I just received my first semester grades. While there are some things I could have done better, I’m generally pleased with my performance and I think I owe most of it to the times I embraced a GROWTH mindset over a FIXED one.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, psychologist Carol Dweck published a book called Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. The book is about the two basic mindsets that influence how we deal with school, work, and even our relationships. Someone with a “fixed mindset” believes that their personality, intelligence, and skills are unchangeable and that constant success is what measures and affirms the presence of their abilities. Conversely, someone with a “growth” mindset believes that their personality, intelligence, and skills can change and that constant exposure to challenging situations is what enables them to hone and develop their abilities. The difference between people with fixed mindsets and people with “growth” ones is that those with “fixed mindsets” tend to stay away from failure, whereas those with “growth mindsets” see failure as an opportunity to grow and learn.
(C) Nigel Holmes
It takes a lot to embrace a growth mindset over a fixed one. Especially when dealing with schoolwork, the easy way out of truly succeeding would be to focus on getting a good grade rather than the actual process of learning. I know a lot of students who don’t care what they learn so long as they get high grades, and this is problematic because it defeats the purpose of school and detracts from why so much importance is placed on getting a meaningful education nowadays. The concept of “fixed” vs “growth” mindsets can be seen even outside of school, so take a look at these GIFs that illustrate what people with either fixed or growth mindsets would tend to do in these 5 situations.
1. You get a failing grade or extremely negative feedback on something you know you worked hard for.
Fixed Mindset:
Growth Mindset:
2. You have a choice between doing something easy and doing something that scares and challenges you (in a good way.)
Fixed Mindset:
Growth Mindset:
3. Someone you’re close to tells you that you haven’t been that great of a person to be around lately.
Fixed Mindset:
Growth Mindset:
4. You really wanted something… but someone else got it.
Fixed Mindset:
Growth Mindset:
5. You start to realize you have more of a FIXED mindset than a GROWTH one.
Fixed mindset:
Growth mindset:
So…
Which mindset are you?
