I am fascinated by mindset. As a lifelong learner I have read piles of books, done many courses and been to over a 100 conferences. When I started coaching people I learned about the power of thoughts. I took a learning pathway in coaching that consisted of 15 days training in a two year period and I learned about how to be a good coach. But I learned even more about myself. In 2019 I started working with bureau Idee and learned how to work on my own mindset. Until then I never fully realised the impact of my thoughts and inner beliefs on my behaviour and mental health. You can read more about that journey here on my blog.
One of the most interesting books I have read is “Mindset – Changing The Way You think To Fulfil Your Potential” by Professor dr. Carol Dweck. This video summarises it pretty nice in less than 10 minutes.
People with the fixed Mindset believe intelligence can’t be changed. This leads to a desire to look smart, so they avoid challenges. They don’t want to look bad if they fail which holds them back. In the face of obstacles they get defensive or give up easily. They see effort is pointless and believe that people are only great at things because they were born with special talents. When confronted with constructive criticism they ignore it. Lastly, they feel threatened by the success of others. People with a fixed mindset achieve much less than they’re capable of.
People with a growth mindset believe intelligence can be developed. This leads to a desire to learn. So instead of avoiding challenges, they embrace them. They persist in the face of obstacles and see effort as a path to mastery. They accept constructive criticism and use it to their advantage. Lastly they feel inspired by and learn from the success of others. As a result they fulfil their ultimate potential.
See my summary of the book here.
Also her TED talk “The power of believing that you can improve” is very inspiring:
How do you build a growth mindset? This video “Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck” gives some clues:
A Cherokee elder was teaching his young grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil- he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt and ego. The other is good- he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person, too.”
The boy thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”― Tsalagi Tale
More about how I think about mindset and my journey on changing my own mindset in the series of blogposts by me and Nicole Errante here:
Part 1: Mindset – The book
Part 2: Looking Back on Perfection and Burnout
Part 3: Dealing with mindsets
part 4: How you can build skills and grow using your mindset