In my last article, I shared how I discovered that motivation, consistency, and discipline wasn’t enough to make profound changes in life and what really mattered was my mindset. Realizing that was only the beginning. The next challenge came in my early thirties when I noticed something troubling.
My mindset had cracks.
Not the small, cosmetic kind you can ignore and paint over, but the structural kind that make engineers squint and say, “Uh-oh, that’s not good.”
At the time, I wasn’t very active on social media, which turned out to be a blessing. With fewer distractions, I had more time to think deeper into myself and notice those cracks and reflect on life (sometimes maybe too much).
Cracks in Structure, Cracks in Mindset
As a structural engineer, I know what cracks in a beam or a slab can mean, overloading, deterioration, or worse, a design flaw. And guess what? The same applies to your mindset. If you ignore the cracks, they grow. And if they grow unchecked, failure is only a matter of time.
So, what do we as engineers do when we see cracks? Step one: identify the source. Cracks aren’t just flaws, they’re clues that guide us toward the right solution. It’s just like a physician making a diagnosis before prescribing the right treatment.
That’s exactly what I began doing with myself. Once i found that my mindset is the problem, I dug into the concept of “mindset.” So, what is a mindset?, how we can define it. I have read many definitions, but recently one really resonated with me from Carol Dweck’s Mindset:
“A mindset is a set of beliefs or assumptions you hold about your abilities and potential. It shapes how you interpret challenges, setbacks, and successes.
In other words, your mindset is the mental framework that determines how you react to life. And mine clearly needed repairs.
Abilities vs. Potential
I realized that since childhood, I had been programmed to see life through other people’s expectations: go to school, earn good grades, get a degree, find a job, start a family. For years, I lived on autopilot, chasing those milestones.
Yes, each one was meaningful, my degrees gave me knowledge, my job supported my family, and my family brought me joy. But the sense of unfulfillment persisted.
Why? Because I had confused ability with potential.
- Ability is shaped by what we learn as we grow and how we adapt to challenges.
- Potential is our capacity to go beyond what we think is possible. The less we believe in ourselves, the less potential we unlock, and the more limited our abilities become.
That was a big crack.
Repair, Redesign, Rebuild
As engineers, we’re taught that anything can be repaired—or, if needed, rebuilt from scratch. That became my new philosophy. If I wanted a better life, I had to deliberately repair, redesign, and rebuild my mindset.
But here’s the challenge: in all my years of engineering, five years of undergraduate, a master’s, professional work, nobody ever taught me how to repair a mindset. I could design a bridge and spot cracks in concrete, but spotting cracks in myself? There was no manual.
Small Shifts, Big Repairs
Applying knowledge into action and taking small steps with my daily tools to repair my mindset.
- Instead of being frustrated by traffic, I used the time to reflect and plan.
- Instead of stopping after my master’s, I asked, “Why not go for a PhD?”
- Instead of limiting myself to my home country, I asked, “Why not study in the U.S.?”
Each of these small shifts was like sealing a crack, unlocking potential is me and turn it into ability.
The Ongoing Work of Mindset
Here’s what I’ve learned: mindsets, like structures, aren’t meant to stay the same forever. They need maintenance, repair, and sometimes complete redesign.
Today, after years of patching, repairing, and rebuilding, I see my mindset as a renovated structure, stronger, more resilient, and ready to carry the heavier loads of life.
Will new cracks appear? Of course. But now I know how to spot them, repair them, and keep moving forward. Because just like a structure, your mindset isn’t defined by its cracks, it’s defined by your willingness to strengthen it.
