Fixed Mindset Book Report

In school, at the stores, anywhere, there are two types of people that can be encountered. What makes these two types of people different is their mindsets. One type has the mindset of a pessimist; they think they cannot do certain tasks and are afraid of looking stupid. The other type has the mindset of an optimist; they always try new things and are not scared to do so. In the article “Brainology” by Carol S. Dweck, she states that there are two different mindsets that people can possess, either a fixed mindset (pessimist) or a growth mindset (optimist); these mindsets are developed at a young age and will influence a person’s choices and opportunities.

“Mindsets are an important part of your personality, but you can change them.”(Dweck 46) Carol Dweck author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success says this because mindsets aren’t permanent and you are able to change your mindset about anything. How you approach things in life and what mindset you use toward it can affect the outcome of what occurs. How you take the results of how you did can affect the future of how you go about doing things. One of the reoccurring themes of the growth mindset is trying a new approach at a goal or a situation that you don’t know how to go about.

Does having a fixed mindset restrain people from experiencing and enjoying new opportunities? My answer is yes. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, this becomes apparent in some situations. The main protagonist, Okonkwo, shows many times that he has a fixed mindset and is unwilling to adapt to the new ways showing themselves to the Ibo people. “Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead” (Achebe 127). By restricting himself from adapting, Okonkwo decides that taking his own life is his only opportunity to leave, no matter how shameful it is.

Basically, individuals with a fixed mindset often feel measured by a failure, sometimes permanently. Unfortunately, failed attempts are viewed as a label rather than an opportunity to plan a new path of succes. On the other hand, an individual with a growth mindset views a failed attempt as an opportunity to take action, to confront obstacles, to keep up with their schoolwork, and/or to better manage and organize their time. Growth mindset individuals believe that qualities can be developed, expanded, and eventually result in a successful outcome. A second lesson learned is the power of labels and the stereotype of ability; this lesson is undoubtedly one of the most enlightening. Dweck discovered in one of her studies that, “... ability praise often pushed students right into a fixed mindset, and they showed all the signs of it too. When we gave them a choice, they rejected a challenging new task that they could learn from. They didn’t want to do anything that could expose their flaws and call into question their talent” (72). One’s mindset determines their reaction to labels and stereotypes. An individual with a fixed mindset will settle for a positive label and chose stagnation and permanent inferiority rather than risk losing the label; whereas,

There are two different mindsets that help to shape our lives, fixed and growth. In Mindset by Carol Dweck, these two methods are compared in how they affect the lives of individuals. Dweck focuses around the growth mindset being a better alternative to the fixed mindset, with the following reasons: Challenges - Fixed mindset tends to avoid challenges while a growth mindset embraces them. Obstacles - A fixed mindset tends to give up easily while a growth mindset tends to persist, regardless of any setbacks. Effort - A fixed mindset perceives effort as something pointless while a growth mindset perceives effort as a way to achieve mastery Criticism - A fixed mindset tends to ignore any feedback that is negative while a growth mindset tries to learn from criticism received Success of others - A fixed mindset feels threatened by the success of others while a growth mindset gets inspired and tries to

The first mindset Dweck discussed in her book was the fixed mindset. The fixed mindset produces the most negative results. This mindset is based on talents, genes, and ability levels. The fixed mindset believes that these things are unable to be changed and were determined before you were born. The fixed mindset does not believe in effort.

Carol Dweck writes about an excellent concept to live by in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, although it is not necessarily a new concept. She words her concept as the “growth” mindset versus the “fixed” mindset. The “growth” mindset is what she suggests the reader should translate into different aspects of their everyday life. The growth mindset is about learning from mistakes, and always trying as hard as possible to improve oneself. Whereas, the fixed mindset is when people have the idea that they were born with quantifiable traits, and are not able to change or improve them. In my opinion, for the growth mindset, she is essentially just rewording what I call the golden rule which is “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again”.

A fixed mindset is when someone believes the abilities you are born with are the ones you will always have, and they cannot be changed. Children who possess a fixed mindset are likely to attribute their success to pure luck and their failures to ability or lack thereof. This is also known as learned helplessness. Children with a growth mindset, however, have a contrasting perspective. They believe abilities can be improved over time with an input of effort. They attribute their success to their abilities and their failures to variables that can be easily altered. As I have mentioned in the past, I fall under the authoritative parenting style. Because an authoritative parenting style is firm but caring and encouraging, I have cultivated a growth

Debbie Millman once said, "If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve". When you doubt yourself, you have already convinced yourself that you will fail. The problem with this "fixed mindset" is that when things get difficult, kids who have been praised for performing smart, become insecure. They will believe that because they do not know the answer, they are not smart. This causes them to run away from challenges and fail to apply themselves. A person's attitude towards their level of intelligence determines their potential growth. Having a fixed mindset inhibits your intellectual growth, though believing intelligence is a potential, you are focused and motivated to apply yourself to difficult tasks in order to grow.

People have mindsets, Fixed and Growth mindsets. Some people respond With a fixed mindset means that people`s intelligence is “fixed” or permanent.

The Mindsets Growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.(Mindset p.7). It is a belief that people aren’t born with a gift of high intellect or a brilliant mind or, on the other hand, born dim-witted or unintelligent. It is a belief that gives value to hard work, persistence and passion for learning. A belief

Students with a “fixed” mindset believe that they are born with a specific set of talent and they are limited by those talents. They will fell that they reached their expected ability, consequently stop trying. If the student has a “growth mindset”, they believe that if a concept is challenging, it will provide them an opportunity to learn a new concept. They also believe that there are no restrictions due to inherited ability.

People who have a fixed mindset usually want something easy and not challenging; they feel scared to lose while growth mindset people tend to love challenges and making mistakes lives within their body as a trait. The author proves when she said that students with fixed mindset will never showed any interest when they found difficulties in completing those assignment. Only when they did well right away, they will feel the enjoyment. In contrast, the harder it gets, the more urges for the growth mindset to grab the knowledge and feel excited to learn something. Carol Dweck also gives an example in Columbia where she met a lot of intelligent med students who always get A’s in their test. It only took a day to make them a failure, when they said

There are many ways a growth mindset can affect an individual. Commonly growth mindsets have a more positive effect on your life. The mindset you attain, growth or fixed, is dependent on the views you adopt from a young age. There are much more pros than cons for a growth-minded person compared to a fixed minded person. One of the ways growth mindset is more beneficial than a fixed mindset is that intelligence is developed over time. A growth mindset is associated with the desire to learn and the ability to continue despite an obstacle, whereas fixed mindset is associated with the desire to appear smart and will give up easier when faced with an obstacle. A few more differences between the two are growth mindset focuses on learning from criticism and is inspired by others' success, while fixed mindset ignores useful feedback and is threatened by others' success.

Do you remember Dr. Carol Dweck? Please bear in mind that for you to understand your mindset, you have to think about what she has found from her teaching about this subject of mindset. She had been quoted again and again in many discussions about mindset. Much of she said on mindset has been tested and trusted. As time passes by, we’re seeing that her words are true and more helpful on this matter. For instance, she said that intelligence and personality can be cultivated and developed. And that they’re not what you can’t change if you have the growth mindset. So the terms or expressions: fixed mindset and growth mindset came from her. Let’s explain these two main types of