Mindset (2006) | Carol Dweck

It's one of those books where you wish you had read earlier in your life, and how much it would have guided you throughout. It's a truly fascinating book from Carol Dweck.

 Here she basically describes two mindsets a person can have in terms of intelligence; Fixed and Growth Mindset; and how it influences our daily lives, and how it impacts our work, sports, business, relationships and parenting. 

There's a widely circulated infograph of this idea now, which sums it up. To put in text:

"In a fixed minset, a person believes intelligence is static, which leads to a desire to look smart and therefore have a tendency to avoid challenges; give up easily; see effort as fruitless or worse ignore useful negative feedback; and feel threatened by the success of others. As a result, they may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential. All this confirms a deterministic view of the world.
In a growth mindset, a person believes intelligence can be developed, which leads to a desire to learn and therefore have a tendency to embrace challenges; persist in the face of setbacks; see effort as the path to mastery; learn from criticism; and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. As a result, they reach ever-higher levels of achievement. All this gives them a greater sense of free-will"

Picking out specific parts

 In Sports:

 Competitiveness is extremely prevalent. And eventually, you don't always win. In times where you fail, is where your "Character" shows, These are times where you had to reach deep down inside to get back up and try again. Character comes out of a growth mindset.

 Another is that, as Carol Dweck wrote "Athletes with a growth mindset find success in learning and improving, not just winning".
A John Wooden quote goes: "Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort? If so, you may be outscored but you will never lose."

 In Business:

 Effective Leadership also stems from a growth mindset. Fostering the capacity to let people try and fail, and communicate helps in the long run.

 In Relationships:

 Social Rejection can hurt really bad. Having a growth mindset will get you in touch with all the feelings and what you can learn from it. Picturing a perfect compatibility comes from a fixed mindset. It simply does not exist where a relationship has no disagreements, compromises and hard work. Learning to listen and communicate properly fosters a closeness.

 Parents, Teachers, Coaches:

 Guiding a person requires effort. The words and actions we use sends a message. These messages can sow fixed or growth mindsets. This is why it's important to praise children of their efforts and the processes they used, instead of their intelligence or their talent. For teachers, lowering standards doesn't raise a student's self esteem. Setting high standards without supporting them does not help as well. For coaches, instead of asking for perfect games, ask for full commitment and full effort.

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