Have you ever wondered what motivates you? What about how you approach a new situation? Are you introverted or extroverted? Why do you live your life the way you do, and what influences you to live that way? In fact, there is an increasingly important psychological term for the influence underlying every action we take in our lives. Mindset describes beliefs regarding personal qualities such as talent or ability. The two mindsets are the fixed mindset and the growth mindset, and people with these mindsets have existentially different ways of living. Individuals with a fixed mindset desire to appear smart to others. Such people often give up prematurely when faced with challenges or avoid them altogether. They see mistakes as dangers, ignore feedback from others, don’t seek help when needed, and avoid activities that take effort. Most importantly, they feel threatened by the success of others. As a result, such individuals never achieve their full potential and may stop personal growth prematurely. Rather than desire to appear smart, individuals with a growth mindset desire to learn. Those with a growth mindset are excited by challenges, even if there is a probability they will fail. They are often persistent, and see setbacks, …show more content…
criticism, and the success of others as a path to their own success. As such, individuals with a growth mindset will likely continue their personal growth throughout their lifespan. Mindset is not permanent; therefore, individuals may transition between mindsets based on outside influences.
I have had many experiences with each mindset. During my college search, I was set on applying to three universities with highly-ranked Computer Science (CS) programs simply because I thought I would look smart by being admitted. I was devastated when I realized that I did not meet the admission requirements and thought that I had failed. I experienced a fixed mindset in this situation because I ignored two key factors: those universities aren’t the only universities where I am likely to obtain a fulfilling career, and that I had defaulted to those universities and the CS major because of others’ opinions of them, rather than my
own. Fortunately, I realized this and found many alternatives to the universities and major I initially desired. One of these was the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), which offered the new Computing Security major (CSec), for which I have always had a genuine interest. I applied to RIT because it has excellent opportunities in this new major and because I would be with people who share my interests and are willing to help me succeed. I experienced a growth mindset in this situation because I made decisions based upon what is best for myself regardless of others’ opinions, and I created new opportunities from failure. Fixed and growth mindsets are omnipresent in life, especially in the classroom. In Fundamentals of Cybersecurity, the professor facilitates open discussion on how to prevent of certain types of malware. In Moral Issues, the professor encourages students to have a growth mindset by developing and challenging others’ arguments. In both situations, the instructors encourage the growth mindset by allowing students to create their own ways of accomplishing tasks and by providing opportunities for discussion of and learning from errors. The fixed and growth mindsets are becoming increasingly more important in modern psychology. Mindset controls your beliefs regarding personal qualities such as talent or ability, and people with the two mindsets have existentially different ways of living. The type of mindset you are will enable you to lead a more aware, thoughtful, and self-fulfilling life.
It was not until I read Carol S. Dweck’s “Brainology” that I realized I had a fixed mindset. I care more about getting a 4.0 than actually understanding what I am being taught and I also hate struggling. These habits are part of having a fixed mindset. It was after reading this article that I discovered I could change my mindset and be successful. Having a fixed mindset means that you believe that you and others only have a certain amount of intelligence. A growth mindset on the other hand, is believing that everyone has the ability to reach a higher level of intelligence through effort and hardwork.
“There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs,” was said by motivational speaker and American author Zig Ziglar. This relates to Carol S. Dweck’s article “Brainology” and Sherman Alexie’s essay “Superman and Me.” Ziglar, Dweck, and Alexie all feel that it isn’t easy for someone to become successful. It takes hard work, perseverance, and the want to learn and grow. In Dweck’s article, she stated that someone with a growth mindset would become more successful and knowledgeable than someone with a fixed mindset, which was demonstrated by Alexie in his essay, and by a personal experience of my own.
People with growth mind-sets often believe that one can succeed simply by trying and having the motivation to do so. On the other hand, those with fixed mind-sets believe they are either good or bad at something, while attempting something for the first time. If one can easily do math while another can’t, the one who can’t accepts it and doesn’t feel the need to try succeeding further because they’re just not good at it in the first place.
In Carol Dweck’s “Brainology” the article explains how our brain is always being altered by our experiences and knowledge during our lifespan. For this Dweck conducted a research in what students believe about their own brain and their thoughts in their intelligence. They were questioned, if intelligence was something fixed or if it could grow and change; and how this affected their motivation, learning, and academic achievements. The response to it came with different points of views, beliefs, or mindset in which created different behavior and learning tendencies. These two mindsets are call fixed and growth mindsets. In a fixed mindset, the individual believes that intelligence is something already obtain and that is it. They worry if they
Also, in Carol Dweck’s research article “Brainology”, she states the subtitle “Transforming Students’ Motivation to Learn”. She dishes mindsets and achievement, how do students learn these mindsets, and so on… … Dweck suggests, “Many students believe that intelligence is fixed, that each person has a certain amount, and that’s that. We call this a fixed mindset, and, as you will see, students with this mindset worry about how much of this fixed in intelligence they possess”. Many students believe that the challenge encountered in learning is a threat to their growth path. She put forward two different minds of the ideological study contrast, the finds showed that students studied with a growth mindset were more interested in learning and
What does it mean to be a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset? In the book Mindset – The New Psychology of Success author Carol Dweck breaks down the meanings of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is when a person sees their failures as being an unsuccessful person. These fixed mindsets do not aim to challenge themselves due to the possibility of not succeeding or being seen dumb. They are discouraged by failing and hold back in life. Carol Dweck describes this has unhappiness. A growth mindset is a person who welcomes failures and takes these failures as a challenge to grow from their mistakes. They have the drive to push through the impossible, since to them there is no impossible. A Clear representation of growth
In sum, a fixed mindset is not healthy in any environment whether at school or at the workplace. Mainly, such an attitude discourages effort and dedication as one believes that their life is predestined. A growth mindset is necessary because one has to constantly improve their chances of being successful by putting in a lot of effort. While praise is important, it should only be directed towards efforts of a child and not their perceived intelligence because of the adverse effects associated with such an
There are many attitudes that form certain mindsets. Some of these mindsets can change how a person does and perceives things. Some mindsets that can do just that are Dweck’s example of a growth mindset and fixed mindsets. According to Dweck, a fixed mindset is one in where “.. students believe that intelligence is fixed..” and a fixed mindset is the “..believe that intelligence is a potential that can be realized through learning. As a result, confronting challenges, profiting from mistakes, and persevering in the face of setbacks become ways of getting smarter. Because people with growth mindsets can through setbacks, and find alternatives to better themselves; They turn to perseverance and hard work to achieve their goals.
I’ve developed a both a growth mindset and a fixed mindset due to the many challenges and obstacles that have been put in my path. So many different experiences that have made my mind gain lots of knowledge and have made me the person that I am today. There are many things that I wish to continue to learn until my brain has enough of it and there are some things that I know that no matter how hard I try, I will end up failing in the end, and that’s where parts of my fixed mindset appear. Some challenges that I have faced in life were hard such as; soccer, driving and my math classes. I have but managed to overcome some of
I think in my opinion and my experience, the best Ideas for the conclusion between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, are identify-based habits that tied directly in with the research from Dweck and her contemporaries. When you let the results define you, your talent, your test scores your weight, your job, your performance, your appearance, you become a victim of a fixed mindset. But when you dedicate yourself to showing up each day and focusing on the habits that form a better identity, that’s when you learn and develop That’s what growth mindset looks like in the real
How did I, a student who could barely receive a passing grade on any essay, become a student who believes that mastery in writing is achievable? The switch in beliefs roots back to my mindset. Specifically having a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. A person with a fixed mindset believes that their talents and characteristics are carved in stone. There is no point in pushing yourself forward because what they have, is what they got. On the other hand, we have a person with a growth mindset. Those with a growth mindset believe that talents and characteristics are not something they were born with, but rather something that they can work towards. What they have is just a starting point. For several years I
To continue on there are always two options, just give up or keep on pushing until the goal has been reached. The people that decide to just quit most likely have a fixed mindset, while the people that don’t give up have a growth mindset. Eduardo Briceno discusses that when obtaining a growth mindset, setbacks don’t take a toll on the person, they will continue to press on until the goal has been reached. Briceno’s point is that when you realize that anything is possible, then you bring yourself to new levels. Overall having a growth mindset allows people to complete any realistic goal that they
Firstly, the benefit of a growth mindset is students have smart goals in school. Dweck shows that, " Those with a growth mindset were much more interested in learning than in just looking smart in school " (Dweck 2). Who
Many people are two types of mindset, one is growth mindset and fixed mindset. Well I have a fixed mindset person and the fixed mindset person feels that they can’t pass the class they going to start collapsing and going to make the class setback. As we are students, we need to face our anxiety and not let people put us down and try to work our way up to a growth mindset. A student that is a m growth mindset has potential of a class that has fear of failing and makes them become a growth mindset student. Although I think I can become a growth mindset before I graduated from Porterville College because I will face any struggle and prove to those who doubt me that I wouldn’t become a student growth mindset.
I do believe that I have experienced both mindsets, but a fixed mindset has been more dominant in my life. I realized that I experienced a growth mindset during my DMV permit test. I actually failed my first try at it because I was told that it was just common sense and I didn’t feel like I needed to study. Then I failed, and it encouraged me to actually read the handbook and study. Surprisingly, I wasn’t upset after failing my first attempt. Instead, it actually made me realize that I should study. I would love to have experienced a growth mindset throughout my life, but unfortunately I know I grew up with a fixed mindset. Growing up I remember my parents telling me how smart I am every time I received good grades, and according to the article written by Carol Dweck, that isn’t the best way