Right now consider an area of your life in which you would like to improve. It can be any type of activity; professional, athletic, school, creative, etc. Do you have something in mind? Well, we’ll refer to that activity as X. Now consider which of these statements you agree with more:
A: People who are good at X are born that way; either you have it or you don’t.
B: The reason some people excel at X is mainly because of their drive, focus, hard work, and persistence.
Which one did you choose? According to psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck in her book Mind Set: The New Psychology of Success, you’ll be much better off choosing B. In the book, Dr. Dweck discusses two basic mindsets, fixed and growth, and how they impact your success. personal development.
Our culture places a high value on the ability of standardized tests to predict future success. Do well on the IQ or SAT tests and you’re supposed to be the one living in the house on the hill. And if he doesn’t show athletic promise by the age of 7 or 8, he’s better off forgetting it.
In fact, we seem to prefer the belief that our bright stars practically sprouted from the womb in a high-yield state. And if you don’t succeed at first, you’re out of the woods, as it just wasn’t meant to be. However, is this so?
Many sports writers and fans agree that Michael Jordan was arguably the greatest player in the game of basketball. If his gifts were entirely genetic, why was he cut from his varsity team in high school? Apparently, some aspects of his game were lacking, but the young Jordan didn’t give up. Instead, he found a supportive coach who was willing to work with him a couple of hours before school every morning to improve his skills.
Jordan obviously had considerable potential for his chosen sport, however, it was his passion for basketball, the belief that his skills could be developed, and a strong work ethic that made it possible. How often does a much heralded child or teen prodigy turn into another “whatever happened to” so-and-so?
Dr. Dweck points out the following differences between the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.
Fixed: Your potential is established at birth. If you’re good at something, it should be effortless. Failure is a signal to make excuses and blame, or just give up. A lot of effort goes into maintaining the facade of being smart, athletic, talented, etc.
Increase: recognizes that while there are limits to anyone’s potential, it takes a lot of hard work and persistence to even come close to reaching it. Setbacks are learning experiences and reminders to try harder. You’d like to win like everyone else, but you can be satisfied with the knowledge that you did your best at the time, even if you don’t.
Tip for parents/teachers/anyone dealing with little ones: You can encourage kids to have a growth mindset by praising their efforts, rather than traits like “you’re so smart.” Some research indicates that telling kids they’re smart encourages a fixed mindset and increases the likelihood that they won’t apply themselves when faced with a challenging task. as you will reason that smart people shouldn’t have to work too hard. Instead, observe and encourage persistence and effort. Example, “I know you really put a lot of work into that project and it turned out great!”
