Shift Your Mindset
The psychology of success from the book Mindset, by Carol Dweck.
One of the only things I disliked from my childhood memories was the division of students based on their IQ rankings. We were divided into sections based on our scores: A for highest IQs, B for medium IQs, and so on.
I never really understood why we were divided into groups of high, average, and low intelligence. We still had to learn and gather more information, and our intellects had no relation to this process.
As a result, I believed that my IQ had set a limit for the things that I could understand or do well because I wasn’t as smart as the other students in my high-IQ group. This fixed mindset caused me to think that I could never succeed in things because I was not as smart as other students.
and that’s why I loved this book because it talks about things like intelligence and personality aren’t carved in stone. This is what creates a fixed mindset, which in turn traps people in a life of proving themselves over and over again.
Dweck begins by setting out her interest in the topic of how young people deal with setbacks or failures. Her starting premise is that studying this will help her identify commonalities and differences in how kids handle defeat.
For Dweck, this introduced the view that intelligence and personality are growth processes, rather than abilities that we are born with and that cannot change. Scientists today believe that genes need input from the environment to work correctly.
If you believe that you have been born with all the abilities and talents you need to succeed, then you hold what Dweck calls a “fixed mindset”. Holding this view creates the constant need to prove yourself and leads to anxiety about being able to do anything you do.
The opposite mindset is the “growth mindset”, which allows you to reach your full potential by thinking of your brain as a flexible organ that grows throughout life if you take on challenges and face setbacks. This approach lets us learn throughout life and allows us to develop a passion for learning.
What is Fixed Mindset
People with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence is static and each person has an innate level of ability. They focus on appearing brilliant and avoid challenges since failing would damage their self-image. They react negatively when unexpected obstacles arise, or when they have to confront situations in which they might fail. They see effort as useless since they have “arrived” already. Criticism threatens them, and they take it personally.
Failing to recognize the danger of a fixed mindset in business can have devastating effects, says Dweck. She cites several examples of business leaders who fell victim to “CEO disease,” or the inability to recognize that their initial success isn’t necessarily an indication of future success.
“Lurking behind that self-esteem of the fixed mindset is a simple question: If you’re somebody when you’re successful, what are you when you’re unsuccessful?” Carol S. Dweck
What is Growth Mindset
People with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed, which sparks their desire to learn and improve. They also ignore obstacles that stand in their way and embrace challenges as opportunities to grow.
In ‘sports, successful athletes are constantly seeking challenges, because they have a growth mindset, to the point where they can often do the seemingly impossible.
“People in a growth mindset don’t just seek challenge, they thrive on it. The bigger the challenge, the more they stretch.” Carol S. Dweck
The book also explores the idea of educational systems often slotting students into their level of intelligence by their test scores, in a fixed mindset culture. This can limit students’ futures, as many will simply assume that they have a certain level of intelligence and won’t even try to advance it.
I can relate to this from my own education; my school system did have an IQ differentiation system, in which students were slotted by their intelligence quotient.
Ability and Accomplishment
Many highly successful people did not grow up with a gift or some special talent that was easily identified. Rather, they blossomed as their passion for growth, challenges and learning became their focus.
A key part of the development of these people is having a teacher who views them as a student, who challenges them to keep growing their skills, rather than focusing solely on getting results from them. While the “gifted” student may not have to put in as much time and effort as other students, they must still enjoy the “process” of growing, as well as have teachers who focus on that experience rather than solely on results.
People with a growth mindset do not hold on to negative labels or feelings about their partners and move toward positive change. Those with a fixed mindset, however, often seek to plot revenge on those who leave them. We create an ideal version of the person we love when we first fall in love, but they are rarely static. The perfection we find in our partner requires a lot of work because tension exists in all relationships.
Always Remember
All of us are born with a love of learning, but a fixed mindset can ruin that love. Think of a time you enjoyed something — doing a crossword puzzle, playing a sport, learning a new dance. Then it became hard, and you wanted out. Maybe you suddenly felt both physically and mentally exhausted. Next time this happens, don’t fool yourself; it’s the fixed mindset trying to make you quit. Next time it happens, think about the growth mindset. Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
