In this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. There’s another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character-well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. Robert Sternberg, the present-day guru of intelligence, writes that the major factor in whether people achieve expertise “is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement.” Or, as his forerunner Binet recognized, it’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.īelieving that your qualities are carved in stone-the fixed mindset- creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.

Here are my favourite take-aways from reading, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Dr. A growth mindset comes from the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through effort. The people with a fixed mindset believe that their qualities are carved in stone, which creates an urgency to prove themselves repeatedly.Ī fixed mindset comes from the belief that your qualities are carved in stone. The people with a growth mindset strive to become a better version of themselves, and they believe that with effort and continuous improvement, they would become successful. According to Dr Dweck, there are two types of mindset: Fixed and Growth Mindset. In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck shares insights she garnered from decades of research on achievement and success. While people with a fixed mindset see intelligence within boundaries, those with a growth mindset view their potential as boundless. People with a growth mindset tend to think of their intelligence as flexible and able to be expanded with knowledge, effort, and practice.

Carol s dweck books