An Introduction to the Growth Mindset

Dr. Carol Dweck is a professor at Stanford University.  She wrote the book called Mindset, which focuses on the difference between a fixed mindset and a more positive, growth mindset.  From my observations, conversations, and experiences with many of you, I can tell that many of you, at many times in your lives, live in the growth mindset.  But not always.  The theory she presents is backed up by decades of research at the best universities and enhanced recently by new MRI abilities to see images of our brain activity.  In short, this is scientific fact, not just someone’s opinion.  Here is an excerpt from her book...

           “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone – the fixed mindset – creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.  If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain ability, and a certain moral character – well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them.  It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics."
           "Some of us are trained in this mindset from an early age…in which there becomes one consuming goal – look smart (like a winner), don’t look dumb (like a loser).  How can we care about or enjoy learning when our whole being is at stake every time we take a test or get called on in class?  (…or run a race!)"
           "I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves – in the classroom, in their careers, in athletics, and in their relationships.  For them, every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, ability, or character.  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?”            
           “There’s another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, in this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development.  This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.  Although people may differ in every which way – in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments – everyone can change and grow through application and experience."
           "Do people with this mindset believe that anyone can be anything, that anyone with proper motivation or education can become Einstein or Beethoven?  No, but they believe that a person’s true potential is unknown (and unknowable); that it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training."
           "Did you know that Darwin and Tolstoy were considered ordinary children?  That Ben Hogan, one of the greatest golfers of all time, was completely uncoordinated and graceless as a child?  That the photographer Cindy Sherman, who has been on virtually every list of the most important artists of the twentieth century, failed her first photography course?  That Geraldine Page, one of our greatest actresses, was advised to give it up for lack of talent?"
            "You can see how the belief that qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning.  Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?  Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them?  Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow?  And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you?  The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.  This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”