Fixed vs Growth Mindset
“You cannot determine the slope of a line given only 1 point, as there is no line to begin with. Similarly, you cannot judge yourself at one point in time, as it does not show trends or improvement”
Growing up, everyone would always tell me – you’re so smart at math and science, but you’re not a reading and writing kind of girl. In 11th grade, I didn’t take AP English because I thought it would be too challenging for me. I could never break a 690 on the critical reading section of the SAT and it still haunts me to this day. In my 4 years of working, my reviews always include some language around “improve written communication abilities.” So, to say the least, I don’t think very highly of my writing abilities. But recently, I’ve picked up one of my favorite lifechanging books, Mindset, by Carol Dweck and it’s making me rethink my writing abilities.
Carol Dweck established the concept of fixed and growth mindset.
These two groups view challenges, efforts and feedback completely differently:
It is important to note that people with fixed and growth mindset can start out with the same level of confidence. However, when there is a set-back or challenge, those with fixed mindset lose confidence vs. those with growth mindset gain confidence, as they put in effort and improve. Therefore, those with growth mindset end up achieving much more than those with fixed-mindset long-term. Some famous growth mindset people are: Thomas Edison, Michael Jordan and J.K. Rowling.
How does fixed mindset develop?
When we are born, we all have a growth mindset. As a baby, when you attempted to walk and then fell, you never through – “I’m not coordinated enough or smart enough to walk. I’ll stay crawling my whole life.” You keep falling over and over again, until one day, you figure out how to catch your balance, and then you run around the house driving your parents insane. And similarly, as a parent, you don’t call your baby “dumb” because they don’t know how to talk – they just haven’t learned yet.
So then how did some of us develop a fixed mindset? Parents, teachers, and coaches tell you that you’re so smart, pretty and athletic. These external validations incorporate into your self-identity and you think “Wow! I’m special, I’m so smart, pretty and athletic” You want to cling onto that aspect of your identity, so you avoid any situations that would suggest you are not smart, pretty or athletic. You will avoid challenges because if you “fail,” it’s not seen as a learning opportunity, but a complete destruction of your self-identity as a smart, pretty and athletic person.
How does mindset play out in different aspects of your life?
These fixed mindset responses may seem extreme, but fixed mindset people think (1) every interaction is an assessment of their character, which is unchangeable and (2) they blame others to protect their self-confidence, so they don’t feel dumb, ugly and unathletic. Also, notice that the growth mindset people are never happy when something goes wrong, but their approach forward is completely different – they take responsibility for their actions and they make a path forward focused on putting in more effort.
My growth mindset role models
My friend Lucas is a great example of growth mindset. As a kid, he was in special education and had a hard time focusing for more than 15 minutes on his homework. Now, he is top of his law school class, after graduating from college in 2.5 years. He invested significant time into testing out new methods of studying and concentrating, until he found the one that worked for him. He now spends hours in the library, preparing for his law school exams.
My friend Sara is also a great example of growth mindset. She founded her own start-up, which involves signing-up corporate sponsors. Some corporate sponsors refused to take her call; others agreed to collaborate with her, but then would back out. She tried all different approaches and has been able to put together a group of incredible corporate sponsors. Every rejection that she faced was not seen as an assessment of her value as an entrepreneur, but as a learning opportunity.
How do you shift from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset?
The shift from fixed mindset to growth mindset is difficult, but it’s so worth it.
My path forward using growth mindset
Even though I’ve known about Carol Dweck and preach growth mindset to all my friends, I have been viewing my writing abilities as fixed – I’ve accepted that writing is one of my weaknesses and that I’ll never improve at it. So, I’m going to challenge myself for the next 3 months to post once a week on one of my favorite topics: human psychology. (And yes, my fixed mindset kicked in for a moment before posting this, saying, your writing isn’t good enough to be on the internet, but then my growth mindset kicked in and here we are…)
So – here’s my ask to you
I would love any feedback you have on my posts. What does and doesn’t resonate – charts, pictures, stories or facts? Where did you feel confused or bored in the post? Is it too long or too short? What topics or examples were the most or least interesting or helpful?
But, most of all, I would love to hear your story, so we can cheer each other on as we continue to evolve. E-mail me at nicoleepollack@gmail.com to tell me about the challenges you are taking on with a growth mindset.
You can learn more about growth mindset using the links below: