Book Byte #67 "Mindset" by Carol S. Dweck

The New Psychology of Success

📣 Curious Quotes from the Author

“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone—the fixed mindset—creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.”

“People with the growth mindset know that it takes time for potential to flower.”

“Becoming is better than being”

“He didn’t ask for mistake-free games. He didn’t demand that his players never lose. He asked for full preparation and full effort from them. “Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort?” If so, he says, “You may be outscored but you will never lose.”

“We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.”

“no matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”

“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”

“Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.”

“So what should we say when children complete a task—say, math problems—quickly and perfectly? Should we deny them the praise they have earned? Yes. When this happens, I say, “Whoops. I guess that was too easy. I apologize for wasting your time. Let’s do something you can really learn from!”

“I don’t mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I’ve done as well as I possibly could.”

“This is something I know for a fact: You have to work hardest for the things you love most.”

“If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don’t have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence.”

“True self-confidence is “the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.” Real self-confidence is not reflected in a title, an expensive suit, a fancy car, or a series of acquisitions. It is reflected in your mindset: your readiness to grow.”

“After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance. How can that be? Don’t children love to be praised? Yes, children love praise. And they especially love to be praised for their intelligence and talent. It really does give them a boost, a special glow—but only for the moment. The minute they hit a snag, their confidence goes out the window and their motivation hits rock bottom. If success means they’re smart, then failure means they’re dumb. That’s the fixed mindset.”

“...when people already know they're deficient, they have nothing to lose by trying.”

“In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome . They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues. Maybe they haven’t found the cure for cancer, but the search was deeply meaningful.”

📚 Cognition of the Book’s Big Idea:

People with a fixed attitude stifle their own growth because they believe in natural potential and are afraid of failure. On the contrary, persons with a growth mentality work and train hard in order to reach their maximum potential. Developing a growth mindset requires facing our own attitudes and thoughts.

How do people's mindsets differ?

Our mindset influences whether we believe we can learn, develop, and grow, or not.
The fixed attitude predetermines an individual's skills.
Growth and progress are feasible under the growth mentality.
How does our mindset influence our behavior?

Individuals with a fixed perspective seek approval, whereas those with a growth mindset desire development.

Failures are viewed as calamities by the fixed mindset, whereas development mindsets perceive them as opportunities.

People with a fixed attitude shun obstacles, whereas those with a growth mindset embrace them.

Can we change our minds?

Our childhood role models frequently have a strong influence on our mentality.
Anyone can adopt a growth mentality and achieve the seemingly unattainable.

🛠️Fixing the Tech Industry

Mindset is evolving to become one of my most talked about topics, and for good reason. 1: I’m horrible at it, we all are. We’re good at fixing problems but horrible at showing up for ourselves.

2: If everything were easy and sunshine and rainbows, we’d never grow to our full potential. Sure it’s fun to just coast for a while, but coast too long and you’ll realize this is not the life you wanted for yourself, and the life you did want is now even farther away with all the time you wasted coasting through life.

🤝Collaborate with others with this Social Media Prompt:

Do you seek Approval in your Relationships or do you seek Development?

Do you see Failure as a Calamity or as an Opportunity?

Do you run away from Obstacles or Embrace them?