Fixed or Growth?

So I just finished reading this book a few days ago

Mindset By Carol Dweck 

"Be in the right mindset" is something I've we've all heard a million times, but for some reason this book really clicked with me. 

It theory is that people can either be in a fixed or growth mindset. The fixed mindset is thinking that things are the way they are and to a certain degree, you can't really do anything to improve things. Now at first I was thinking, "This is stupid everyone knows that they can change the outcome of their lives if they work hard enough!" But I realized that I was thinking of it in the context of working hard at a job and being lazy instead of thinking maybe I can be great at math someday. Fixed is for example - "I am just not good at math." Which is actually something that I have thought time and time again throughout grade school high school and even now in college. I would sometimes think that I am just "not a numbers person" and I should try to work on my strengths than try to work on something that I just am not good at to begin with. 

Now growth mindset thinks of things as, "you can do anything." A person that wants to learn piano can be just as good as someone who's been a "prodigy" since they were 2. It just takes hard work and motivation. Being in the growth mindset open you up to all the possibilities of life. I could be good at math if I really worked at it. It's not a trait that is ingrained into me, it doesn't "run in the family". 

Another example that clicked is that fixed just expects success to be effortless while growth sees it as a learning process. I can see this because people have told me before, "Wow you are just naturally good at art. It's in your blood" or something to that nature. Maybe subconsciously I would start to think, "yea I am naturally good at art. I'm a right-brain kind of person".  When really I had been practicing for years. Maybe if I had been practicing doing math problems for year and hadn't already decided that I was just "bad at math", people would be telling me I'm just naturally good at that. = p 

"Never compare your insides to someone else's outsides." 

This quote also resonated with me because I often do this without even realizing it. You know every little mistake you make when you are doing say a project and often you only see the end point of others work. When I see a work of art that I think is amazing, I never really think, "She must have made a lot of mistakes to get there." I'm usually just thinking about how great she is and that I'll never get that good. 

Lastly, "The idea of trying and still failing is the worst fear of the fixed mindset." Showing people your effort can cast a shadow on your otherwise known "genius" ability and talent. 

Sometimes I have found myself thinking that this is a horrible thing. If I tried and failed I would look like an idiot so why try at all. Since I read this, I have been trying to let go of my fixed tendencies and grow the growth! 

Overall review of the book: 

This book was great!....but really repetitive. I recommend checking out your local library to see if they have it and reading the first couple of chapters and then skimming or reading what you like of the rest. Definitely worth getting!  7/10