Why I am here: How I growth mindset to learning English
Do you ever think about why you are here? Why do you need to work hard? Can you imagine how hard to learn a different language or image that you are leaving your comfort area? Some people only thinking if they get a bad grade, that is means they are a failure, or it says they are not smart or talented. In Dweck’s Mindset, “You have a choice. Mindsets are powerful beliefs, and you can change your mind.” Dweck said there are two mindsets the one is fixed mindsets that are mean they do not like and afraid to challenge, and they quick to give up if they are failing. Another one is the growth mindset that means they can learn and change, and they face struggles and challenges; they are not quick to give up. I agree with Dweck’s argument, “nothing is impossible” if we change our mindset, be a growth mindset, and positive attitude that makes us can achieve.
In From Failure to Success: A Change in Mindsets is All You Need to Become Powerful, Manasi said: “Giving up is not an option as it won’t bring any success.” Dweck states both mindsets are choices that people make that affect all aspects of their lives, and she realized that a person’s mindset could be changed. People do not like failure, especial fix mindset people; they only engage in “safe” activities and avoid challenges. They hope that they are always invulnerable; on the other hand, growth mindset people, they welcome challenging activities and situations. Failure is inevitable, but anyone can and should learn from mistakes and strive to perform best with their abilities.
In the face of difficult situations, how can we change them to benefit us? At that time, I always think about why I am here. Why do I learn this and why I choose to come to another country to learn, not just to stay in my comfort area. In my life, I have been striving to achieve the best results in all classes. I think that as long as I spend a lot of time, then I can get good grades. I never thought about what I learned for a long time. I started thinking about why I need to learning, even if I spend time studying, but I cannot get good grades, so why should I spend time to study? Maybe I guessed it better than I spent time to learn.
I became like a fly without a target. I don’t know what I am doing. I often cry in the middle of the night. I hate myself. I never think that I will be a negative person, but when I come to Guam, I think so hard to learn English. I do not know people were talking about for what. At that time, I do not care about what do I learn. I care about what do I get the grade in this class. I do not like a failure. If I get a terrible degree, I always feel upset and disappointed with myself. Dweck said, “Even in the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn’t define you. It’s a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from.” I agree with Dweck’s argument because one day, I suddenly remembered that I told myself before I went abroad. I should be happy no matter what I got today because at least I learned something in the process.
Since that day, I change the mindset, I try to be a positive person and enjoy for failure to fix wrong things. Someone said,” Successful one of the biggest obstacles is the fear of failure.” I was still afraid. However, I change mindset. I am trying to changeable and learn something. If I can draw lessons from failure, failure is a success, so I never thought a failed would being forever failed and gave up the purpose that I resolved to effect. “Failure is the mother of success.” Success is the result, but it is not the purpose. The objective processes for the learning experience. Life comes from the accumulation of experience.
Moreover, Dweck had argues, “although some people are born with artistic skills, anyone can learn them.” I agree with this argument, although natural talent can give someone a good start, others who are not born with this innate talent can catch up with training and hard work. For example, Thomas Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” We cannot feel confident in others’ praise to our appearance or natural qualifications because it will not prove that we are an effort. Thomas Edison also said, “Success is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” But I disagree with this quote because he never stopped being the curious, tinkering boy looking for new challenges. He experienced many failures, but he never ceases to challenge, so he created a lightbulb. People said, “Genius only means hard-working all one’s life,” although we said Thomas Edison is a genius, he succeeded because of his effort. These examples demonstrate that efforts are more important than natural qualifications.
Dweck had also said, “Don’t praise one’s talents to instill confidence; instead, we should praise one’s effort, not one’s skill.” She gave an example of a child who is praised only for his/her talents will lose confidence when they fail and will get worse next time. David Beckham said, “That was my way of getting through difficult times of low confidence — hard work.” It means the effort is essential to natural skills. For fixed mindset people, they are afraid to be failure, so they stop to do it, and they give up like Benjamin Barber, an eminent sociologist, once said, “I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures. . . . I divide the world into the learners and no learners.” The non-learners will not work hard after ten years; they still stand in the same place. “There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” — Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the U.S.
Although there may be some people who disagree with Dweck’s view of the benefits of adopting a growth mindset, I still agree that option is the benefits of adopting a growth mindset. The Fixed mindset people are harmful because they don’t like adventure, treating failure as a lifelong event, and thinking that efforts are only for those who do not have natural skills. Not challenge will prevent them from growing, which may lead them to the wrong path.
From my experience, I believe that everyone should strive to be a growth mindset, although I do not agree that everyone must have a growth mindset because different people can use different mentalities to accomplish the same thing. The mindset was developed at a very young age and can change as people learn, mature, and see the world in different ways. Without a growth mindset, it is challenging to create change, and the number of successes is limited. Mindset will determine most of your life because many of the decisions you make will depend on your mindset.
Chuck Yeager said, “There is no such thing as a natural-born pilot. Whatever my aptitude or talents, becoming a proficient pilot was hard work, really a lifetime’s learning experience. . . . The best pilots fly more than the others; that’s why they’re the best.” (The Right Stuff). These examples demonstrate that efforts are more important than natural qualifications. Dweck also said, “even in the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn’t define you. It’s a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from.” No matter what fixed mindset people or growth mindset people, we need to be a positive person and try our best although an afraid failure, but the most significant test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart and never underestimate your power to change yourself.
The point is how the two ways of thinking actually influence the way of thinking that leads to success or failure. A fixed mindset becomes fearful to try after experiencing failure. Limiting the possibility of achieving new achievements By contrast, the growing mentality is not only easier to deal with without challenging. It is more willing to challenge the limitations of recognized talents and skills. People will not fail once and cause life to fail forever. Life is like a video game, and you can come back again, know where the mistake is, do not make it again next time. Our imagination is just dragging us. We do not know that our ability is infinite. If we are actively becoming a learner, we can overcome our mentality. We cannot stay in the most brilliant moment of our lives, because time will not stop for you. If you stop learning or challenge, your life will not succeed. Life can’t be smooth sailing. At every stage, we will encounter some struggle. Of course, our goal is to achieve, but the process is still the most important. Whether successful or not, our knowledge comes from experience. We need to exploring our own mistakes and correcting our attitudes to making ourselves better. We must be trying to challenge and challenging ourselves to make ourselves better. Keeping open minds prompted me to achieve the goals of the school and lead me to success. It is related to my overall argument that ideas can and must change. They must be changed to make people genuinely successful and learn from failure. Nothing is impossible. I firmly believe that as long as there is a positive attitude and a growing attitude, they can achieve many achievements in this world. I am convinced that our rational thinking can and must change. I very much agree with Dweck and her views on how we think, because to succeed, it is essential not to be afraid of the challenges he/she faces. Anyone can and should learn from mistakes and strive to perform best with their abilities. Giving up is not an option because it does not bring any success.
