Mindset : The New Psychology of Success pdfdrive com

The  First  Dilemma.
Imagine you’ve applied to graduate school. You applied to just
one  place  because  it  was  the  school  you  had  your  heart  set  on.  And  you  were
confident  you’d  be  accepted  since  many  people  considered  your  work  in  your
field to be original and exciting. But you were rejected.
The  Fixed-Mindset  Reaction.
 At  first  you  tell  yourself  that  it  was  extremely
competitive, so it doesn’t really reflect on you. They probably had more first-rate
applicants than they could accept. Then the voice in your head starts in. It tells
you  that  you’re  fooling  yourself,  rationalizing.  It  tells  you  that  the  admissions
committee  found  your  work  mediocre.  After  a  while,  you  tell  yourself  it’s
probably  true.  The  work  is  probably  ordinary,  pedestrian,  and  they’d  seen  that.
They were experts. The verdict is in and you’re not worthy.
With some effort you talk yourself back into your first, reasonable, and more
flattering  conclusion,  and  you  feel  better.  In  the  fixed  mindset  (and  in  most
cognitive  therapies),  that’s  the  end  of  it.  You’ve  regained  your  self-esteem,  so
the job is finished. But in the growth mindset, that’s just the first step. All you’ve
done is talk to yourself. Now comes the learning and self-improvement part.