Okay, so I stumbled upon this book called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by Carol S. Dweck, and I was like, “Yeah, yeah, another self-help book.” But the title kept popping up, so I figured I’d give it a shot. I grabbed a PDF version to read.
First, I skimmed through the table of contents, just to get a feel for what I was getting myself into. I noticed chapters on “The Two Mindsets,” “Inside the Mindsets,” and “Sports: The Mindset of a Champion.” Sounded interesting enough, I guess.
So, I started reading. I really took the time to see what the book was about. I mean, I’ve always believed that some people are just naturally talented, you know? But this Dweck lady was arguing that it’s more about your mindset – whether you believe you can improve or not. The book says there are two kinds; fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
I dug into the examples she gave. She talked about kids in school, athletes, even business leaders. And honestly, some of it started to resonate. I remembered times when I gave up on things too easily, thinking, “Well, I’m just not good at this.”
Then I got to the part about how to change your mindset. It wasn’t just some fluffy “think positive” stuff. Dweck actually laid out some practical steps, like:
- Hearing your fixed mindset “voice” when you face a challenge.
- Recognizing that you have a choice in how you interpret that challenge.
- Talking back to that fixed mindset voice with a growth mindset perspective.
- Taking the growth mindset action – embracing the challenge, learning from it, and persisting.
I tried one small thing. My goal to tried to learn something new. Instead of thinking, “I’ll never be good at it,” I told myself, “Okay, this is going to be tough, but I can learn and get better with practice.”
I stuck with it. I’m still not a master, but I’ve definitely improved. And more importantly, I feel more confident in my ability to learn anything if I put in the effort.
So, I finished the PDF. I have to give credit to the author. It’s not a miracle cure, but it’s definitely given me a new perspective on how I approach challenges. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it’s up to you to use it right. I’m still working on it, but I think this “growth mindset” thing might actually have something to it.
