The Goal of This Post

To share meaningful insights from the book Mindset, by Carol Dweck.

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Part 2: INSIDE THE MINDSETS

Mindset and Perspective

When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world.

• In one world – the world of fixed traits – success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself.
• In the other – the world of changing qualities – it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.

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Mindset and Challenge

When do people with the fixed mindset thrive? When things are safely within their grasp. If things get too challenging – when they’re not feeling smart or talented – they lose interest.

Students with the growth mindset show the same high level of interest even when they found the work very challenging. Challenge and interest went hand in hand.

People in a growth mindset don’t just seek challenge, they thrive on it. The bigger the challenge, the more they stretch.

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Mindset and Ego

People who believe in fixed traits feel an urgency to succeed, and then they do, they may feel more than pride. They may feel a sense of superiority, since success means that their fixed traits are better than other people’s.

The problem is when special begins to mean better than others. A more valuable human being. A superior person. An entitled person.

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Mindset and Failure

When people believe in fixed traits, they are always in danger of being measured by failure. It can define them in a permanent way. Smart or talented as they may be, this mindset seems to rob them of their coping resources.

When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if abilities can be expanded – if change and growth are possible – then there are still many paths to success.

Failure has been transformed from an action (I failed) to an identity (I am a failure). This is especially true in the fixed mindset.

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Mindset and Outcome

In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail or if you’re not the best – it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.

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Mindset and Permanence

The fixed mindset creates the feeling that you can really know the permanent truth about yourself. And this can be comforting: you don’t have to try for such-and-such because you don’t have the talent. You will surely succeed at thus-and-such because you do have the talent.

It’s just important to be aware of the drawbacks of this mindset. You may be robbing yourself of an opportunity by underestimating your talent in the first area. Or you may be undermining your changes of success in the second area by assuming that your talent alone will take you there.

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You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.

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All content credit goes to the author(s). I’ve shared the bits I’ve enjoyed the most and found most useful.

Cheers ’til next time! Saludos!
Alberto