rest because we also link our rest to achievements. In the name of rest, burning at least 900 calories in the gym, reading two chapters in the book, listening to three online self-development courses on YouTube, or going to 5 famous places in Rome in one day. Burkeman writes that true rest is not tied to achievements. We do what we do for the sake of the action itself. What truly relaxes us is when we experience the joy of not necessarily wanting to be better, but just doing it. We can mostly see this in hobbies that we are not really good at, where we dare to be sloth. Because our goal is not to go from level three to level four.

Personally, I find this experience in skiing and wood carving, both of which are extremely relaxing. I know what I don’t do well, but if I started to refine all of these, the smell of sweat would appear, which is exactly what I don’t need in these situations.

Let’s take responsibility, let’s look for these situations and areas! An important result of my acquaintance with the development mindset is that I look at my leisure activities differently and I encourage everyone to do the same. Find an area where you don’t want to be a developer, because you just want to relax in it. Be a topa!