Book: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The book creates two different mindsets, the fixed and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset believes that skills and talents are natural born, and that the more work you put in, the worse you look. They are afraid of failure and want to appear smarter than they really are. The growth mindset focuses more on the learning experiences and that hard work beats natural born talent. This book tries to push its readers to develop a growth mindset that is always open to learn and expand their knowledge. It enforces the importance of hard work and dedication in the hunt to success, as well as the need for failure.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
It further drilled the idea that there is no such thing as a “natural born entrepreneur”, and that anyone can do it as long as they put in the work and dedication. It also allowed me to better understand that it is ok to fail and that it is what you do with those failures that make you who you are.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
It would be a questionnaire that decides the kind of mindset the student has. The only way to change is by knowing that you have a problem, so I think it is critical that students find out what their current mindset is. Then I would explain the difference between both mindsets and provide an explanation as to why a growth mindset will propel you forward.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?
On Chapter 3, it talked about a person not trying so that they always have the excuse that they didn’t try, if they fail. This really resonated with me because during High School, there were many times that I did not put much effort into what I was doing, and I thought I was doing it out of ego, to show that I was smart enough to do well without putting in the work. This opened my eyes that while it was my ego, it was also the fear of putting in 100% effort and failing. That would mean that I really wasn’t smart enough, and that was something I did not want to risk. I liked having the safety net of saying that I did not try and that if I did try, I would have done better. This also proved that I was stuck in a fixed mindset, which needs to change. Overall, this book was a great eye opener for me, I will now strive to have a growth mindset.
Hey Erick, really liked your reflection on the book. This would have been my second choice behind the one I actually did. I really find the idea of a fixed and growth mindset interesting, and I also believe that all people can improve if they just work hard enough. Also, your aha moment really resonates with me because what you suffered is the mentality that I have had for a lot of things and reading that really made me reflect on myself.
ReplyDeleteErick,
ReplyDeleteI understand this concept and most of my life had a fixed mindset. I didn’t start college for 20 years partly because I wasn’t sure I could do it and then I would have had no excuse for not graduating anymore. I love the idea that hard work beats talent. That means untalented people can still succeed because they have a resource others may not have…commitment to succeed.
Hey Erick,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your reflection on the book. We chose the same book and I liked learning about the two different mindsets and the choices made within each one. I also like how you recognized something that you want to change about yourself for the better. Learning and growing is apart of becoming the best version of yourself.