Mindset
MINDSET - by Carol.S. Dweck (Ph.D.)
The view you adopt for yourself affects the way you lead your life.
Mindset is a belief which is most often influenced from childhood and how you are nurtured and the environments that influenced you, that’s why people differ?
These are the things discussed in the book and right at the start the author poses a few questions to make you reflect to agree or disagree, this determines which mindset you are more likely: FIXED OR GROWTH. She also then talks about an interesting fact that people are often a mixture of the two and have a different mindset in different areas.
The book is peppered with lovely examples to explain each aspect of the different mindset and how these affect the approach of people when dealing with opportunities, possibilities and potential. The book deals with mindset approach in different settings of life from a child to a student, sports and champion mindsets, then Business and leadership, Relationships (full spectrum to love, not in love, friends), as parents, teachers and coaches.
The book explains the difference in approach of how people (sports champions, parents, teachers, coaches, leaders etc.) with Fixed and Growth mindsets react to statements and incidents and how they often behave in their careers or roles.
The author illuminates this with lovely examples and clever research studies which for a reader is engaging and very visual as you start to identify yourself in these situations.
Carol Dweck illustrates how coaches and teachers with growth mindset don’t keep praising the skills of their students but give constructive feedback as otherwise the protégées develop fixed mindsets (always seeking validation) compared to a growth mindset (developing themselves). This explained why people with similar mindsets also gravitate towards each other.
An interesting concept the author introduced was a False growth MINDSET and explained the misunderstandings that lead to this and to help people distinguish this from a true GROWTH MINDSET.
At the end of each chapter there are tips and pointers on how you can grow your mindset, this was a good guide.
The book closes with the thought of “HOW YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR MINDSET?”
She states the easy part of “how” like attending lectures, workshops, even Brainology but in the end its our journey and how much are we willing to change, to grow, and create value.
And yes, she talks about people who do not want to change, people who are in denial, how willpower and anger control can affect a chance at growing your Mindset, she gives incidents to illustrate this, it made so many situations clear for me.
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The book ends with a complete 4 STEP JOURNEY TO A (TRUE)GROWTH MINDSET.
As Carol Dweck says, “every one of us has a journey to take”. “Change can be tough, but have you heard anyone say it’s not worth it”.
Reviewed By - Gayatri Ahuja