How to Cultivate a Growth Mindset (Part I)
I have found this topic to be utterly fascinating and I am excited to share this concept of the Fixed and Growth Mindset with you. It is my goal that you find it to be not only interesting but that you can walk away with a tool that can enrich and expand not just your professional life but also your personal development.
This post is the first of three that will discuss this topic. In this article, I discuss the characteristics of the Fixed Mindset. In my second article I discuss the Growth Mindset and all of it's benefits and in my third article on the subject, I will discuss how to cultivate a Growth Mindset.
So where did this concept of the two different and unique mindsets begin? Well it was developed by Carol Dweck. Dr Dweck is a psychologist at Stanford whose research bridges developmental psychology, social psychology, and personality psychology. Initially she was interested in looking at the reason behind why some people fail and others succeed. She examines the mindsets people use to structure the self and guide their behavior. Her research looks at where people’s mindsets come from, their role in motivation, and their impact on achievement and success in both professional and personal endeavors. In her best selling book, Mindset - the new psychology of success, she reveals her observations and subsequent theory. Her main question was as follows: What are the consequences of thinking that your intelligence or personality is something you can develop, as opposed to something that is a fixed, deep-seated trait?
Now we know from years of developmental psychology that the personality is pretty much in place by the time a child is 6 years old. If you think back to what you were like when you were 6 - whether you were quiet and thoughtful or loud and fearless - chances are those traits still exist pretty predominantly in your personality as an adult. If you have children, you can see by the age of 6 whether they naturally will have a positive attitude, a love for animals, a gentle nature, a desire to make others laugh. And while those things are going to develop and maybe look different at various stages of their lives - except for a deeply traumatic event - they will stay the same. Their personality is established. But what about their intelligence?
A Fixed Mindset is the belief that your intelligence is static and predetermined. Your IQ is something that you are born with, and you will never be smarter than whatever amount of intelligence you were given at birth. Either you are a genius or you are not. Where you fall on this intelligence scale is fixed. You cannot move it. the theory of someone with a Fixed Mindset is "Once an idiot, always an idiot."
Let’s go through the basic beliefs of someone with a Fixed Mindset.
The core belief of the Fixed Mindset is that intelligence is static. So The focus for someone with a Fixed Mindset is to LOOK smart. They believe they only have a certain amount of intelligence so they have to maintain it, protect it and build it up to be as impressive and as stable as they can make it.
They have a tendency to
- Avoid challenges
- Give up easily when facing obstacles
- See effort as weakness
- Ignore useful negative feedback
- Feel threatened by the success of others
Do you know people like this? Maybe this is you?
Let’s dive into this a bit more.
The Fixed Mindset avoids challenges because there is a chance of failure. Failure would be a crack in the armor so to speak, it would put into question whether we really are intelligent or not. If I am smart, if I have the skills needed, then I shouldn’t fail. At anything. And if something has the potential to be challenging enough that I may fail - I will avoid it at all costs. The Fixed Mindset stays in its comfort zone and tries to rest on its’ laurels, on its’ past achievements.
Fixed Mindset people tend to give up easily because they have already figured out in their mind that they either do or do not have enough brain power for this problem. So why bother to keep trying if you already know that you can’t do it? Remember that the risk of failure will lead to doubt concerning their capabilities, so we will quickly avoid or give up on something that risks at which we may fail. And of course we will blame others, or the situation. It simply can’t be done - they’ll say.
Because of this, they will also avoid effort - effort means that you are straining and striving for something more, that it is difficult, that you have to try hard. If you are already “smart”, then things should not be hard - they should be easy. Making an effort then, would reveal a lack of intelligence or capabilities. Clearly this isn’t easy for you - you must not be up to the task. They see effort as weakness.
Because Fixed Mindset has to protect it’s image of being smart, people with Fixed Mindsets have a very hard time with criticism. They don’t do well with it. They tend to ignore any negative feedback because that would require taking an honest look at their performance, their current understanding, and it might require them to face a challenge or make an effort. They need to protect their image, their reputation, and maintain the outward appearance of intelligence and capability. If they cannot ignore it they tend to be defensive, deflect or blame others.
Finally they feel threatened by others success, and this is because it calls into question their own success. What if they can’t do that? It’s the scarcity mindset that says there isn’t enough to go around. If that person succeeded then that takes away from my chances to succeed. Fixed Mindset needs to look good and your success isn’t helping me look good.
Let’s let Carol Dweck sum the Fixed Mindset up for us:
"If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character— well, then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics....I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves— in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?"
Everything is viewed as a risky test that could mess with what we perceive as our reputation. Because of their beliefs and therefore their actions, Fixed Mindset people tend to plateau early and then simply maintain, never really achieving their full potential.
To continue reading about the Growth Mindset and be prepared to be WOWED by it's power!
Stay connected with news and updates!
If you want some weekly T4T wisdom coming straight to your inbox for your reading pleasure - look no further! Join our mailing list to receive the latest blogs and updates.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
