Carol dweck's growth mindset

Two Worldviews That Define Our Destiny

Acclaimed psychologist and Stanford University researcher Carol Dweck has dedicated her career to studying an idea that has revolutionized the fields of education, psychology, and personal development.

Her research has shown that one of the most fundamental beliefs we have—our beliefs about the nature of our own abilities—can determine the course of our lives.

Dweck identified two fundamental mindsets through which people interpret their experiences.

The Fixed Mindset: Talent as a Judgement

People with a fixed mindset believe that their basic qualities, such as their intelligence or talent, are fixed and unchanging traits. You are either born with them or you don't.

This seemingly harmless belief has profound and limiting consequences. Someone with a fixed mindset tends to:

• Avoid challenges: They see challenges as a risk, since a possible failure could reveal their "lack" of talent or intelligence.
• Give up easily in the face of obstacles: They interpret difficulties as a sign that they are not good enough.
• See effort as futile: They believe that if you have talent, things should come naturally. Effort is for those who are not capable.
• Ignore useful criticism: They feel threatened by negative feedback, since they take it as a judgment of their personal worth.
• Feel threatened by the success of others: The success of others exposes their own supposed limitations.

The Growth Mindset. Effort as a Path

In contrast, people with a growth mindset believe that their skills and talents can be developed through dedication, hard work, good strategies, and the support of others.

This belief fosters a radically different attitude toward life:

• Embrace Challenges: They see challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
• Persist in the Face of Setbacks: They understand that failure is not a permanent condition, but an essential part of the learning process.
• See Effort as the Path to Mastery: They know that hard work and deliberate practice are the key ingredients for developing any skill.
• Learn from Criticism: They value feedback as a crucial source of information for improvement.
• Find Lessons and Inspiration in the Success of Others: They are inspired by the accomplishments of others, seeing them as proof of what is possible.

Consciously adopting a growth mindset is one of the most powerful interventions we can make.

It means changing our internal dialogue, starting to praise the process and effort instead of the outcome or talent, and seeing every aspect of our lives as an opportunity to learn and evolve.