Writing My Future in 350 Words or Less
ave you ever tried at something over and over again? I know I have. As a rising senior in high school, everyone’s favorite time comes. College application time! This entails writing dozens of essays, defining yourself with just a couple hundred words. Making new drafts every time, because you just don’t like that one part of your essay. I found myself writing over and over again about what seemed like a topic I knew a lot about. Me. I only made it harder for myself, keeping myself glued to the desk and telling myself that I wouldn’t get into a good college if I didn’t write some outstanding essay. After reading Mindset The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, I realized what I was doing and I saw that by changing my mindset I could greatly improve myself. I learned that my mental mindset must be changed, in order to lead a more successful life.
In her book, Dweck discusses her dual mindset model by thoroughly explaining the two types. The first is the fixed mindset, where “people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits”. People with this mindset believe that their talent is what brings them success, not their effort. The other mindset is the growth mindset which “is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every way — in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments — everyone can change and grow through application and experience.” People with this mindset believe that their success is the result of effort and dedication rather than just pure talent. Dweck thoroughly explains these mindsets, showing how each mindset characterizes a person and their look on success. She discusses how a person with a fixed mindset should change their mindset into that of a growth mindset for greater success and I agree with this. I believe that people should change their mindset (to a growth mindset) in order to be more successful in any and all aspects of their lives.
I found myself challenged with these two mindsets while writing my college essays. College applications are a tough time of any senior’s year. They entail dozens of essays, requiring you to prove your worth in a couple of hundred words or less. Not only do you have to write several essays, but you also have to fill out a tedious application listing your activities, hobbies, or anything you have spent a significant part of your life on. This scared me. Having my future decided by what a few strangers thought of my essay had already set me up to struggle with this process.
At first, I was able to write a few drafts. I would glue myself to the desk and stay on my laptop for hours upon hours. However, each time I found myself rewriting my essays because it did not feel like my best work. Eventually, after rewriting so many times I started to tell myself that I just could not write these essays and I even started to believe this. If I was not going to be able to write these essays, not only was I going to disappoint myself but also my counselor. Together we had set deadlines to finish these essays, and this only made things worse. I kept feeling that I wasn’t smart enough to impress her since she had seen so many essays before. I felt this constant need to prove myself. It was this book and Dweck’s model that helped me realize that I needed to change my attitude and mindset to be successful.
Dweck explains how a person’s mindset affects how they react to situations and this is one of the ways I was able to recognize myself as a fixed mindset. One of the several examples Dweck explores is when she gave difficult puzzles to kids with different mindsets. Dweck ended up finding some very interesting observations. Some kids “loved the failure”. “I love a challenge!” said one kid. This child clearly had a growth mindset because he was not put down by the failure. On the other hand, the other children got discouraged and proceeded to not continue the puzzle. I recognized this in myself while I would be writing drafts as I did not enjoy the challenge of writing.
Another example is about the CEOs Albert Dunlap and Lou Gerstner. Dweck showed the difference between how the two individuals acted when faced with problems and the pressure of their company. “Albert Dunlap, a self-professed fixed mindsetter, was brought in to turn around [his company]. He chose the short-term strategy of looking like a hero…The stock soared but the company fell apart.” Here Dunlap chose the short route in accomplishing his goal, but as seen this did not result in his long term success. On the other hand, Gerstner acted in a way that would improve his company in the long run, not an action that would result in his short term success. “[He was] an avowed growth mindsetter, [and] was called in to turn around [his company]. As he set about the enormous task of overhauling [his company] culture and policies, stock prices were stagnant and Wall Street sneered. They called him a failure. [However, a] few years later…[his company] was leading its field again.” This showed me how being in the growth mindset could benefit me in the long run. Like both these individuals, I felt the need to prove myself, in my case to the people who would read my essays and my counselor. At first, I let myself take the short way by making my goal to reach the word limit, but after reading about the outcomes that Dweck presented, I decided to change my mindset for the better. I decided to follow the growth mindset and take a longer time to plan my essays, as they would result in more success. As a result of this change, I was able to more easily write my essays while also being satisfied with what I had written.
Dweck showed the difference in mindsets not only with observations had seen but also with presenting scientific trials that found a “difference in people’s brain waves”. People came to a brain wave lab at Columbia where the participants were asked hard questions and “then their brain waves would show [when they were] interested and attentive.” As predicted people with the two different mindsets were seen to have different brain waves. “Only people with a growth mindset paid close attention to information that could stretch their knowledge.” For them, it was clear that learning was a priority. For the other individuals, or those with a fixed mindset, the “brain waves showed them paying close attention when they were told whether their answers were right or wrong”. I realized that I had been somewhat been doing this too. When my counselor offered me praise about my essay, I focused on praise rather than improving my essays based on criticism she later provided. After reading this example that Dweck had presented, I recognized this behavior in me and found it best to change it. I saw that I always had “an urgency to prove [myself] over and over [again].” As Dweck points out those with a fixed mindset ask themselves; “Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?” These are the questions I posed myself with and these are also the questions that made me doubt myself, inspiring me to change my mindset.
Throughout the novel, Dweck is seen to heavily favor the growth mindset. To many, this may come off as characterizing the fixed mindset in a more negative way. Therefore many people may claim that her model may be too simple because she clearly writes that people should shift to the growth mindset. However, this is not true. She clears this misconception during the FAQ section of her book. Although she is seen to heavily favor the growth mindset, she identifies all aspects of each mindset. She may come off as oversimplifying the model, by labeling one mindset as the “good” and “successful” one, while labeling the other as a “failure”. But she fixes this misconception by addressing the beneficial aspects of the fixed mindset too. “The fixed mindset creates the feeling that you can really know the permanent truth about yourself”. By clarifying that “people can choose which world they want to inhabit” she shows how her model is not labeling either mindset. Because people can choose what mindset want to be, both having its own benefits, she overcomes the assumption made that one mindset is better, which may come off as too simple. She also makes it clear that the difference between the two mindsets is not the end result, but how the person thinks they will achieve success. The fixed mindset simply functions through the idea that success is defined by “initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments” whereas the growth mindset is through the development of such skills.
This is clear in my recent transition to a growth mindset. I found myself more successful in a growth mindset. Taking the time to really focus on my learning made a dreaded task such as college applications, more enjoyable and successful. After changing my mindset to the growth mindset, I saw it “guide a large part of [my] life” not just my applications. Because I was able to recognize and change my mindset for the better, I think that not only will the college application process be more enjoyable but also my application itself will be a better representation of myself and my aspirations.
