A Work in Progress: How Mindset Powers Everything You Do

A WORK IN PROGRESSHOW A GROWTH MINDSET CAN POWER EVERYTHING YOU DO

July 2014

JANUARY 2014POSSIBLY THE WORST DAY OF MY ADULT LIFE

MINDSET: THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESSCAROL DWECK, PHD

“BECOMING IS BETTER THAN BEING.”

Be good / fixed mindsetFIXED MINDSET PEOPLE BELIEVE IN:

• Outcomes/ achievement

• Talents/abilities

• Look smart at all costs.

Get better / growth mindsetImprovement

Development

Resilience

“Working hard makes me smarter.”!

Effort is key!

Benefits of a growth mindset

Interest

Enjoyment

Deeper thinking

Persistence (grit)

Superior performance

Transition to 7th grade

Med students: organic chemistry

The power of mistakes

Fixed mindset: It’s about me

Hide mistakes and conceal deficiencies.

Give up: couch potato syndrome

Blame others or circumstances

Try to feel superior in some other way

Get better mindset: It’s about learning

Confront deficiencies.

Capitalize on mistakes.

Try harder.

Take responsibility.

Don’t feel the need to put others down.

The Mindset Paradox: The greatest threat to success is avoiding failure.

Praise the effortSTUDENTS PRAISED FOR INTELLIGENCE:

Selected easier tasks when given choice

Lied about their scores in an effort to look “smart”!STUDENTS PRAISED FOR EFFORT:

Overwhelmingly (90%) chose more challenging tasks

Showed higher levels of engagement and achievement

RelationshipsI’m perfect as I am (ego).

Criticism construed as “You don’t really love me.”

If you have to work at it, it wasn’t meant to be.

Problems indicate character flaws.

RelationshipsWhat do I need to learn to improve my relationship?

Wants someone to help them grow & learn new things.

HOW DO WE DO IT?CREATING A GROWTH MINDSET

Recognize fixed mindset thinking

“I have bad genes, there’s no way I can lose that much weight.”

“What if I fail?”

“I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

“I don’t have the willpower to stick with a healthy diet.”

“I’m just not as smart/lucky/talented.”

Reframe with a growth mindset

“No excuses this time … I’m getting started.”

“If I fail, it’s okay. Great accomplishments don’t happen without risk.”

“Forget diets. I’ll take it slow and making eating healthy a lifestyle.”

“If I don’t know how to do something, I’ll learn.”

!

The goal is mastery and competence.

Goal-setting wordsimprove

learn

progress

develop

become

grow

Parenting: what to sayWhat did you learn? Did you have fun?

“You must have tried very hard!”

“I love that you kept trying, even when it got difficult! Good job!”

“Wow that was easy! I’m sorry I wasted your time. Let’s do something that you can learn from!”

Effort, struggle, persistence despite setbacks

Strategies, choices

Choosing difficult tasks

Learning, improving

Things to praise

Stop comparing yourself to othersInstead, compare yourself to your past performances.

Take action1. Write it down.

2. Embrace learning — and failure.

3. Take calculated risks.

“PERSEVERANCE IS THE HARD WORK YOU DO AFTER YOU GET TIRED OF DOING THE HARD WORK YOU ALREADY DID.”

— Newt Gingrich

jill@jillhinton.com