A mindset can be explained as the mental attitude that determines how an individual reacts or responds to different situations. The mind is a powerful organ that significantly affects a person’s behavior. People are responsible for their success or failure in life. Also, success or failure to achieve one’s goals is dependent on an individual’s mindset. The things that an individual thinks or believes significantly influences both their short-term and long-term goals. That explains why some highly talented people fail in life while others with fundamental skills achieve big things. In particular, it all depends on one’s mindset. People who set their minds can do anything as long as they are devoted and committed to going far in life. Others who doubt their abilities by limiting their mindset fail to meet their dreams. In every field, be it in business, education, relationships, or sports, an individual’s mindset is crucial and useful in determining a person’s achievements. A growth mindset fosters development and success, while a fixed mindset hinders the achievement of meaningful goals.
Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, argued that people with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities, talents, qualities, and intelligence are innate and cannot change. In other terms, these individuals document their skills rather than improving and developing them. They are content with their capabilities and never bother to learn new things. Fixed mindset individuals believe that some people are destined for success and cannot get it by just working hard (Rissanen et al. 205). They assume to be the smartest ones based on what they know. People possessing a fixed mindset avoids circumstances since it makes them feel that they are not smart or talented. When the work gets hard, they quickly give up. In this case, failure is the limit of their ability (Rhew et al. 11). Such people place themselves in various positions. For example, they are either good or not, they can do it, or they cannot do it and whether their potential is predetermined or not. For example, Albert Dunlap, the former chief executive officer of Sunbeam, had a fixed mindset. Dunlap increased its stock by firing thousands of employees and selling two-thirds of Sunbeam’s plants in 1996. Dunlap was unable to handle a large company’s operations, which is why he decided to downsize it. He had a fixed mindset that he cannot manage, control, organize, and run Sunbeam successfully due to its large size. Two years down the line, Dunlap left the company leaving it with $1.7 billion in loans (Dweck, “Mindset” 68). Therefore, it is evident that fixed mindset leaders can contribute to an organization’s collapse due to poor strategic decisions. According to Dweck, a growth mindset is when one believes in himself or herself. It is when individuals think that the intelligence they possess will develop them throughout their lives. When people believe that they can learn, they keep mastering new things. As a result, an individual has a growth mindset, working hard, and becoming proud of their potential. According to Dweck’s research, having a growth mindset is essential since it improves one success and improves a person’s insight.
In contrast, a growth mindset person understands that one’s abilities, talents, and skills can be improved and developed through persistence, knowledge acquisition, and effort. Individuals with such a mindset believe that they can succeed in anything as long as they work hard. They seek new knowledge from different sources to improve their fundamental skills. Hence, such people do not over-rely on their talents. Instead, they keep searching for ways to grow and develop their professions (Dweck and Hogan 2). Thus, those with a growth mindset believe that for one to achieve success, there must be diligence, and achieving should not come naturally along with putting in hard work and effort. People with a growth mindset won’t see it as a waste of time, like how one with a fixed mindset would. On the other hand, individuals with a fixed mindset trust that success comes with no effort by believing that they are born with natural talents and abilities. If one achieves anything without any effort, they are natural (Limeri et al. 12). Hence working hard and putting more or even the tiniest amount of effort is terrifying and risky since great achievers do not need to waste their energy, and in cases of failure, all the hardworking is wasted.
Persons with a growth mindset do not allow difficulties to barricade them from reaching their goals. Looking into the growth mindset, individuals think that their furthermost undeveloped capability can be established through commitment and working hard, and as a result, brains and talents are the starting point. Practically, all great individuals have had these characters. A good example is Michael Jordan, the former American basketball player (Dweck, “Mindset” 50). In most cases, successful athletes start their careers while in high school. They build a good reputation and get a scholarship to colleges where they can develop their talents further. However, that was not the case with Jordan. He was cut from his basketball team at high school during his sophomore year. Despite the challenge in his career, Jordan did not lose hope and focused on his goals. He worked hard to improve his skills, and he believed that he could achieve anything. In the long term, Jordan became the best basketball player in the United States of America’s history (Dweck, “The Choice to Make a Difference” 23). Thus, people who possess a growth mind deal with the challenges. They work hard to overcome the problems since they know that they will grow and learn about them. According to these people, failure is an opportunity for growth, they can learn and do anything they want, and their effort and attitudes determine their ability.
To sum up, the primary difference between a fixed and growth mindset person is that the former does not look for ways to improve talents and skills. A person’s life is shaped by his or her thoughts. An individual mind is potent since what one thinks about themselves and the things they believe in can prevent change from taking place or permit a new onset of skills to bloom. In a case where having a growth mindset will most definitely help one achieve more compared to having a fixed mindset. People have much more to gain if they deepen their understanding of the growth mindset concept and the procedures of setting it in action. Although growth mindset people might only have fundamental knowledge, they put effort into learning things that might help them develop their skills. Overall, the way a person thinks and perceives things can either hinder or promote growth and development.
Works Cited
Dweck, Carol, and Kathleen Hogan. “How Microsoft Uses a Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders.” Harvard Business Review, 2016, pp. 1–4. Web.
Dweck, Carol S. “The Choice to Make a Difference.” Perspectives on Psychological Science, vol. 14, no. 1, SAGE Publications Inc, 2019, pp. 21–25.
Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2008, pp.1–147. Print.
Limeri, Lisa B., et al. “Growing a Growth Mindset: Characterizing How and Why Undergraduate Students’ Mindsets Change.” International Journal of STEM Education, vol. 7, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1–19.
Rhew, Emily, et al. “The Effects of a Growth Mindset on Self-Efficacy and Motivation.” Cogent Education, edited by Olympia Palikara, vol. 5, no. 1, Cogent OA, 2018, pp. 1–16.
Rissanen, Inkeri, et al. “In Search of a Growth Mindset Pedagogy: A Case Study of One Teacher’s Classroom Practices in a Finnish Elementary School.” Teaching and Teacher Education, vol. 77, 2019, pp. 204–213.