The Fixed Mindset and the Growth Mindset
/In her book Mindset, Carol Dweck describes two distinct ways of thinking that can either cause you to feel like a failure and fear challenges, or to take risks and live life to your full potential. This applies to parents, school children, businesses, relationships, and personal performance.
She has researched a great deal on these two mindsets called the fixed mindset and the growth mindset.
“For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself...can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.”
The Fixed Mindset
People who have the fixed mindset tend to believe that the qualities and intelligence that people have now will not change. Each person is allotted a certain amount of IQ, morality, and personality. Therefore, each person has to work with what they have.
You may already be thinking, “Well that is not me, because I like to learn and believe in growth”. It very well might be that you have the second mindset, the growth mindset. However, before you start jumping to conclusions, there are a few characteristics and experiences that may reveal that your thinking is fixed.
People with a fixed mindset tend to struggle with the following:
As the pressure builds in a difficult project or task, it gets set aside - You give up feeling defeated, because you’re clearly not cut out for it
When something gets challenging, you feel a sense that you have to perform well and/or that it must be perfect
A test of measure, like an exam or review, you get a sense that it confirms your intelligence when it goes well
This same measurement sends you into feeling like a complete failure if it goes poorly (or not as well as you had hoped)
Dweck states in her book, “I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves-in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships…Every situation is evaluated: 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?” (page 6)
The Growth Mindset
On the opposite end of the spectrum, people who have a growth mindset believe that your qualities and attributes, like intelligence and personality, can be cultivated and grown through personal effort. Application and experience can improve and change certain qualities.
These are the sort of people who coin motivational phrases like “embrace your flaws,” “creativity is about making mistakes”, and “challenge makes us stronger”.
Dweck uses an example to demonstrate the two mindsets by describing the reactions of someone having a bad day. This person received a C on their midterm, a parking ticket on the way home, and gets brushed off by a best friend when hoping to vent about it all.
Dweck used this vignette to get responses from people to see how the different mindsets would respond.
The people with a fixed mindset became flooded with overwhelming and negative thoughts. They tended to think: My life is horrible, Life stinks and is so unfair, This always happens to me, I can’t handle this. They would respond by not bothering to put in as much effort next time, because it didn’t pay off this time. They may do nothing, go to bed, cry, drown their sorrows, or even pick a fight.
People with a growth mindset would think: Next time I will try harder in class, be careful when parking the car and wonder if my friend has something going on. They would respond by developing a better study plan, paying the ticket, and working things out with their friend.
For those wishing they could have a growth mindset, there is good news. Dweck believes that the mindsets can change! This simple change in fixed verses developed traits has a direct impact on your ability to take risks, challenge yourself, and succeed well. If you want to learn more about the two mindsets and how to change your mindset, pick up a copy of Carol Dweck’s book. I recommend it!
