The term “Growth Mindset” was coined by Stanford Psychology Professor and Researcher Carol Dweck. Her research with children illuminated astounding implications about how the mental frameworks we use affect everything we do.
Now, when a person is in the process of succeeding at something, the mindset they have will not necessarily be apparent. In the midst of success, it is not the thing on display. Many of us find adaptive ways to crush particular tasks in spite of limiting beliefs about ourselves. Rather, it’s when we run into difficulty with performing, that the effects of differing mindsets show up.
Ms. Dweck’s research demonstrated that our mindset dictates our strategy in the face of performance difficulty. Allow me to paint a picture of what generally ensues in either case:
If we are operating with a Fixed Mindset and our performance (about something we care about) goes south, we frame the fact that we’re struggling as evidence of a permanent trait and our brains frantically look for ways to sooth our egos in light of this failure. We avoid challenge and scramble to find alternative activities that make us look less incompetent; we compare ourselves to others for better or worse (i.e. at least I’m better than someone else at something else); we remain fixated on outcomes and we despair at the fact that those outcomes are looking bleak. In short, our objective becomes mental damage control and we feel helpless to accomplish even that.
When we employ a Growth Mindset, everything shifts. Challenge means opportunity for growth; struggle is evidence that I am becoming “smarter”; my mind gets busy with curiosity, searching for strategies instead of spiraling in on itself; my focus is diverted away from the current negative outcome and toward curiosity about the process; I am not surprised by setbacks because I see them as part of learning; novel activities become more engaging instead of proof of incompetence; I relish interdependence, knowing that my personal resources are limited but that bonding with others is additive to the enjoyment of life; I come to believe more deeply that I can do hard things because my nervous system remembers that I did it before.
In short, operating out of a Growth Mindset means expansion, not contraction. Stay tuned for Part 3 as we get down to the brass tacks of supporting and encouraging Spellers using a Growth Mindset.