How Can You Use Mastering To Develop A Growth Mindset
Your mindset is your internal operating system. It colors the way you see the world, the way you show up in relationships, how you deal with hardship, and whether you approach challenges as opportunities or let them stop you in your tracks. As someone who deeply values self-awareness, I’ve come to understand that while many people talk about the importance of mindset, far fewer have actually taken steps to consciously develop a growth mindset.
The truth? Success, joy, and emotional resilience are deeply rooted in how we think. And one of the most powerful tools I’ve found for rewiring those thoughts is a practice I call mastering. In this post, I’m going to walk you through how mastering can help you develop a growth mindset, and how to use it as a tool to transform how you think, act, and show up in your life.
How Can You Use Mastering To Develop A Growth Mindset
Mastering isn’t about becoming perfect. It’s about becoming aware. It’s the practice of returning to your values, your goals, your mindset over and over again—especially when life gets messy. When you commit to mastering something (whether it’s a skill, a mindset, or a lifestyle), you’re also committing to staying engaged even when things get hard.
That’s exactly what developing a growth mindset is about.
A growth mindset is not something you either have or don’t have—it’s something you develop over time with conscious effort and repetition. That’s why mastering is so powerful: it’s not a one-time action, but a habit of returning.
What Is A Growth Mindset And Why Is It Important
A growth mindset is the belief that your abilities, intelligence, and potential can be developed through dedication and hard work. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that your qualities are static—you either have it or you don’t.
People with a growth mindset tend to:
View challenges as opportunities
Embrace failure as part of the process
Persist in the face of setbacks
Seek feedback and learn from it
Celebrate effort over outcome
Understanding what a growth mindset is and why it matters is step one. If you want to expand your life—in your career, your relationships, your creativity, your health—you have to start by shifting what you believe is possible. This post is here to support that shift.
What Is Mastering
Mastering is the practice of choosing a focal point—a mindset, habit, skill, or identity—and returning to it daily with conscious action and intentional thought.
It’s a recalibration process. It’s not about rigid routines, but about staying in conversation with your highest potential. Mastering invites you to pause and ask:
Who am I becoming?
What energy am I embodying?
Am I acting in alignment with the future I want to create?
When done consistently, mastering helps transform your inner narrative—which is the key to shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
How Mastering Works
1. Repetition Builds Identity
Every time you take action aligned with your desired mindset, you reinforce it. Whether that’s journaling, speaking affirmations, or shifting your self-talk, consistent repetition starts to shift your subconscious identity.
I have a set of notecards I read every morning with my affirmations on them. There are probably about 20. Everything from “My biological age is younger than my chronological age. I have extraordinary health,” to “We own a cabin in the woods,” to “All my friendships and relationships are harmonious or non-existent.” Reading these every morning reinforces them in my subconscious. It also remind me of what my values are and what is important to me. As far as manifestation goes - where your focus goes, your energy flows. I find by reflecting on these every morning, things are happening behind the scenes to make that come to fruition without my even trying… these affirmations are becoming a part of who I am.
2. Reflection Brings Awareness
Mastering invites regular reflection. This could be through journaling, morning check-ins, or audio tools like Calibrations in The Freq App. The point is to notice your thoughts and realign them when they go off course.
You can always choose to “delete, delete, delete” a thought and start over. Thoughts only have power if we give them power.
3. Intention Sets the Tone
When you approach each day with an intention ("I choose to view challenges as opportunities"), you create an energetic container that helps override fear, scarcity, or resistance.
Think of intentions as cold plunging for the mind. They only take a moment, but they set the tone for the day. Just like you can train your body to withstand the intense cold, you can train your mind to withstand intense circumstances. Choosing a beautiful state over a suffering state comes down to the thoughts we give energy to.
4. Environment Shapes Behavior
Mastering includes adjusting your environment—the people, media, and spaces that influence you. Surrounding yourself with high-frequency input helps keep your mindset elevated.
I think of this like the food I eat… what am I feeding my mind and spirit? What we consume physically, mentally, and spiritually creates an impact on how we think and feel.
How To Develop A Growth Mindset Using Mastering
1. Define What You Want To Master
Is it confidence? Discipline? Patience? Choose one focal point that reflects the version of you that you want to grow into. Write it down. Speak it daily. DAILY.
2. Create A Mastery Ritual
This could be a 5-minute morning practice that includes:
Affirmations or mantras
Journaling
Reviewing your vision or goals
Listening to a Freq App Calibration that helps you master your mind
3. Embrace Micro-Failures As Fuel
When something goes wrong, instead of spiraling, practice mastery by saying: “This is an opportunity to learn.” Reflect. Reframe. Try again. This rewires your brain toward growth.
And here’s the truth. Everyone fails. My goodness… I’ve “failed” at things more times than I can count. But you know what? Those perceived failures have always directed me to a better course of action and given me more useful tools for the journey ahead. It’s ALL on purpose.
4. Track Your Growth
Keep a simple tracker or journal where you note progress—not just achievements, but effort. What did you do differently this week? Where did you show up with more intention?
I use the Savor Beauty Planner and it integrates this concept so well. I also like to like to track my progress by asking myself: have I grown during this period of time? Am I proud of who I am becoming? - Of course I love to add $$$ to the bank and finish major projects, but the journey really is MORE important than the destination.
5. Revisit And Refine
Mastering is an ongoing practice. Set time each month to review what you’ve learned and adjust your approach. This step keeps you out of autopilot and firmly on the path of growth.
I don’t always do this, but I have time set aside in my calendar every month to reflect and refine. Also, every Friday, my husband and I take an hour to plan out our next week and define what reeeeally needs to be done. This intentional time makes all the difference in my peace of mind and the trajectory of where I am going.
Final Thoughts
Mastering is the bridge between intention and transformation. It allows you to develop a growth mindset not through force, but through steady, soulful repetition. When you start to view challenges as opportunities and consciously create new thought loops, your entire life begins to shift. Life is happening for us, not to us.
And if you're ready to take this deeper, check out our post on how to master your mind—because the mind, once stretched, never returns to its original shape.
Live on Purpose, Live on Frequency,
Jaclyn Steele Thurmond