Which Are You? Growth or Fixed Mind-set?

Growth Mind-set versus Fixed Mind-set

            Psychologist Carol Dweck from Stanford University performed a study regarding praise on four hundred fifth graders.  In the first step of the study she gave all the kids an easy non-verbal I.Q. test.  In the second step of the study all of the children were praised in one of two ways.  Half the children were praised for intelligence, the other half for effort.  The children praised for intelligence were told, “Wow!  You must be smart at this!”  The children praised for effort were told, “Wow!  You must have worked hard.”  What Dweck wanted to measure was the impact of these two different types of praise on students.

            In the third step of the study she gave kids options for their next test.  Students were told there was a harder version of the next test, and, “This will be a great opportunity to learn and grow.”  Students were also told there was an easier version of the next test and, “You will surely do well on the test.”  The results?  Sixty-seven percent of the students praised for intelligence chose the easier option of the test, but ninety-two percent of the students praised for effort chose the harder option of the test.

            In the fourth and final step of the study all four hundred students were given one final test that was as easy as the first test they had taken.  The students who were praised for intelligence performed twenty percent worse than on the first test they took.  But the students who were praised for effort performed, significantly, thirty percent better than their first test.  There was a fifty percent difference in performance between the students praised for intelligence and the students praised for effort.  Dweck explains the difference between the two sets of students:

                        The child or adult hears: oh, you think I’m brilliant and talented.  That’s why you admire me; that’s why you value me.  I better not do anything that will disprove that evaluation.  As a result they enter a FIXED mindset.  They play it safe in the future, and they limit the growth of their talents.  Whereas focusing on the strategies they use, the way they are stretching themselves and taking on hard tasks, the intense practice they are doing, those are the kinds of things that say. . .it’s about the PROCESS of growth.  As a result they don’t feel: oh, if I make a mistake you won’t think I’m talented.  They think: oh, if I don’t take on hard things and stick to them, I’m not going to grow.

            The fear of failure is powerful unless one Shifts his or her way of thinking.  Course Correction is not about intelligence.  It’s about diligence, the diligence to commit to a process over time to learn and grow.  This is the difference between what Dweck calls a fixed mind-set and a growth mind-set.

A Person with a:              Fixed Mindset                Growth Mindset

Intelligence is:                 Static                                Developed

Challenges are:                Avoided                            Embraced

In the Face of Setbacks:  They Give up                    They Persist

Sees Effort as:          Fruitless or worse       The Path to Mastery           

When Criticized:              They Ignore it.            They Learn from it.

When Others Succeed:     They are Threatened.      They are Inspired.

Achievement:                   They Plateau early.     Reach higher levels.

           

View of World:                 Fate                                 Free Will

A pottery teacher decided to do an experiment.  He broke his students into two groups.  In group A he told the students that their entire semester grade would be based on one grade for the quality of one piece of pottery. In group B he told the students they would be graded on the sheer number of pieces they produced, regardless of those piece’s quality.  Without exception, the best pieces of pottery came from group B.  Why?  Because the students in group B had no fear of failure.  They were free to focus on process, honing their skills, learning with every iteration of pottery they produced how to make a better piece of pottery.  The students in group A made fewer pieces, and as a result had less experience in honing their skills.  Group A had a fixed mind-set, and group B had a growth mind-set.  Group A tried to be perfect.  Group B practiced excellence.  Group A tried to get it correct.  Group B Course Corrected.  It is the same for you and your plan to live your Dream!

There is no perfect plan, except the plan that gets you going!  If you wait until you have the “perfect plan,” you’ll never shoot for the moon!  So Ready. (plan) Fire! (do) Aim. (adjust).  Have a growth mind-set focused on process, progress, and effort!

Always remember: Comfort is everyone’s friend.  He’ll whisper sweet nothings into your ear.  He’ll tell you what you want to hear.  But Discomfort is your best friend.  He’ll tell you what you need to hear if you’ll listen, so embrace Discomfort and walk hand in hand through your plan with him.  When you do, you’ll grow into your Dream and your Greatness.