Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck, has introduced me to world of fixed and growth mindsets. Dweck explains that people with a fixed mindset are very narrow minded and lack the confidence to try new things. They like to brag and want praise. Those with a fixed mindset also like to complete tasks without effort. On the other hand, people with a growth mindset are ready to accept a challenge and want to succeed through hard work. They are willing to try new things and do not like to be praised or bragged about.
According to Dweck, growth mindset people succeed more in life than people with a fixed mindset. Although I found this book very interesting and helpful, it is very repetitive and biased. Dweck repeats the same ideas throughout the entire book. I feel that Dweck could have easily condensed the text to one to two chapters. Her message is that everyone should have a growth mindset, because it makes people successful. Although I agree with this, she is very biased and favors the growth mindset. She mostly talks about the positive effects of having a growth mindset, while ignoring the positives of the fixed mindset.
All in all, although the book is very repetitive, Dweck has taught me about the two mindsets. She has helped me realize that I have both mindset and how to use them to the best of my ability. I often find myself drifting into a fixed mindset, but I then remember what Dweck said about the unsuccessful fixed mindset. I have enjoyed our book club meetings, because I like being able to hear and exchange our ideas about the book. My book club group also found this book very repetitive and biased, do you feel the same?
Hi Elyse! It's funny that you mention Dweck's bias and her repetitiveness because that's all 2nd period talked about during our book club today too! It had gotten to the point where we couldn't find anything new to talk about because she repeats the SAME EXACT POINTS OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!! And her bias? It made it hard to read the book at some points because there were times when I knew I had a fixed mindset in the situation she was describing and she would hate on it so much, it'd make me feel like crap! Oh, and don't forget the self promotion! She kept talking about herself like she was this omniscient being that shouldn't be questioned and should be idolized for being generous enough to grace us with her precious thoughts. It was kind of sickening at some points. But at the same time, I can't complain too much because she did open my eyes to the two different mindsets, which has changed the way I think and the way I do things lately in a positive way. :)
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is possible to have just one of those mindsets. I seems to me that most, if not all, people have both. Take me for example, I like trying new things, but some things are just out of my comfort zone. So in the sense I want to try new things I fit into the growth mindset, but because there are some things completely off limits, I also fit into the fixed mindset.
ReplyDeleteOf course everyone finds themselves repeating themselves over and over again, but this is to be expected when the other takes on a subject that is practically taken for granted. From what I have heard, she clearly has not found new evidence or interesting cases to support her theory, making it a sturdy but somewhat flat idea. I would love to read this book and see what she has to say, but I can't help but agree with this "growth mindset." Yes, we're all looking for new influences and fresh ways of thinking and learning, but this topic could've been made a bit more interesting if there were more scientific evidence and perhaps examples of positives and negatives of BOTH mindsets. So, yes, I agree with this observation and maybe we can all come up with ways Dweck could have restructured her redundant book.
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