Mindset : The New Psychology of Success pdfdrive com

Mindsets Go Further

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Mindsets frame the running account that’s taking place in people’s heads. They
guide  the  whole  interpretation  process.  The  fixed  mindset  creates  an  internal
monologue  that  is  focused  on  judging:  “This  means  I’m  a  loser.”  “This  means
I’m  a  better  person  than  they  are.”  “This  means  I’m  a  bad  husband.”  “This
means my partner is selfish.”
In several studies, we probed the way people with a fixed mindset dealt with
information they were receiving. We found that they put a very strong evaluation
on  each  and  every  piece  of  information.  Something  good  led  to  a  very  strong
positive label and something bad led to a very strong negative label.
People with a growth mindset are also constantly monitoring what’s going on,
but their internal monologue is not about judging themselves and others in this
way. Certainly they’re sensitive to positive and negative information, but they’re
attuned to its implications for learning and constructive action: What can I learn
from this? How can I improve? How can I help my partner do this better?
Now,  cognitive  therapy  basically  teaches  people  to  rein  in  their  extreme
judgments  and  make  them  more  reasonable.  For  example,  suppose  Alana  does
poorly  on  a  test  and  draws  the  conclusion,  “I’m  stupid.”  Cognitive  therapy
would teach her to look more closely at the facts by asking: What is the evidence
for  and  against  your  conclusion?  Alana  may,  after  prodding,  come  up  with  a
long  list  of  ways  in  which  she  has  been  competent  in  the  past,  and  may  then
confess, “I guess I’m not as incompetent as I thought.”
She  may  also  be  encouraged  to  think  of  reasons  she  did  poorly  on  the  test
other than stupidity, and these may further temper her negative judgment. Alana
is  then  taught  how  to  do  this  for  herself,  so  that  when  she  judges  herself
negatively in the future, she can refute the judgment and feel better.
In this way, cognitive therapy helps people make more realistic and optimistic
judgments.  But  it  does  not  take  them  out  of  the  fixed  mindset  and  its  world  of
judgment.  It  does  not  confront  the  basic  assumption—the  idea  that  traits  are
fixed—that is causing them to constantly measure themselves. In other words, it
does not escort them out of the framework of judgment and into the framework
of growth.
This chapter is about changing the internal monologue from a judging one to a
growth-oriented one.
THE MINDSET LECTURES

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Just  learning  about  the  growth  mindset  can  cause  a  big  shift  in  the  way  people
think about themselves and their lives.
So each year in my undergraduate course, I teach about these mindsets—not
only  because  they  are  part  of  the  topic  of  the  course  but  also  because  I  know
what pressure these students are under. Every year, students describe to me how
these ideas have changed them in all areas of their lives.
Here is Maggie, the aspiring writer:
I  recognized  that  when  it  comes  to  artistic  or  creative  endeavors  I
had  internalized  a  fixed  mindset.  I  believed  that  people  were
inherently  artistic  or  creative  and  that  you  could  not  improve
through effort. This directly affected my life because I have always
wanted  to  be  a  writer,  but  have  been  afraid  to  pursue  any  writing
classes or to share my creative writing with others. This is directly
related  to  my  mindset  because  any  negative  criticism  would  mean
that I am not a writer inherently. I was too scared to expose myself
to the possibility that I might not be a “natural.”
Now after listening to your lectures, I have decided to register for
a creative writing class next term. And I feel that I have really come
to  understand  what  was  preventing  me  from  pursuing  an  interest
that  has  long  been  my  secret  dream.  I  really  feel  this  information
has empowered me!
Maggie’s  internal  monologue  used  to  say:  Don’t  do  it.  Don’t  take  a  writing