From Stagnation to Success and How a Growth Mindset Can Transform Career Transitions
- Brainz Magazine
- Sep 1, 2025
- 5 min read
Written by Monique Farmer, Founder
Monique Farmer, APR, is the founder of Avant Solutions, a PR and communication consultancy that helps nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and small businesses elevate their messaging and build stronger connections with their audiences.
Picture us at our usual coffee shop spot, you’ve got your latte, I’ve got my herbal tea, and we’re tucked into a corner booth where the light is just right for a good, honest conversation. You sigh and say, “I just feel stuck.”
Maybe you’ve been in the same job for years, and it feels like you’re running hard, but the scenery never changes. Or perhaps you’ve been thinking about a new role, a new industry, or even a complete life pivot, but the fear and uncertainty keep you on the same treadmill.
Here’s the good news: getting unstuck isn’t about burning it all down. It’s about shifting your thinking, and that’s where the growth mindset comes in.
Growth mindset in real life
A growth mindset is the belief that you can learn, adapt, and get better with effort. It’s not about pretending everything is perfect or looking at life through rose-colored glasses. It’s about a practical, strategic confidence: “I can figure this out.”
Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research shows that our brains can rewire themselves when we take on challenges and learn new things. So the next time you face a challenge at work, instead of thinking, “This is a chore,” try asking yourself, “Is this a chance?”
Flexibility: The pivot power
Think of flexibility like a muscle. If you never stretch it, it’s tight and prone to injury. But the more you use it, the stronger and more resilient it becomes.
When you’re in a career transition, whether by choice or by circumstance, flexibility can keep you from “pulling something” when life throws a curveball.
Ways to build it:
Cross-train in new skills, even if they’re outside your current role.
Take on projects that stretch you beyond your comfort zone.
Play “what if” planning, imagine possible scenarios and how you’d handle them, so surprises don’t knock you flat.
In Chart Your Path, I share stories of women who discovered that small “stretch moments”, saying yes to a new project, joining a cross-functional team, gave them the confidence to make bigger leaps later.
Reinvention: Telling your new story
Reinvention isn’t about erasing your past. It’s about reframing it as fuel for your future.
Here’s a little exercise:
List your transferable skills: The abilities you’ve honed that could apply anywhere.
Audit your brand: Your LinkedIn profile, résumé, portfolio. Do they reflect where you’ve been, or where you’re going?
Look for bridge roles: Opportunities that connect your current world to your dream direction.
One client of mine, a former teacher, wanted to move into corporate training. She didn’t leap straight into a Fortune 500 role. She took a position designing curriculum for a nonprofit, a perfect bridge between where she’d been and where she wanted to go.
Confidence: The catalyst
Confidence changes how you show up in interviews, meetings, and even networking conversations. And here’s the best part: it’s not magic. It’s built through action.
Stack small wins:
Finish a course.
Volunteer for a project.
Present in a meeting.
Lean on mentors: people who can both cheer you on and give you constructive feedback.
Prepare so thoroughly that nerves don’t have room to take over. The more you practice, the more you’ll believe in your ability to figure things out, and that belief becomes contagious to the people around you.
Abundance mindset: Spotting opportunities
Scarcity thinking clings to what you have, even if it’s not serving you. Abundance thinking keeps your eyes open for what’s possible.
How to build it:
Write down three things you’re grateful for every day.
Network with no agenda, not every conversation needs to have a direct payoff.
Celebrate other people’s wins as if they were your own.
When you focus on what’s possible, rather than what might be lost, you start seeing doors you didn’t even know existed.
A real-life pivot story
Let me tell you about Melissa. She’d been in the same administrative role for ten years. She was so good at it that her boss never encouraged her to try anything new. But Melissa had this itch to work in event planning.
At first, she dismissed it. “That’s not me. I’ve never done it.” But we started working through the From Tension to Tranquility steps. She diagnosed what kept her stuck (Step 1): fear of starting over. She gathered examples (Step 2) of times she’d organized office parties, community fundraisers, and even a family reunion.
She took a small step (Step 3), volunteering to help with her company’s annual client event. That one day turned into new connections, new skills, and eventually a part-time side role in event planning. Within a year, she’d moved full-time into her dream career.
Her secret? She didn’t leap off the treadmill into the wilderness. She built a bridge, one plank at a time.
Your scenic route to success
With a growth mindset, career transitions stop feeling like detours and start feeling like the scenic route full of new views and unexpected opportunities.
Here’s a coffee shop mini-plan for your own transition:
Assess your mindset: notice when you’re thinking in fixed terms (“I can’t do that”) and reframe it into growth terms (“I can learn to do that”).
Start small: say yes to a project, take a class, or join a professional group.
Tell your story: update your résumé and online profiles to reflect the direction you’re headed, not just where you’ve been.
Find your people: surround yourself with encouragers who believe in your ability to grow.
Stay curious: keep learning, keep asking questions, keep exploring.
Your challenge for this week
Think of one role, skill, or field you’ve been curious about but never explored because you “aren’t ready.” This week, take one step toward it.
Read a book on the subject.
Reach out to someone in that field for a coffee chat.
Sign up for a webinar.
Even a tiny step counts because every step you take trains your brain to believe that growth is possible. Your next chapter isn’t waiting for permission. It’s waiting for you to take the pen. With a growth mindset, you can turn stagnation into momentum, uncertainty into opportunity, and fear into fuel.
So finish your coffee, pull out your notebook, and start sketching the trail ahead. The view from where you’re going is going to be worth it.
Read more from Monique Farmer
Monique Farmer, Founder
Monique's firm specializes in developing tailored communication strategies that help clients share their stories, enhance their reputations, and make a lasting impact.
She is also the creator of Anvil Ready, an online tool that streamlines the process of building effective communication plans, designed specifically for communication professionals who need clear, actionable strategies.
With extensive experience as a former Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as the former director of communications for Nebraska’s largest school district and in corporate communications for ConAgra Foods, Monique and her team understand the complexities organizations face when managing their reputations.
