Fixed or Open?: The Journey of One’s Mind
In a whirlwind of notes on piles of pages, a melody can be found. Music provides a sonic path for the emotions and stories one can tell. Oftentimes, musicians are judged harshly on the performance of pieces as the general public does not see the entire process. Most of us spend hours a day locked away from people constantly drilling technique, perfecting the intricacies of phrasing and musicality. We are often our own worst critic. Endless criticisms pass through our brain as we dissect each practice session. Isolated practice produces great results but performing outside your usual spaces can create a sense of insecurity. Who will be in the audience? What happens if I mess up in front of all these people? Our anxious thoughts can prevent us from providing the best performance possible. In the end, it is all about mindset-how we think about these situations and respond to them. Those with a fixed mindset are often less willing to try challenging things and see qualities like intelligence as something that cannot be changed. On the other hand, those with an open mindset tackle challenges regardless of the potential risk of failure and use such opportunities to learn and grow. In a book written by Carol Dweck, a university psychology professor, she explains the benefits of an open mindset and how mindset can be changed. Such benefits include, a more positive attitude, higher motivation, and greater comfort in taking personal risks. Despite the binary in terminology, mindset is fluid. It is very common to view intelligence and artistic ability in a fixed manner but see logic and math-based skills from a growth standpoint. Dweck argues that mindsets can and must be changed as there are no benefits to not taking risks. While I agree with Dweck’s statement on flexible mindsets, I do not necessarily agree with how mindsets “must be changed.” Although I see the benefits of a growth mindset in most situations, some might argue that skills are genetic and not worth the effort to try and go against what is “God given.” Some may even argue that safer decisions result in a better outcome.
Back in middle school, I would say I saw school and my extracurriculars with a very fixed mindset. I was relatively book smart without trying and pretty athletic from running and swimming a lot. Since I did not care to study much, I spent most of my time practicing the cello. I played in our school orchestra all three years and started private lessons in eighth grade. Upon starting my lessons, I realized I had cruised through most of middle school with no real challenges academically or musically. I now spent hours a day practicing and got frustrated when material I drilled for hours did not stick. I felt like all this work should be paying off. It was much later that I learned musicians my age were facing a new dilemma. With internet sources like YouTube and Spotify, our standards of good tone and technique are no longer based of our peers and teachers but based off professionals from every era previous. It pretty easy to think you are not improving when you only listen to professional musicians and their high-quality recordings. In addition to the plethora of beautiful recordings, books and articles regarding technique are plentiful. I will admit I spent a lot of time reading materials I could not fully grasp in my youth. All these factors help train our brains and ears and our bodies must struggle to keep up with these growing standards.
All throughout high school, I had walked the halls with a lot of confidence. I saw my GPA as a representation of my intellect and all my performance opportunities as a gift. It was my first year at college, that had changed how I thought about academics and cello. We discussed the differences in mindset heavily in my cello lessons and in an introductory psychology class. I had realized that when it came to my opinions about my intellect and musical ability, I was quite fixed but when thinking of others, it was the opposite. This led me to delve deeper into my mind and ask why I am more understanding of another individual’s struggles but quite harsh when it comes to my own challenges. I understood that the transition was difficult for everyone and the new schedules each quarter make planning time to practice more complicated, but why was I still so hard on myself when I could not meet my own goals?
Professor Dweck explains mindsets quite clearly. Those with a fixed mindset feel as though they must prove their set of skills while those with an open mindset take risks and see failure as a way to learn. Dweck says that students with a fixed mindset, “become afraid of challenges,” thinking that they will be judged for their failures. Instead of spending their resources trying to better themselves, those with a fixed mindset spend all their time trying to prove themselves. This cycle only gets worse as it progresses. The more time you spend proving what you are capable of, you stop learning new things you can show others. This tunnel-vision approach to life often leads to many negative emotions like depression and anxiety as those who fail to prove themselves lose confidence in their ability.
With Dweck’s clear definition of the benefits of having a growth mindset, it is hard to disagree. Who wouldn’t want to be free of the societal burdens of “being smart?” An open mind provides a level of mental clarity that can be focuses in many situations. There were times as a student I have felt like I was not capable of learning more advanced math and that led me to take more advanced science classes like Anatomy/Physiology and AP Biology instead of AP Calculus. In the face of challenges, I often turned away to refocus my skills on thing I knew I was good at. Though I do not recommend this, there were days I skipped so I could spend that time practicing the cello. In my mind, it was most efficient for me to spend that time work on skills I knew I needed but this mentality robbed me of the chance to learn.
Since starting college, my views on education have changed drastically. Regardless of the subject, I believe there are always things to learn. Will it be the life-changing? Probably not, but what you learn in fields opposite of yours are a new perspective. As someone who enjoyed science in high school, choosing music felt like I was giving up my opportunity to explore the world in a scientific lens. Recently, instead of separating the two I have begun to see how they overlap and use methods from both to help me learn. Science is very structures and methodical so why is it that musicians and artists think of their skill as a gift? Once I stated analyzing all the little bits in my practice sessions, I understood that every musical problem has a physical solution. That is when I broke down walls I set in the past.
Despite my own personal revelations with a change in mindset I think there is something else we should look at for those with a closed mindset: comfort. While those with a growth mindset are okay with change and taking risks, some of us might not be ready for such changes. Humans are very habitual and find comfort in our routines. In some situations, it might be safer to remains in your comfort zone, especially if you have to risk a lot to gain something. As your life changes so should your mindset. If you have already worked hard and gotten to your goals, the likelihood that you gain more happiness is marginal.
Ultimately, mindset is everchanging. Artists have some bad paintings and scientists may test hundreds of hypotheses before landing on something solid, but this does not mean they are bad at what they do. Depending on personality and mindset those who encounter failures and continue to work hard can achieve great things.
