The Science of Growth – Key Concepts in Self-Development & Learning

"We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are."

Max DePree

Introduction: Why Do Some People Keep Growing While Others Stay Stuck?

Last week, we laid the groundwork for this self-improvement journey, discussing why continuous learning is critical in today’s fast-moving world. Now, we take a deeper dive into what actually drives growth and progress.

We’ve all seen some people seem to evolve constantly, learning, adapting, and thriving. Others? They stay in the same place, stuck in a loop of career plateaus and recurring frustrations. I am a living example of being forced to adopt several of these strategies, having made some major pivots in the last decade and more. It sure as hell is not always easy—sometimes it feels like the best option is to give up, throw in the towel, and go back to what you know best. However, I have found that through perseverance, embracing a growth mindset, and surrounding yourself with people who build your resilience and grit, you can achieve the unthinkable.

What separates these two groups? It’s not talent or intelligence. It’s how they approach learning.

This article explores five key principles—grounded in research and real-world experience—that help individuals accelerate growth, increase adaptability, and stay in motion. If you’ve felt stuck or flatlined in your growth, this is where the shift begins.

1. Growth Mindset: The Foundation of Continuous Learning

A powerful real-world example of the growth mindset is Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. Despite being told early in her career that she didn’t fit the ideal mold for a gymnast, Biles embraced challenges and made it her mission to continually improve. She pioneered complex new moves, bounced back from mistakes with intense training and focus, and even withdrew from events at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to prioritize her mental well-being demonstrated that growth isn’t just physical but also emotional and psychological. As Biles said, “I’m not just a gymnast—I’m a person. And I’m still learning every day.” Her story exemplifies how believing in your ability to grow, even in the face of adversity, can lead to greatness.

Dr. Carol Dweck’s research introduced us to the power of mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe their intelligence and abilities are set in stone. They tend to avoid challenges and fear failure. On the other hand, a growth mindset means believing your skills can be developed through effort and learning. You seek challenges, embrace feedback, and view failure as part of the process.

This simple mental shift can dramatically change how you approach work, leadership, and personal development. Reframing failure as feedback and effort as progress rewires your learning habits for long-term success.

A growth mindset doesn’t guarantee success, but it does guarantee that you’ll keep evolving. It allows you to focus on progress over perfection and helps dismantle the fear of not getting things right the first time. The best learners aren’t afraid to look foolish; they’re too focused on improving.

Try this: Add "yet" to limiting beliefs. “I’m not a confident presenter… yet.” Surround yourself with people who challenge you to grow and normalize learning through missteps.

Implementation Ideas

• For Individuals: Keep a weekly journal reflecting on moments when you faced a challenge or failure. Note how your thinking aligned with a growth or fixed mindset and reframe limiting thoughts using "yet."
• For Managers: Start meetings by asking team members to share a recent learning experience. Encourage open discussion of mistakes as part of progress.
• For Leaders: Model vulnerability by discussing your own growth journey. Create systems that reward curiosity, experimentation, and continuous learning.

2. Deliberate Practice: The Difference Between Activity and Mastery

Deliberate practice, as defined by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson, goes far beyond repetition—it is structured, intentional, and mentally demanding. At its core, deliberate practice involves identifying specific areas for improvement, setting clear goals, receiving immediate feedback, and continuously pushing beyond your current skill level. Unlike rote repetition, this type of practice is effortful and uncomfortable, but it’s the only route to true expertise.

Ericsson’s research revealed that elite performers, whether musicians, athletes, or professionals—spent thousands of hours honing their skills through focused, feedback-driven practice. It’s not the quantity of time that matters most, but the quality and intensity of effort. One of his most cited findings is the “10,000-Hour Rule” popularized by Malcolm Gladwell—though Ericsson emphasized that it must be 10,000 hours of deliberate, not passive, practice.

Adam Grant, in his book Hidden Potential, builds on this by exploring how the best learners turn feedback into fuel. In one of his studies, he highlighted the power of “learning loops,” where individuals consistently test, reflect, and refine their approach. Grant found that top performers actively seek discomfort and resist the temptation to stick to what they’re already good at. For instance, elite surgeons didn’t just practice procedures; they sought critique from peers and deliberately worked on their weakest techniques.

Another case Grant shares involves elite comedians. The most successful ones weren’t necessarily the most naturally funny, they were those who tested material, bombed on stage, reflected on the audience’s response, and then adjusted their delivery. This cycle mirrors Ericsson’s core principle: excellence is a function of focused effort, not raw talent.

Implementation Ideas

• For Individuals: Identify one core skill and deconstruct it into smaller sub-skills. Dedicate regular time each week to focused, high-effort practice with self-review.
• For Managers: Integrate skill development sprints into your workflow. Give real-time feedback and track progress visibly.
• For Leaders: Embed deliberate practice in your L&D strategy. Provide access to mentors, tools, or platforms that allow employees to target and refine specific competencies.

3. Embracing Discomfort: The Real Growth Zone

One of the most iconic examples of embracing discomfort comes from Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Phelps didn’t just train harder—he trained under deliberately uncomfortable and unpredictable conditions. His coach, Bob Bowman, would simulate adversity by stepping on his goggles or changing routines at the last minute, forcing Phelps to learn how to stay composed in chaos.

This training paid off in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when his goggles filled with water during the 200-meter butterfly final. Unable to see the wall, he relied on stroke count—a method he had drilled repeatedly in uncomfortable conditions—and won gold. His ability to embrace discomfort made him unstoppable.

From a psychological standpoint, discomfort builds resilience and sharpens problem-solving. As Adam Grant points out in Hidden Potential, discomfort isn't just a byproduct of learning, it's often a prerequisite. His work highlights that individuals who intentionally place themselves in stretch zones (not panic zones) tend to develop faster, perform better, and lead longer-term success.

Grant also found that leaders who routinely seek out difficult conversations or unfamiliar tasks build both self-awareness and adaptive thinking, key traits for effective leadership. Rather than avoid tension, they learn to navigate it.

This is where the Comfort-Stretch-Panic model comes in. Staying too safe leads to stagnation, while too much challenge overwhelms. The stretch zone? That’s the sweet spot were discomfort fuels development.

Implementation Ideas

• For Individuals: Set monthly “discomfort challenges” like presenting to a group, networking, or learning a new tool. Reflect on what you learned and how it stretched your abilities.
• For Managers: Assign stretch goals during project planning and conduct follow-ups to support and debrief discomfort-based learning.
• For Leaders: Establish a culture where trying new things is celebrated. Share organizational wins that came from experimentation and stepping into unknowns.

4. Character Over IQ: Why Resilience and Adaptability Matter More

A remarkable example of resilience in action is Sir Ranulph Fiennes, often called the world’s greatest living explorer. From crossing Antarctica on foot to running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days—after heart surgery—Fiennes has faced extreme physical and mental challenges that would stop most people. His success wasn’t rooted in raw intelligence or natural ability—it was the result of relentless mental fortitude and an unshakable belief in adaptability.

During one expedition, he suffered severe frostbite and ended up amputating his own fingertips. In another, he pulled a sled alone for hundreds of miles in subzero conditions. What enabled him to persist was his philosophy that pain is temporary, and purpose is everything. Fiennes has repeatedly said that fear and discomfort are signals—not stop signs—and that preparation, adaptability, and mindset matter more than any credential or title.

The parallels in business are powerful. Like explorers, business leaders and professionals constantly face uncertainty, resource constraints, and pressure. Those who cultivate resilience—who can rebound from failure, learn quickly, and stay composed under pressure—are the ones who navigate change and adversity most successfully.

It’s tempting to think success is all about intelligence, but research—including Adam Grant’s work—shows that qualities like grit, humility, and adaptability have a bigger impact over time.

Success often comes down to how you respond when things don’t go to plan. Do you double down, adapt, or give up? The ability to recover, learn, and keep going matters more than how sharp your IQ test is.

Your character—how you show up when it’s tough—often speaks louder than your credentials. We’ve all worked with brilliant people who crack under pressure, and average performers who rise because they stay steady, humble, and open to growth.

Build resilience by actively seeking feedback, learning from setbacks, and staying open to change. Strengthen your character muscle as much as your knowledge base.

Implementation Ideas

• For Individuals: After each setback, document the event, your reaction, and what you’d do differently. Build a “resilience archive” to track growth over time.
• For Managers: Facilitate team reflections after tough projects. Highlight how individuals adapted and what the team learned from failure.
• For Leaders: Incorporate adaptability and emotional agility into leadership KPIs. Recognize team members who show resilience through shifting priorities and challenges.

5. Grit + Innovation: Knowing When to Persevere and When to Pivot

Many of the world’s most innovative companies are not just defined by grit, but by their ability to persist smartly and pivot strategically when needed. Consider Apple—originally a computer company. Under Steve Jobs, they doubled down on creating elegant, user-friendly machines, but when they recognized a shift in consumer behavior, they pivoted hard toward mobile and media. The iPod, and later the iPhone, revolutionized not just their business, but entire industries.

Amazon is another case study in persistent innovation. Jeff Bezos pushed through years of skepticism about online retail. But rather than remain an e-commerce-only platform, Amazon pivoted with the launch of Amazon Web Services (AWS)a cloud computing service born from internal infrastructure needs. That pivot became one of the most profitable divisions in the company.

These companies embody the principle of grit + innovation. They pushed through doubt and adversity, but didn’t hesitate to course-correct when the data or the vision demanded it. Their resilience wasn’t just about staying the course, it was about navigating smarter paths to reach the ultimate goal.

Implementation Ideas

• For Individuals: Build a habit of weekly reflection: Ask yourself what’s still working, what’s not, and whether you're making progress or just pushing through.
• For Managers: Create space for “pivot proposals” during retrospectives or strategy sessions. Encourage experimentation with time-bound trials.
• For Leaders: Promote adaptive planning cycles. Highlight moments when teams demonstrated the courage to pivot and innovate rather than cling to the status quo.

Final Thoughts: Make These Five Principles Your Baseline

If you want to stay ahead, keep evolving, and truly enjoy the process of becoming better, build your development plan around these:

• Growth mindset: See yourself as a work in progress.
• Deliberate practice: Focus on quality, not just effort.
• Discomfort: Seek stretch experiences that challenge you.
• Character: Build resilience and adaptability.
• Grit + Innovation: Persist, but pivot when needed.

Next week, we’ll move from the “how” of learning to the “what”—how to decide what skills and knowledge to invest in, and how to create a balanced, focused learning roadmap.

Until then, reflect on which of these principles resonates most—and where you might stretch just a little further.

Recommended Reading & References

·         Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.

·         Ericsson, K. A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

·         Grant, A. (2023). Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things. Viking.

·         Duckworth, A. (2016). Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Scribner.

·         Fiennes, R. (2003). Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know. Hodder & Stoughton.

·         Biles, S. (2022). Courage to Soar: A Body in Motion, A Life in Balance. Zondervan.

·         Phelps, M. (2009). No Limits: The Will to Succeed. Free Press.

·         Grant, A. (2016). Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World. Viking.

·         Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly. Gotham Books.

·         Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. Avery.

·         Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

·         Rosenzweig, P. (2007). The Halo Effect. Free Press.