Growth Vs. A Fixed Mindset
We are starting to hear a lot about the benefits of having a Growth Mindset rather than a Fixed Mindset. Dr Carol Dweck coined the terms Growth and Fixed Mindsets to describe the beliefs people held regarding intelligence and learning. Dr Dweck experimented with two groups of children who experienced the same challenges. The group who were trained to interpret their failures by trying harder, outperformed the other group. When students believe they can get smarter, they put in extra effort to work harder, as they understand it pays off for them. They know their extra effort leads to higher achievement. Hence, a growth mindset is when a person believes effort, such as practice and study, will help them achieve. Someone with a fixed mindset is likely to give up when they find something difficult as they are not inclined to believe they can learn new things with extra effort.
Research on neuroplasticity, has shown that our brains develop new pathways with experience, and with practice, these pathways develop and strengthen. This is really important for a person’s self-worth. When you fall short of your goals, do you respond by trying harder and strive for real improvement or do you give up because you don’t think you can do any better?When it comes to praising our children, do we encourage a growth mindset by praising their effort “I see you tried hard and worked it out in the end”. Or do we praise the child and have their self-worth contingent on their success or failures “Good girl, you’re really good at that”. Praising the person over the effort, subtly leads them to believe they are ineffective if they fail at something. When we praise effort, we are leading others to cultivate a mastery-oriented approach where challenges are faced with enthusiasm rather than dread.
Believing you’re born with the ability to accomplish things you value (fixed mindset) may lead you to prove yourself to others as most situations can be a test of whether you have what it takes or no. However, believing what you’re born with is just a starting point for development (growth mindset) leads you to put in persistent efforts, as our potential is unknown.
Michael Jordan has been quoted as saying “I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots. I’ve missed almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. However, he never gave up. He kept practicing and believing he could do better. He has a growth mindset. Increased motivation leads to increased achievements.
If you or your children are avoiding a challenge perhaps you could shift your mindset. Success isn’t about proving how smart you are or how well you can perform. It’s about developing yourself, accepting failures as a setback, not as an endpoint. Recognise that hard work and persistence pays off.