Mindset: Psychology of Success

"Knowing your own mind" is a common expression. But how many of us really do?

Are you open or close-minded? Do you believe your mind is fixed? Is it limited and unchallenged? Or are you a person who hasn’t given up? Do you believe your mind can still grow? Is fluid and open to learning and improving? What is your Mindset?

The Oxford American Dictionary defines Mindset as "an established set of attitudes held by someone." It turns out, though, that these attitudes needn’t be so set. In Mindset, The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck posits that intelligence is not fixed, but changeable. At some time in our lives, we’re the ones responsible for setting limitations. So if we think we can improve, we will. If we don’t, we won’t. Dweck likens the brain to a muscle — ever capable of stretching and learning something new.

But in order to learn, you have to believe you can. Your approach to life works best with what Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi calls a beginner’s mind. In his book, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, he tells us that, "In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few." Your mind must be open.

The child’s mind, for example, is always open and always ready to grow. Think of how a child approaches life. Full of curiosity and wonder. "I wonder what this is?" "I wonder what this means?" Wanting to be able to do it, to learn it, to play with it. Without a fixed Mindset or prior judgment, the child just asks, "What is this? "What does it mean?

As a child herself – a sixth-grader at P.S. 153 in Brooklyn – Dweck saw how others treated those who were "smart" and those who were "not." That year her teacher seated students in the room according to the results of their IQ tests. The children on the "low" end of the scale were not allowed special jobs like carrying the flag or cleaning the blackboard. In other words, they knew where they stood — by where they sat. Dweck remembers being afraid to raise her hand when asked her seat number. "…it was an uncomfortable thing because you were only as good as your last test score," she said. "I think it had just as negative an effect on the kids at the top [as those at the bottom] who were defining themselves in those terms."

That sixth grade experience was the beginning of her interest in the research of intelligence, the mind and how people think of themselves in the learning arena. Dweck believes that one’s Mindset is a greater determinant of one’s ability to succeed than talent, and she describes two different Mindsets: The Fixed Mindset and the Growth Mindset.

The Fixed Mindset is one in which you view your talents and abilities as…well, fixed. In other words, you are who you are, your intelligence and talents are fixed and your fate is to go through life in what you probably see as the easy way – avoiding challenges and, thus, failure. Those with a Fixed Mindset react to critique by explaining or defending themselves. They feel a strong need to rationalize and to counter any conception that they may have "made a mistake."

The Growth Mindset, on the other hand, is one in which you see the possibilities. You believe your skills and intelligence can improve, that you can always learn something new and are stimulated by challenges and a love of learning. Those with a Growth Mindset react to critique with both humility and confidence. Genuinely interested in hearing how they might improve their skills. They are open and generally grateful for feedback and are quickest to laugh at their own foibles.

The Mindset concept outlined by Carol Dweck can affect all areas of your life and can be especially useful for teachers, concerned parents, coaches, human-resource and office business managers, really, to any people in a learning….or living….environment.

Which Mindset do you possess? Dweck provides a checklist to assess yourself. She shows how a particular Mindset can affect all areas of your life, from business to sports and love. The good news, says Dweck, is that Mindsets are not set. At any time, you can learn to use a Growth Mindset to achieve success and happiness.