Mindset Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Brief Summary

Your mindset can affect everything in your life. From school to work to relationships, a fixed mindset limits you and a growth mindset offers possibilities.

Abilities are not fixed and aren’t determined at birth. If you are willing to put in the work, you can become great at almost anything. A fixed mindset accepts that some people are good at some things and they can’t choose which ones. But if that doesn’t satisfy you, then you probably have a growth mindset.

If you have a fixed mindset, you are more likely to get in your own way. You’re afraid of failure and think of new challenges as too risky. Rather than put yourself out there, you don’t even try.

A growth mindset lets you accept failure as part of the experience. You learn your lessons and adjust, allowing for continued development and future success. But you’re not looking for accolades. You’re looking for improvement and constantly challenging yourself to get better.

You can change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Although your mindset is molded by your childhood influences, there are opportunities to change your behaviors. It takes work, but adopting a growth mindset is worth it.

About the Author

Carol Dweck is the Lewis and Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Prior to joining Stanford, she worked at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the University of Illinois.

Dweck’s work combines social psychology, developmental psychology, and personality psychology. Her research analyzes how people think of themselves. Dweck evaluates the role that self-conception plays in motivational behavior and personality traits.

Dr. Dweck has written and contributed to numerous books on the subject of the human self and mindset. Her goal is to provide better insight into the impacts that self-conception has on interpersonal processes and personal achievements.

Topics

Psychology

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Key Insights

How much of who you are is determined at birth? Many physical attributes can’t be changed. Your health might be predisposed to be better or worse regardless of what you do. But what about your talents and skills?

You may be naturally better at music, athletics, or math. Physical attributes like height or hand size may also enhance your abilities. But that’s not enough. Even with some innate talent, you have to work at it.

The way you think about your own capabilities is your mindset. Carol Dweck describes the fixed and growth mindsets. These opposing mindsets determine how you approach your skills and whether you believe you can develop them.

The fixed mindset accepts some talents as ones you’re born with and others as unattainable. The growth mindset sees anything as possible with enough work, opening up more opportunities. Your mindset influences all aspects of your life.

If you have a fixed mindset, you believe you are who you are.

Natural talent wins with a fixed mindset. A person is good at some things and bad at others. If you have a fixed mindset, you believe people can’t change their personality traits.

Imagine you have a task that is unfamiliar or is something you know you’re not great at. If you have a fixed mindset, you would assume it’s impossible for you to do. You wouldn’t think about acquiring the skills to complete the task or improve the skills you have.

For example, if you play a musical instrument it may be hard to get beyond simple chord changes. Unless music theory comes easily to you, you might give up. A fixed mindset doesn’t consider investing the time to learn.

Companies can also have a fixed mindset. These are ones that look for people who are naturals at the work they do. Students that have done great in school are considered smart and capable. A company with a fixed mindset wouldn’t think about how anyone might be trained to do the job well.

Similarly, companies with a fixed mindset culture are unlikely to accept failure. If someone isn’t great at their job or is thought of as a slacker, you might think they’ll stay that way forever. A fixed mindset doesn’t think people learn from mistakes.

The potential for hard work to change who you are is central to the growth mindset.

A growth mindset isn’t about the results you get. It’s about rising to the challenge. You understand the value of elbow grease. Sure, it’s great to win or get an A on an exam but that’s not at the core of a growth mindset.

You see more than the goal at the end of the road. If you have a growth mindset, you know the hours you put in achieving that goal will only make you better. And with improvement, you see endless possibilities for yourself.

As with a fixed mindset, companies have a growth mindset too. Instead of assuming that people can’t be trained, these companies will build up talent from the inside. Research into companies with high...