Mindset: besteseller by Carol Dweck challenges us to change how we think

The view you adopt of yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.

Dr. Carol S. Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford, demonstrates in her book Mindset how the way we perceive ourselves and abilities can have a substantial effect on performance and achievement whether in school, work, sports, arts, or personal relationships. Dweck, after years of research, concludes that people can be divided into two categories: those having a "fixed" mindset and those having a "growth" mindset.

In the fixed mindset, talent, abilities, and intelligence are all inherent and fixed qualities that are capped at a certain limit.

Those with a growth mindset on the other hand, believe that intelligence and abilities can be developed, and that effort, trial and error eventually lead to growth and achievement.

The consequences of thinking that intelligence, personality and abilities can all be developed as opposed to fixed deep-seated traits leads to sustained efforts at personal development, which eventually propel growth minded people to succeed in various areas of life.

In (the growth) mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.

Dweck adds:

Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.

Disappointments, setbacks, and the gap between reality and our desired goals can at various times color how we view our abilities, thus potentially restricting the possibilities we see and dreams that we may have for our lives. Although those with growth mindset can get temporarily discouraged, they don't get consumed by pessimism or failure.

Dweck writes:

In the growth mindset, failure can be a painful experience. But it doesn’t define you. It’s a problem to be faced, dealt with, and learned from. We can still learn from our mistakes. The legendary basketball coach John Wooden says that you’re not a failure until you start to assign blame. That’s when you stop learning from your mistakes – you deny them.

The book demonstrates that exceptional people are not necessarily born exceptional , but rather have a special talent for converting life's setbacks into future successes. Great thinkers, athletes, accomplished writers and esteemed innovators across cultures all exhibit a growth mindset that has allowed them to hone in on their skills and preserver throughout challenges.

When you have a growth mindset, you believe the abilities you’re born with are only a starting point—you can get smarter and improve yourself with hard work, persistence, and the right learning strategies. You have a passion for learning and welcome mistakes as opportunities to learn, and you seek challenges to push yourself.

Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?

Examine the list below to gauge where you fit on the growth-fixed mindset spectrum.

All of us tend to have elements of both mindsets.

Remember that living a healthy life, taking care of your body, mind and soul requires a growth mindset that helps you envision that a healthier you is possible! Small small daily actionable steps towards your health goals, as well as positive believes and affirmations can be helpful in steering your mind towards the right mindset.

To read more: Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset. Ballantine Books.