As I write this, I’m watching my six-month old son play with his baby piano and asking myself, where did the last two years go? It feels like a blur when I try to replay them in my mind. 

Remember when we thought this was all going to be over by summer 2020? Yeah, that didn’t happen. While we waited for everything to return to normal, wearing masks, social distancing, and working from home slowly became the new “normal”. 

During this time, I became a mother and relocated twice, once after the apocalyptic winter freeze caused my apartment to flood and traumatized every Texan I know. And while some of us were under the illusion that the whole world was on “pause”, others discovered forward movement, even growth, albeit involuntary. . 

And now that I am writing about growth, I realize that this pandemic forced growth upon us, regardless of whether or not we wanted it.  My six-month old baby has already outgrown his bassinet.I have grown into motherhood. And our community at JUST has grown into this new economy. Time never stopped.

Growth is inevitable. We all grow into something one way or another. Our challenge is to take ownership of our growth and intentionally steer it in the direction of our goals and dreams. 

At JUST, we believe we can do this by adopting a growth mindset. 

According to Harvard Business Review:

 “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and they put more energy into learning (seeing failure/challenges as opportunities, stepping stones).”

The women we serve at JUST could give everyone a TEDTalk about working with a growth mindset. Because of our community’s embodiment of the concept, a shared commitment to the growth mindsets is ingrained in our organizational culture.

 Let’s go a little deeper on each of the three characteristics that define a growth mindset. 

1. They expect hard work

People with a growth mindset are not afraid of working hard; they expect it. Most of our clients were not born into wealthy families with extensive professional networks. It is not uncommon for a JUST client to say, “I don’t know anything about starting a business AND I will do it.” They are aware of the challenges ahead, but they believe in themselves and their abilities to get things done. 

“Every experience in life is a lesson that helps you keep going forward, and I am ready to take on everything life throws my way.” – Guillermina 

2. They strategize with an open mind

When it comes to strategy, our community operates on experiments. We start by setting a goal, defining the actions we need to take in order to make it happen and allotting time everyday to work toward the goal. At the end of every week, we reflect to understand what worked and what didn’t. In doing so, we discover which actions we need to continue and those that we need to change.In this framework,  failures are  opportunities to take a step back, learn, and adjust. 

“Life is full of things you can’t change, and it’s these things that change your direction and make you reinvent yourself.”  -Leticia

3. They exchange ideas with others

This is where community comes in. Imagine working with other hardworking individuals who are also experimenting and reflecting. Imagine getting access to their results and insights. In JUST, we believe in sharing experiences and motivating one other. Our clients don’t see each other as competition; they share their knowledge with each other and help each other grow. In our community, we frequently see the power of the social proof ‘if she can do it, so can I’ mentality.

“If you stare at me long enough and you have an idea, I’m going to keep pushing you until you do it.” -Archette

I hope this article helps you understand how even in the midst of difficult times, we all have what it takes to grow into the people we want to become. At the end of the day, real growth always comes from within. 

Thank you for reading, and as always – Stay kind! 🙂