As the Stanford psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck discovered, the mindset with which students approached tasks, matters very much. Students who believe they are ‘not good’ at a subject continue to fail at it, while students who see bad result as a proof they need to learn, improve drastically. If the same students change how they saw themselves, so does their performance. So Dr. Dweck came up with the concept of fixed and growth mindset.
A fixed mindset assumes that abilities, talents, intelligence, and personality traits are unchangeable. You are either born talented and smart, or you are not. There are specific things you are good at – based on genetics and inheritance. No amount of effort will change these basic facts.
People with a fixed mindset believe that:
- Change is not possible
- Effort is a sign of failure, you either achieve an easy success or you are not good
- Other people are competitors and their success is threatening
- It is important to look smart – it demonstrates your innate qualities
- The feedback of others contains criticism and must be resisted
- You should focus on your strengths and strengths alone
Dr. Carol Dweck: “The 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…, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”
People with a growth mindset believe that:
- Intelligence and skills can be changed
- Challenges must be embraced
- It is important to learn new things
- Failure is something to learn from, it is not to be feared
- The success of other people is an inspiration
- They can give you valuable feedback on what you are doing right and what wrong
- How to adopt a growth mindset
This information was part of the SASSI LLC training materials. If you want to learn more, visit the Guide to becoming an Olderpreneur on the SASSI Hub.
