Mindset
Do You Have Agency?
“Sometimes you make the right decisions, sometimes you make the decisions right”
— Phillip C. McGraw (Dr. Phil)
We’re living in a time where more and more people feel like life is happening to them—not for them, and certainly not by them. Chaos, uncertainty, and noise are constant. And for many, it creates a lingering sense of powerlessness.
But underneath all of that, I believe what’s really at play is mindset.
Are we operating from a growth mindset—or are we stuck in a fixed one?
By now, you’ve likely encountered Carol Dweck’s foundational work in Mindset – The New Psychology of Success. In it, she lays out the differences between fixed and growth mindsets in simple terms that hit home.
Fixed Mindset
- Belief: Intelligence and ability are fixed traits—you either have them or you don’t.
- Challenges: Avoided. Failure is feared because it reflects personal inadequacy.
- Criticism: Taken personally, leading to defensiveness or giving up.
- Focus: On proving themselves rather than learning.
- Effort: Viewed as a sign of inadequacy—if I need to try, I must not be good enough.
- Self-talk: “I’m just not good at this.”
Growth Mindset
- Belief: Intelligence and ability can be developed through effort and persistence.
- Challenges: Embraced as opportunities to grow.
- Criticism: Viewed as valuable feedback.
- Focus: On improvement and learning.
- Effort: Seen as the path to mastery.
- Self-talk: “I’m not good at this yet—but I can learn.”
In my own work, I’ve come to realize that while these distinctions are helpful, mindset isn’t binary. We’re all walking contradictions—growth-minded in some areas and fixed in others.
You might be fearless in your physical practice, willing to fail and iterate endlessly—but stuck in your beliefs about financial security or professional success. You might feel completely capable in your work with clients but doubt your ability to grow your business, lead a team, or carve out more freedom.
And here’s the thing: we can hold both mindsets at once.
The danger is when we don’t realize where we’re stuck—when we assume our circumstances are just “the way things are,” rather than reflections of unexamined beliefs. That’s where the ceiling is. That’s what keeps us in place.
This is where agency comes in.
Agency is the belief that we have power over our lives. That we are the deciding force. As Dr. Phil puts it, “Sometimes you make the right decisions, sometimes you make the decisions right.”
Life is a continuous stream of decisions—some big, most small. Even when we think we’re not choosing, we’re choosing. Even in the face of hard, unfair, or painful circumstances, we still get to decide how we respond. We get to decide what we believe. And we get to decide what happens next.
It’s easier to believe we don’t have control. It gives us a pass. It lets us off the hook.
But real agency? It asks us to take ownership. Of our situation. Of our habits. Of our mindset. Of where we’re heading.
So I’ll leave you with this:
Where in your life are you operating with a fixed mindset?
And where are you leaning into growth?
Do you truly believe you have agency?
Something to reflect on.
