Mindset - Carol Dweck
How I discovered it
On my way back from the gym there is a Waterstones and I developed the habit of stopping by often. I’ve let myself carried by my eyes and I simply picked it because the cover was clean, simple, and the title attracted me. ’Changing the way you think to fulfil your potential’’ sounded promising. It looked and sounded familiar but I just couldn’t connect it to anything.
Who should read it ?
Mindset is definitely for people who are looking to improve their life, by changing their mindset. This book is not made to give you the formula for everything in life, but it is meant to help you rethink the way you think.
Summary and impact on me
This is certainly interesting, because I did not expect it to have such a big impact on me as there were some things that I think could be better.
Anyway I previously read many books that mentioned mindset and how important it is but none of them was written specifically for mindset. In this book Carol talks about the two different mindsets that exist: growth mindset and fixed mindset. Through examples, she offers a complete profile of traits that each of these mindset has.
->Growth Mindset:
The growth mindset views failure as an opportunity to learn and do better.
It makes you become comfortable with failing.
It practises the determination muscle.
Who have a growth mindset advance faster in professional and personal life.
People who have predominantly a growth mindset have a more prolific life.
They continue to pursue activities and build hobbies despite failing more often than succeeding. This makes them become better.
->Fixed Mindset:
The fixed mindset views failure from a negative point of view
Fixed minded people let failures define them. i.e I failed a maths test, hence I am not good at maths and I don’t like it.
They let themselves define a lot of things by the idea ‘’I don’t like it vs I like it’’ without exploring and being curious.
This mindset doesn’t let you try new activities because of fear of failing.
People who have predominantly a fixed mindset have increased anxiety.
The fixed mindset keeps you at the same level in life (regardless of personal or professional life) without leaving much space for evolving.
Most people are a combination of these mindsets. Some are predominantly towards a growth mindset or vice versa. The good news is that everybody can change their mindset and improve their quality of life.
But what can change?
Awareness. Start by becoming aware of which growth mindset you have in general. If my manager told me off, how would I feel? Is this something to learn and improve, or do I want to complain about my manager? The choice is ours.
When you notice yourself in a fixed mindset think about the freedom in life you have once you are not scared to fail. Is there something triggering you, what can I take from this situation?
Always picture yourself learning something from this situation and use it in the future.
Sometimes it is easier said than done, but this book definitely has a point. The author has offered examples for each type of mindset. Famous people got famous simply because they never stopped trying after failing.
In my opinion the book could have been structured in a better way. By adding some images with highlights from the book, it would have been easier to read. There were plenty of examples, but I would like to see more guidance towards a growth mindset.
How the book changed me
The book definitely changed me. Since I read it I became aware of the mindset that I am having in challenging situations. I definitely see challenging situations from a different perspective and failure is a much smaller fear from before. Lastly I am more comfortable with situations where I failed from the past and this doesn't define me anymore.
Conclusion
Overall, I definitely recommend Mindset. The main message: Failure is the biggest opportunity.
