Growth Mindset vs . Fixed Mindset
Thirty years ago , Carol Dweck and her friends became interested in students ' a�tudes towards failure . While some students improved despite their failures , some students gave up when they face even a simple obstacle . Dr Dweck studied the behaviour of thousands of children and used the terms " Fixed Mindset " and " Growth Mindset " to describe people ' s basic beliefs about learning and intelligence .
Those with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence and crea�ve ability are fixed characters that cannot be meaningfully changed in any way . Those with an evolving mindset think that when they believe they can do be�er , their effort will make them stronger .
Those with a growth mindset do not view failures as evidence of ignorance . These people view failures as a tool for enhancing abili�es . Our minds have the ability to influence our lives . It is surprising how our minds and thoughts can be powerful . Our view of the world shapes our lives . How can we take advantage of the power of our mind ? Let ' s start with a few examples . Let ' s give our examples over the students .
Think a student named Chris . He didn ' t grow up in a very good environment . His family kept telling him that he was not very smart . They did not believe that he would be successful in school . Actually , Chris did well in math class at school . He liked math . However , he was constantly told he was not very smart !
Instead of working harder , Chris thought that he was not smart , he couldn ' t do it anyway , and that ' s why he didn ' t try too hard . Therefore he couldn ' t get higher grades . These low grades then reinforced his belief that he was not smart . As you can see , Chris has a " fixed mindset " that he ' s not smart . In Chris ' s case , his fixed mindset caused him to fail at a job he would probably do quite well if he actually made an effort .
Now let ' s talk about Sally . Sally was told by her family again and again that she was smart . Sally could achieve any success she wants in her life because she was smart ! Sally was constantly being told she can do be�er , so she worked hard and really did well at school .
Finally , she started to study at a very good university . But a�er a while , something was changed and her grades started to fall . This is not because she was not smart anymore . This is because the compe��on was so tough . She could not deal with it very well and become depressed .