essay about growth and fixed mindset

Your powerful, changeable mindset

BeWell spoke to Dr. Jacob Towery, adjunct clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry, about how shifting your mindset can improve your health, decrease stress and help you overcome life’s challenges.

You see life through your own unique lens. This is your mindset – the assumptions and expectations you hold about yourself, your life and the situations around you. Research shows that mindsets play a significant role in determining life’s outcomes. By understanding, adapting and shifting your mindset, you can improve your health, decrease your stress and become more resilient to life’s challenges.

To learn more about mindsets and how to change them, BeWell spoke to Dr. Jacob Towery, adjunct clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry at Stanford University.

Mindsets help you to simplify.

Mindsets are a set of assumptions that help you distill complex worldviews into digestible information and then set expectations based on this input. For example, you may believe that becoming sick with cancer would be catastrophic or that going on a diet would be challenging and depriving. These belief systems help you set expectations, plan for the worst and guide decisions based on these assumptions.

While mindsets can be helpful for distilling information and managing expectations, they can also be maladaptive, lead to interpersonal problems and feelings of guilt, inadequacy, sadness and anxiety. Dr. Towery observes that it is common to hold onto mindsets that were adaptive at one point in life but have since become maladaptive. For example, it might have been helpful to believe that others cannot be trusted if you were betrayed at a young age, but this belief may lead to interpersonal issues at a later stage of life. 

Dr. Towery assures, “the good news is mindsets are highly changeable, and if you are willing to learn the technology of changing your mindset and defeating your distorted thoughts, you can have significantly more happiness.”

Having a fixed or growth mindset affects your worldview. 

You may have heard of “fixed” and “growth” mindsets. These terms were coined by Stanford researcher and professor Carol Dweck, Ph.D.  to describe belief systems about your ability to change, grow and develop over time. If you believe your qualities are essentially unchangeable or “fixed,” you may be less open to mistakes because setbacks are seen as inherent, and impinging on future success. For example, if you have a fixed mindset and have trouble connecting with others at an event, you may see this as evidence that you will never be able to socially connect, leading to social anxiety and avoidance. 

With a growth mindset, you know that you can change over time, and therefore you are more open to reflect, learn and grow from challenges. Because failure is less threatening, you are more willing to embrace life’s challenges, take feedback as a learning opportunity and continue to learn and grow throughout life. With a growth mindset, you are also less likely to personalize setbacks. For example, in the scenario above, you might reflect that the cause of your social difficulty had more to do with the environment at the event than a personal inability to socialize.  

With a fixed mindset, it can be hard to find motivation to work through perceived weaknesses, because the ability to change may seem as hopeless as changing your eye color. In contrast, with a growth mindset, you’ll see your perceived weakness as a challenge that can be motivating — and even fun — to overcome.

As Dweck writes in “Mindset,” “…as you begin to understand the fixed and growth mindsets, you will see exactly how one thing leads to another — how a belief that your qualities are carved in stone leads to a host of thoughts and actions, and how a belief that your qualities can be cultivated leads to a host of different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different road.”

Dr. Towery gives a personal example, “In my own life, I was dissatisfied with my singing abilities and decided to take singing lessons for nine months. While you won’t be hearing me on the radio any time soon, my singing is remarkably less terrible than it used to be before the lessons.” He describes that it was fun to learn that singing is a skill that can be cultivated rather than something innate and immutable.

Mindsets can impact your reality.

Mindsets can impact your outcomes by determining the way you think, feel and even physiologically respond to some situations. A 2007 study revealed that increased awareness of physical activity resulted in health benefits like weight loss and decreased blood pressure.   To further investigate this phenomenon, a 2011 study was conducted to test physiological satiation in relationship to mindset around certain foods. The study revealed that participants’ satiety aligned with their mindset around the food they were consuming more than the food’s nutritional content.  

Another example of how mindset affects physiology was shown in a 2012 study on the association between stress perception, health and mortality.  Kelly McGonigal references the study in her 2013 TED talk, explaining that participants who experienced high levels of stress had an increased risk of death, but only if  they believed stress to be harmful. Those who experienced high stress levels but did not see it as harmful were no more likely to die. McGonigal encourages developing more positive mindsets around stress, and to perceive your body’s physiological responses to stress – like a pounding heart and racing mind – as your body’s natural response to rise to the challenge and overcome it, as opposed to a signal that something is wrong.

Dr. Towery points out the impact of mindset on the effect of medications. “There is a powerful phenomenon in medicine known as the placebo effect, in which if someone believes they are going to derive benefits from taking a particular medication, they often do. In fact, regardless of the disease or condition, about 30-40% of people can have significant improvement in their symptoms even when taking a placebo (sugar) pill, if they believe that the pill is going to be helpful.” 

“Equally fascinating,” Towery observes, “is the ‘nocebo-effect,’ a psychological response based on a person’s expectations around side effects. When a physician emphasizes the potential side effects of a medicine, and the patient believes they will develop those symptoms, even if given a sugar pill, these patients can develop the adverse side effects, just based on what their mind expects.” 

Science is just beginning to validate the power of the mind-body relationship. Mindset matters, so it is important to pay attention to your belief systems—where they come from, how valid they are, and how they impact your quality of life.

You can change your mindset.

Although your mindset about topics like appearance and success are largely influenced by outside factors, the brain is neuroplastic, meaning neural networks can continue to grow, change and reorganize throughout the lifespan. By challenging yourself with new experiences and perspectives, you can form new neural connections — or mindsets — at any point in life.

Even a fixed mindset is not set in stone. You can change your mindset by learning and consciously choosing to believe that your characteristics are not predetermined and that you can continue to grow over time.

According to Towery, “The exciting news about mindsets is that they are absolutely changeable. The entire field of cognitive therapy is based on the idea that thoughts determine feelings and that you can learn powerful techniques to modify distorted thoughts and self-defeating beliefs.  For those that want to learn how, I recommend reading the book “Feeling Great” by David Burns, MD and doing all of the writing sections.  A competent cognitive therapist can also teach you how to change your mindset, even in a small number of sessions.”

Dr. Towery says that the most rewarding part of his work is helping people transform distorted beliefs like “I’m a failure” to more realistic thoughts like “I didn’t perform well, but I can better prepare next time and it will probably go much better.”

Towery encourages questioning self-defeating thoughts and creating new narratives that are more self-serving. If you develop a growth mindset, setbacks can become learning opportunities and there is always another chance to improve and feel better. 

• http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345472322/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345472322&linkCode=as2&tag=farnamstreet-20&linkId=ZYKJHPHELN46AOWM
• https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/3196007/Langer_ExcersisePlaceboEffect.pdf?sequence=1%3FviewType=Print&viewClass=Print
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21574706/
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22201278/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcGyVTAoXEU&t=722s
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTDYtwqKBI8
• https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.75.1.33

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What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means

• Carol Dweck

Debunking three common misconceptions.

Scholars are deeply gratified when their ideas catch on. And they are even more gratified when their ideas make a difference — improving motivation, innovation, or productivity, for example. But popularity has a price: People sometimes distort ideas and therefore fail to reap their benefits. This has started to happen with my research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets among individuals and within organizations.

• CD Carol Dweck is the Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success .

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Growth Mindset Essay

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Growth Mindset vs. Fixed + Key Takeaways From Dweck’s Book

Of course, working hard has always been valued. We know that working hard (and working smart) is a good way to achieve our goals.

The question is not so much one of how much we appreciate the value of work, but whether we have overemphasized the importance of natural ability. It’s easy to look at the achievements of exceptional people and think that their success comes from their innate gifts. After all, Einstein couldn’t have revolutionized a field with a below-average intelligence, right?

Would Michael Jordan have been able to become the phenomenal player that he is without inherent talent for basketball?

The answer to both questions is, of course, almost certainly “No.” The most exceptional people in any area would likely not be at the top without some innate abilities. However, there is an important piece that many people don’t see—you don’t become the greatest by riding on your innate talent alone.

Einstein didn’t simply spend a few afternoons writing a book then kick back and relax. Michael Jordan didn’t skip practices and lounge around in his free time.

It takes an incredible amount of talent AND hard work to become the greatest at anything.

Although the vast majority of us won’t become the greatest at our craft, this simple truth has some important applications for us as well, namely: we get where we are through a combination of innate ability and effort. Except in extremely rare cases of strong genetics, our genes don’t define anything about us. We have incredible influence over our skills and abilities—likely far more influence than we think.

There’s a name for believing in our ability to grow and change what some assume to be fixed or immutable characteristics: having a growth mindset. If you’re interested in finding out what a growth mindset is and how it can be developed, you’ve come to the right place! Read on to learn more about growth mindset vs. fixed.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

What is the definition of a growth mindset, what is a fixed mindset.

• What is the Main Difference? (Growth Mindset vs. Fixed)

Examples of a Growth Mindset

How to change your mindset, how to develop a growth mindset for kids, mindset activities for students and adults.

• Carol Dweck’s Book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Book Summary – Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Growth mindset posters, displays & a bulletin board (pdf).

• Dweck’s TED Talk (Video)

A Take-Home Message

Before we get much further, let’s take a moment to define some important terms that we’ll be using frequently throughout this piece.

A growth mindset is “the understanding that abilities and understanding can be developed” (Mindset Works, n.d.). Those with a growth mindset believe that they can get smarter, more intelligent, and more talented through putting in time and effort.

On the flipside, a fixed mindset is one that assumes abilities and understanding are relatively fixed. Those with a fixed mindset may not believe that intelligence can be enhanced, or that you either “have it or you don’t” when it comes to abilities and talents.

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What is the Main Difference (Growth Mindset vs. Fixed)?

The main difference between the two mindsets is the belief in the permanence of intelligence and ability; one views it as very permanent, with little to no room for change in either direction, while the other views it as more changeable, with opportunities for improvement (or, for that matter, regression).

This difference in mindset may lead to marked differences in behavior as well. If someone believes intelligence and abilities are immutable traits, they are not likely to put in much effort to change their inherent intelligence and abilities. On the other hand, those who believe they can change these traits may be much more willing to put in extra time and effort to achieve more ambitious goals .

With a growth mindset, individuals may achieve more than others because they are worrying less about seeming smart or talented and putting more of their energy into learning (Dweck, 2016).

While the benefits of cultivating a growth mindset are clearly desirable, the founder of the growth mindset theory is quick to point out that it’s not just about telling yourself (or others) that you can improve; Carol Dweck points out three common misconceptions she has encountered:

• “I already have it, and I always have.” Dweck warns that a growth mindset is not simply being open-minded or optimistic or practicing flexible thinking; it’s more specific than that.
• “A growth mindset is just about praising and rewarding effort.” Although praising and rewarding effort is generally a good idea, it must be undertaken with an eye on outcomes as well. Effort that is unproductive is not to be rewarded, and learning and progress should also be met with praise.
• “Just espouse a growth mindset, and good things will happen.” Espousing a growth mindset is a positive step that can lead to positive outcomes, but it’s not a guarantee; the mindset needs to be backed up with effort applied to worthwhile activities, and even then success is not inevitable (Dweck, 2016).

Our society overemphasizes the importance of natural ability.

In the media, we see stories of exceptional people that have changed the world with their innate gifts. But they forget a crucial part of the equation. Talent and inherent ability alone do not equate to success.

Hard work and keeping an open and flexible mind can be as important as talent. After all, Michael Jordan must have been born with great talent, but he would not have achieved as much if he did not practice his craft for years. It takes talent AND hard work to master something.

There’s a name for believing in our ability to grow and change what some assume to be immutable characteristics: having a growth mindset .

Growth mindset is the understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed. Those with a growth mindset believe they can get smarter, more intelligent, and more talented through putting in time and effort.

On the flip side, a fixed mindset is one that assumes abilities and understanding are relatively fixed. Those with a fixed mindset may not believe that intelligence can be enhanced and that you either “have it or you don’t” when it comes to abilities and talents.

This difference in mindset may lead to marked differences in behavior. If someone believes intelligence and abilities are immutable traits, they are not likely to put in much effort to change their ‘inherent’ skills. On the other hand, those who believe they can change these traits may be much more willing to put in extra time and effort to achieve their ambitious goals.

We can have both fixed and growth mindset traits. For instance, you might hold the belief that you can study more and improve your academic performance. While simultaneously believing that you have always been bad at painting and simply lack the talent to improve.

Believing that we can grow, that we are not born with a fixed set of qualities, can help us head out of our comfort zones and realize our true potential.

It’s easy to see examples of a growth mindset in students. Those with a growth mindset are apt to see challenges as a natural part of the learning process.

They work harder and smarter, helping them to learn and achieve more than students with a fixed mindset.

Students with a growth mindset may display behaviors like:

• Asking the teacher to demonstrate a new way to do a math problem
• Volunteering answers in class even when unsure
• Asking a question even if it might seem basic or “stupid”
• Seeking out problems that will push them instead of problems that keep them safely within their comfort zone (Character Lab, n.d.)

It may seem like a growth mindset is hard to see in adults, since they’re not in a constant learning environment—or are they? That perspective on the environment is a clear-cut example of a growth mindset vs. fixed. Those with a growth mindset are more likely to see every environment as a learning environment and scan for opportunities to improve their skills and enhance their knowledge.

For specific examples, John Rhodes (2015) shares a few scenarios that typify a growth mindset in adults:

Example 1: Running late and missing the bus or carpool

You’ve certainly been here before: your alarm doesn’t go off (or maybe you hit snooze a few too many times) and you oversleep. You jump out of bed and race into your clothes, skipping any part of your morning ritual that isn’t completely necessary before racing outside to catch the bus. As you run to the street, you see the bus pulling away and you know you’re going to be late.

For someone with a fixed mindset, this scenario might just ruin their whole day. They may feel angry with themselves or look for someone or something else to blame.

On the other hand, someone with a growth mindset is more likely to think about the root cause of the mess they’re in and consider how to avoid it next time. They may conclude that they need to go to bed earlier tonight, or set their alarm a little bit louder. The point is, the person with a growth mindset will think about ways to fix the problem because they believe it is fixable.

Example 2: Poor feedback from the boss

Another scenario showcasing a growth mindset: you go in for an evaluation with your boss and you receive negative feedback. Your boss thinks you aren’t putting in enough effort, or you’re making too many mistakes, or that you’re simply not competent enough to handle your current project.

Someone with a fixed mindset may decide that their boss has no idea what she’s talking about and completely ignore the feedback. Alternatively, they might agree with their boss and think “I just can’t do anything right. I don’t have what it takes to be successful.”

A growth mindset response would be to seriously consider this feedback, evaluate it as objectively as possible, and seek out more information and/or another opinion to compare. If your boss has a point, you would come up with possible solutions to improve your performance and do your best to implement them.

Example 3: Praising your child

We’ll get to more examples later, but Rhodes offers a good example of a growth mindset in a parent:

“Kids love praise and parents love giving it. So, when you’re child comes to you with an A on his math paper, you can either go the fixed mindset route and say, ‘You’re so smart’ or you can go the growth mindset way and acknowledge the effort he or she put in, saying, ‘Wow, you really worked hard on that paper!’”

(Rhodes, 2015)

Example 4: Handling a new project or task

When you are assigned a daunting new task at work or when you take on a challenging project at home, it can be tempting to think “I’m not good at this kind of stuff. It’s just not my strong suit!”

You might be right that it’s not one of your strengths , but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn it. A fixed mindset will take this self-defeating thought and run with it, concluding that there’s no point in putting all that much effort into something that just isn’t your cup of tea.

On the other hand, a growth mindset will see this new challenge as an opportunity to grow . Someone with this mindset might think, “I can figure this out. What do I need to do to get my skills at the right level? Are there classes I can take? People I can ask for help? Any other resources that might help?”

The growth mindset will lead you to new skills, new knowledge, and new areas of expertise, while the fixed mindset will leave you about where you started—with little skill in the task at hand and little confidence in your abilities.

After reading these examples, you’re probably thinking, “Okay, I’m sold on a growth mindset! But how do I change my mindset?”

If so, you’re right on track! This section is all about what you can to do change your mindset. It may not be easy, but you will likely find that all the effort was worth the advantages of a growth mindset.

There are eight general approaches for developing the foundation for such a mindset:

• Create a new compelling belief: a belief in yourself, in your own skills and abilities, and in your capacity for positive change.
• View failure in a different light: see failure as an opportunity to learn from your experiences and apply what you have learned next time around.
• Cultivate your self-awareness : work on becoming more aware of your talents, strengths, and weaknesses; gather feedback from those who know you best and put it together for a comprehensive view of yourself.
• Be curious and commit to lifelong learning: try to adopt the attitude of a child, looking at the world around you with awe and wonderment; ask questions and truly listen to the answers.
• Get friendly with challenges: know that if you mean to accomplish anything worthwhile, you will face many challenges on your journey; prepare yourself for facing these challenges, and for failing sometimes.
• Do what you love and love what you do: it’s much easier to succeed when you are passionate about what you’re doing; whether you cultivate love for what you already do or focus on doing what you already love, developing passion is important.
• Be tenacious: it takes a lot of hard work to succeed, but it takes even more than working hard—you must be tenacious, weathering obstacles and getting back up after each time you fall.
• Inspire and be inspired by others: it can be tempting to envy others when they succeed, especially if they go farther than you, but it will not help you to succeed; commit to being an inspiration to others and use the success of others to get inspiration as well (Zimmerman, 2016).

Follow these 8 principles and you will find it hard to have anything but a growth mindset!

For more specific techniques you can use to start building a growth mindset now, try these 25 suggestions from Saga Briggs (2015):

• Acknowledge and embrace your imperfections; don’t hide from your weaknesses.
• View challenges as opportunities for self-improvement.
• Try different learning tactics and strategies; don’t consider any strategies one-size-fits-all.
• Keep up on the research on brain plasticity to continually encourage the growth mindset.
• Replace the word “failing” with the word “learning” in your vocabulary.
• Stop seeking approval for others, and prioritize learning over approval.
• Value the learning process over the end result.
• Cultivate a sense of purpose, and keep things in perspective.
• Celebrate your growth with others, and celebrate their growth as well.
• Emphasize learning well over learning quickly.
• Reward actions instead of traits.
• Redefine “genius” as hard work plus talent, rather than talent alone.
• Give constructive criticism, and accept criticism of your own work as constructive.
• Disassociate improvement from failure; “room for improvement” does not mean “failure.”
• Reflect on your learning regularly.
• Reward hard work before talent or inherent ability.
• Emphasize the relationship between learning and “brain training;” like any other muscle, the brain can be trained.
• Cultivate your grit (determination and perseverance).
• Abandon the idea of succeeding on talent alone; recognize that it will always take some work as well.
• Use the phrase “not yet” more often, as in, “I haven’t mastered it yet.”
• Learn from the mistakes that others make.
• Make a new goal for every goal you accomplish; never stop striving towards your goals.
• Take risks and be vulnerable with others.
• Think realistically about how much time and effort your goal will take.
• Take ownership of your own attitude, and take pride in your developing growth mindset.

If you’re still hungry for more tips on building a growth mindset, see the exercises and activities detailed later in this piece.

This mindset theory is especially applicable for students. There are obvious advantages to cultivating a growth mindset in children of any age, and it’s never too early to start!

Teachers have a unique opportunity to influence the mindset of the children they interact with on a daily basis, and there are some simple things they can do to encourage a growth mindset over a fixed one. For example, teachers can:

• Set and publicly share teaching goals (e.g., “I am working on giving feedback to every student every period”)
• Reframe deficits as opportunities for growth
• Ask others for better strategies
• Seek mentorship
• Avoid language that implies a fixed mindset about their own abilities (e.g., “I’ve never been great at math”)
• Share their own mistakes with students and vocally embrace each mistake as a chance to get better (Character Lab, n.d.)

Making a verbal commitment to building a growth mindset and offering effort-based praise is a great strategy for helping children to develop a growth mindset, but it’s about more than words. Teachers and parents who want to guide their children toward this mindset should also focus on:

• Improving themselves first; it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to build a growth mindset in others if it’s not a mindset you are also embracing for yourself.
• Go beyond the “mindset jargon” and inspirational quotes to truly focus on encouraging growth over achievement, and frame failure as opportunities to learn.
• Praise properly, focusing on their efforts rather than any inherent abilities.
• Embrace the word “yet;” as noted earlier in the section on building your own growth mindset, use the word “yet” with children to give them a sense that failure is not inevitable and that their current level of knowledge or skill is not immutable.
• Take advantage of mistakes children make; be ready to praise them for their efforts but also point out any issues in their approach and brainstorm better ways to handle the situation with them.
• Let kids fail; another vital part of building a growth mindset in children is to let them fail instead of showing them how to do everything. Trial and error is an important learning process, and children should be free to use it (Gerstein, n.d.).

If you think you’ve got a good handle on the general principles, but are looking for more specific and hands-on techniques for cultivating a growth mindset in your children or students, read on!

Crumpled Reminder Activity

This activity from the Project for Education Research that Scales’ (PERTS) official Mindset Kit will guide children through a lesson on the importance of failing and how we can use failure as an opportunity. It should only take about 15 to 20 minutes.

If you’d like to give this activity a try, follow these steps:

• Ask students to write about a mistake they made this week and how it made them feel.
• Give each student a fresh piece of paper, ask them to crumple it up and throw it at the board with the feelings they have when they make a mistake.
• Ask them to retrieve the paper, un-crumple it, and color each line with different colors.
• Ask students what they think those lines represent. Explain that the lines represent all the synaptic activity (or brain activity, for younger children) that happens when a mistake is made.
• Ask students to keep the paper and stick it into a notebook or folder to look at when they make a mistake. This physical reminder prompts students to use mistakes to strengthen their brain every time they open their notebook.
• OPTIONAL – Lead a discussion on mistakes using questions from the Classroom Discussion activity (below) to further students’ understanding about the value of mistakes.

Click here to learn more about this activity.

Classroom Discussion Activity

You can use this to complement the first activity or on its own—either way, it will teach kids a valuable lesson about failure.

Introduce the activity by saying you are going to talk about why mistakes are good, and how you can learn from them. Lead a discussion on mistakes, starting with the following questions:

• How do you feel when you make a mistake? Why?
• How do you think other people see you when you make a mistake?
• Have you ever discovered something new from making a mistake?
• Have you ever felt proud of making a mistake?
• Has a mistake ever made you think more deeply about a problem? (With this question, you can start off with a non-academic situation, then apply the lesson to school.)

If you’d like to learn more about this activity, visit PERTS’ website here .

Mistake Game

This exercise from Barbara on the Mindset Kit website is a perfect way for students to get comfortable learning about, making, and keeping an eye out for mistakes.

Begin by assigning students a set of math problems. Each student must complete them individually.

Once each student has finished their set, put the students into small groups (four or five students per group) and assign each group one of the problems to present to the class. The group members should share their individual solutions with the group, then collectively they can choose a solution to share with the class on the whiteboard.

However, there’s a catch—they must make at least one intentional mistake in their solution! The group can choose a mistake made by one of their own members or come up with a new mistake, but there must be at least one mistake present.

When each group has settled on a solution with at least one mistake, the groups will present their solution to the class one at a time. While they present, the class must listen to their process and keep their eyes peeled for the mistake(s). When they believe they’ve found a mistake, they have to phrase it in the form of a question (e.g., “Why did you do it that way?” or “Can you explain how you did that part?”).

This process of sharing and openly discussing mistakes can help diminish the stigma on making errors. It also encourages students to ask thoughtful questions and to be comfortable talking about their own mistakes.

Click here to read about this activity from the source.

Reflection on Mistakes

This is a great activity to use with an individual student or child who has just made a mistake that he or she feels particularly bad about. Remind the child that mistakes an inevitable part of life, and that they can be used as an opportunity to grow and improve.

Encourage them to answer these questions in their journal, diary, or on a sheet of paper:

• What happened when you made the mistake?
• How did you realize you had the wrong answer?
• Describe how you started thinking about the problem.
• How did it feel when you realized you made a mistake?
• What did you learn from making this mistake?

Once they have answered these questions, discuss the mistake with them. Praise them for their effort, acknowledge that they have made progress by completing this reflection, and encourage them to try new strategies in the future.

You can click here to learn about the activity this exercise is based on.

Challenge Your Fixed Mindset Voice

This activity involves four steps that are not all that easy, but that can help you to develop the foundation for a lasting growth mindset.

Step 1: Learn to hear your fixed mindset voice.

Pay attention to the voice that pops up when you face a new or particularly daunting challenge. This is the voice of your fixed mindset, and it likely only has negative things to say about you and your abilities. It might say something like “You really think you can do it?” or “This is not one of your strengths, just give up and do something else!”

Once you’ve identified the voice, move on to the next step.

Step 2: Recognize that you have a choice.

After realizing that you have a fixed mindset voice and that it’s not necessarily your authentic voice, you will realize that you have a choice in whether to listen to this voice or not. It is up to you to decide how you want to interpret and respond to challenges, setbacks, criticism, and failure.

Tell yourself that you have a choice, and do your best to believe it!

Step 3: Talk back to it with your growth mindset voice.

When the fixed mindset voice comes nagging at you, start to talk back to it. Question it, throw doubt on its conclusions, and generally counter it wherever you can.

It may say, “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have what it takes.”

You can respond, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to do it with time and effort.”

If it says, “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure!”, respond with “Most successful people had failures along the way.”

When you hit an inevitable setback at some point, it might say, “This would be so much easier if you only had the talent.” If it does, respond with “That’s wrong. Even those with the greatest inherent talent need to work hard to succeed in their field.”

Do whatever you can to challenge that fixed mindset voice and encourage the growth mindset voice.

Step 4: Take the growth mindset action.

Finally, once you have tons of practice challenging the fixed mindset voice with your growth mindset voice, it will become easier to take the growth mindset action.

Taking the growth mindset action means:

• Taking on the challenge wholeheartedly.
• Learning from your setbacks and trying again.
• Hearing the criticism and taking constructive action.

Continue listening to both voices and acting on the growth mindset voice as often as possible, and you will have an excellent foundation for the right mindset.

Carol Dweck’s Book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

In this book, Dweck describes the importance of having the right mindset to maximize our potential and capitalize on our strengths. This theory explains how the way we think about our intelligence, abilities, and talents can have a huge impact on our success in every area of life.

It focuses on both improving your own mindset and on building the right mindset in children, making it an excellent read for parents, teachers, coaches, and managers.

This newest version of the book offers new insights on cultivating a growth mindset, as well as avoiding the false growth mindset. It also includes Dweck’s insights on applying the growth mindset to teams, groups, organizations, and institutions.

The book seems to be beloved by both critics and everyday readers, with an impressive 4.5-star average based on over 2,300 reviews. It is available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle version. Click here to read more about it or purchase it for yourself.

There’s no substitute for reading the book itself (and it’s not exactly a monster of a book at 304 pages!), but if you’re in a hurry and looking to get the most salient points out of it quickly, there are a few summaries of Mindset that are available for purchase.

Check the following links for succinct summaries of the book:

• Summary by FastReads
• Summary, Analysis, & Review by Start Publishing Notes

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

If you’re a teacher, tutor, or simply a parent that likes those inspirational or motivational posters, these posters, displays, and bulletin board ideas are perfect for you.

This group of 13 posters, each in 4 different themes, are highly rated by over 2,000 reviewers. At less than $10 for a digital download, these posters are an excellent value!

If you want your child or students to have a more hands-on experience, try these 9 color-in mindset posters . Coloring the posters will encourage children to take an active role in thinking about their mindset.

This set is another great value; it includes 22 growth mindset affirmations, in full-color poster, full black and white poster, full-color trading cards, and black and white trading cards format. In addition, there are two printables that offer suggestions on utilizing the affirmations in the classroom and 8 pages of bulletin board letters in case you’d like to create a bulletin board.

This example growth mindset bulletin board shows how you can create a helpful and inspiring display that will encourage students to develop a growth mindset. This one is titled “Change Your Words – Change Your Mindset!” and includes 9 fixed mindset thoughts or statements and a corresponding growth mindset thought.

Keeping this board in a highly-trafficked area will ensure that kids see these statements and are constantly reminded that they can choose to change their perspective on their problems.

Dweck’s TED Talk (Video)

If you’re interested in hearing more about this theory, check out Carol Dweck’s TED Talk on it below. She describes what prompted her to think about mindset, what the research on this subject has found, and the power of “yet.”

If you leave this piece with only one takeaway, I hope that it is a belief in yourself and your abilities to grow, to develop, and to thrive beyond what you currently perceive as your limits.

Having a growth mindset isn’t an “easy button” solution to any problem, and it will not automatically cause good things to happen to you; however, it will likely make it easier and more enjoyable to work hard toward your goals, and give you the confidence you need to set ever more ambitious goals.

I hope this piece has satisfied some of your curiosity about the growth mindset theory, but if you’re still curious, know that this is merely scratching the surface—there are tons of studies, articles, and books out there about the importance of cultivating a growth mindset and tips and tricks on how to do it.

What are your thoughts on this theory? Do you find it plausible, or do you think inherent abilities are more important than this theory assumes? Have you tried any growth mindset activities? Let us know in the comments!

Thanks for reading, and good luck with building a growth mindset!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

• Briggs, S. (2015). 25 Ways to develop a growth mindset. InformED . Retrieved from https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/
• Character Lab. (n.d.). Growth mindset. Character LAB . Retrieved from https://www.characterlab.org/growth-mindset/
• Dweck, C. (2016). What having a “growth mindset” actually means. H arvard Business Review . Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means
• Gerstein, J. (n.d.). Cultivate a growth mindset with these 6 strategies. Noodle . Retrieved from https://www.noodle.com/articles/these-6-strategies-will-promote-a-growth-mindset-in-your-kid
• Mindset Works. (n.d.). Decades of scientific research that started a growth mindset revolution. Mindset Works . Retrieved from https://www.mindsetworks.com/Science/Default
• Rhodes, J. (2015, August 24). Growth mindset examples: How everyday situations create opportunity for learning and progress. LinkedIn . Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/growth-mindset-examples-how-everyday-situations-create-john-rhodes/
• Zimmerman, A. (2016). Shift to a growth mindset with these 8 powerful strategies. Inc. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/angelina-zimmerman/the-8-tremendous-ways-for-developing-a-growth-mindset.html

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What our readers think.

Just amazing, I just thought to begin with this mindset approach. It works, really.

I am teaching a course “Managing Individuals” and in it a topic on “Attitudes” – so I thought of covering “Growth Mindset” in class. This article helped me lot in the content. Thanks.

Awesome, this does not only work at our different institutions , but can also be used at home with children and other family members.

The Growth Mindset methodology just opened my eyes to get out of my comfort zone and unleash my knowledge to my students, parents, teachers and other stakeholders. Personally it assisted me to further my educational opportunities. I think that this is what I need to maximise my truest potential. Thanks for this tremendous article.

Jennifer Jarrett Guidance Counsellor

I work with adults as a coach/mentor. After reading this I had a thought: Parents have a massive impact on whether or not their children develop a growth mindset. They can make it happen but equally they can destroy it as my parents (and some teachers) did to me. I am now in my mid seventies but I can never forget my history teachers report: “David fritters away his time”. That led to an equally ribald comment from the headmaster and my parents took me out of school when I was just 17, unqualified, a high school dropout. Fortunately for me I worked with so many good people later that I developed a growth mindset thanks to their feedback, coaching, mentoring and caring. How do you get this message across to parents, particularly the parents of what they call today ‘the disadvantaged’? The disadvantaged will remain that way unless they stumble across the growth mindset message and have the capacity to inculcate it in their children.

I absolutely support this approach to developing motivation and incentivising effort and resilience. My only concern is that it does not support evidence that cognitive ability and psychological traits are much more fixed than skills, experience and behaviours. It is not either a fixed or growth but certain traits are a mixture of both to a certain degree.

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Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: How what you think affects what you achieve

Growth mindset or fixed mindset—can the way we think about ourselves and our abilities shape our lives? Absolutely. The way we think about our intellect and talents not only affects the way we feel, it can also affect what we achieve, whether we stick to new habits, or if we will go on to develop new skills.

A growth mindset means that you believe your intelligence and talents can be developed over time. A fixed mindset means that you believe intelligence is fixed—so if you’re not good at something, you might believe you’ll never be good at it. 

At Mindset Health, we’re all about growth mindsets and encouraging people to adopt a positive outlook on learning. So, let’s look at growth vs. fixed mindsets together, explore the science, and see how people can change their mindsets over time. 

Growth vs. fixed mindsets for life 

Science once told us that the human brain stops developing in childhood, however, we now know that the brain is constantly evolving and changing. Many parts of the brain respond to experiences and our ‘software’ can be updated through learning. 

Despite the neurological facts, some people still think that you’re stuck with the talents and ‘smarts’ you’re born with. Psychologist Carol Dweck, from Stanford University, was the first researcher to explore the idea of fixed and growth mindsets. 

In Dr. Dweck’s seminal work , she described the two main ways people think about intelligence or ability as having either:

• A fixed mindset: in this mindset, people believe that their intelligence is fixed and static . 
• A growth mindset : in this mindset, people believe that intelligence and talents can be improved through effort and learning. 

People with a fixed mindset typically believe that their level of intelligence and abilities are innate. In Dr. Dweck’s own words, fixed mindset people beleive that “they have a certain amount [of intelligence] and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb”.

For people with a growth mindset, however, they understand that not knowing or not being good at something can be a temporary state—so they don’t have to feel ashamed or try to prove they’re smarter than they currently are. 

Dweck states that in a growth mindset, “students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence.”

Do you have a ‘growth’ or a ‘fixed’ mindset? Take the mindset quiz

What is a growth mindset?

A growth mindset views intelligence and talent as qualities that can be developed over time.

This doesn’t mean that people with a growth mindset assume that they could be the next Einstein—there are still variables in what we can all achieve. A growth mindset simply means that people believe their intelligence and talents can be improved through effort and actions. 

A growth mindset also recognizes that setbacks are a necessary part of the learning process and allows people to ‘bounce back’ by increasing motivational effort.

This kind of mindset sees ‘failings’ as temporary and changeable, and as such, a growth mindset is crucial for learning, resilience, motivation, and performance.

Those who adopt a growth mindset are more likely to :

• Embrace lifelong learning
• Believe intelligence can be improved
• Put in more effort to learn
• Believe effort leads to mastery
• Believe failures are just temporary setbacks
• View feedback as a source of information
• Willingly embraces challenges
• View others’ success as a source of inspiration
• View feedback as an opportunity to learn

What is a fixed mindset?

In a fixed mindset , people believe attributes, such as talent and intelligence, are fixed—that's to say, they believe they’re born with the level of intelligence and natural talents they’ll reach in adulthood. 

A fixed-minded person usually avoids challenges in life, gives up easily, and becomes intimidated or threatened by the success of other people. This is in part because a fixed mindset doesn't see intelligence and talent as something you develop—it's something you "are". 

Fixed mindsets can lead to negative thinking. For instance, a person with a fixed mindset might fail at a task and believe it's because they aren't smart enough to do it. Whereas a growth mindset person might fail at the same task and believe it's because they need to spend more time practicing. 

People with a fixed mindset believe individual traits cannot change , no matter how much effort you put in, and are more likely to:

• Believe intelligence and talent are static
• Avoid challenges to avoid failure
• Ignore feedback from others
• Feel threatened by the success of others
• Hide flaws so as not to be judged by others
• Believe putting in effort is worthless
• View feedback as personal criticism
• Give up easily

Who identified the growth mindset?

Psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University was the first to describe the growth mindset. In her ground-breaking research, Dweck investigated why some people fail and others succeed. 

In one study , high school students were challenged with puzzles that ranged from easy to difficult. Much to the surprise of researchers, some students embraced failure and treated it as a learning experience, and this positive attitude was what Dweck later coined the ‘growth mindset’.

Dweck’s research also found, contrary to popular opinion, that it’s more beneficial not to praise talent or natural abilities but praise the process. In particular, effort, strategies, persistence, and resilience should be rewarded. These processes play a major role in providing constructive feedback and creating a positive student-teacher relationship.

Dweck later noted, in a 2015 article, that while effort is an important part of a growth mindset, it shouldn't be the main focus of praise. Effort should be a means to learning and improving. When fostering a growth mindset, continue telling yourself "great effort" after finishing a task, but also look for ways to improve next time—so you feel good in the short and long term.

The benefits of a growth mindset

Studies by Dweck and others indicate that a growth mindset has a positive effect on motivation and academic performance. 

One study examined the academic enjoyment of undergraduate students after learning about the neuroplasticity of the brain. 

The students were encouraged to endorse a growth mindset through three one hour sessions on brain functioning. The control group was taught that there are several types of intelligence. Students showed significantly higher motivation and enjoyment of science after learning about the growth mindset than in the control group.

In another study, teaching a growth mindset to junior high school students resulted in increased motivation and academic performance. The researchers found a growth mindset was particularly beneficial for students studying science and mathematics.

Studies have also indicated that students who endorsed a growth mindset, rather than a fixed mindset, had higher grades in mathematics, languages, and grade point average (GPA).

Additional benefits of a growth mindset include:

• Reduced burnout
• Fewer psychological problems, such as depression and anxiety
• Fewer behavioral problems

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Scientists have measured the electrical activity in the brain to understand the brain correlates of a growth mindset. 

Using neuroimaging, researchers have found a link between a growth mindset and activation in two key areas of the brain :

• The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC): involved in learning and control
• The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC): involved in error-monitoring and behavioral adaptation

A growth mindset appears to be linked to higher motivation and error correction. It is also associated with lower activation in response to negative feedback. 

Additionally, researchers have shown that in growth-minded people, the brain is most active when a person was told how they could improve — for example, tips on what to do better next time. Meanwhile, in those with a fixed mindset , the brain is active when a person is being given information about their performance – for example, the results of a test. This suggests that people with a growth mindset are more focused on the process, rather than the result.

However, only a few studies have examined the brain mechanisms underpinning different mindsets. More research is needed to clarify the precise brain activity of growth mindsets.

Can a person’s mindset change?

Just as someone can grow and develop their intellect, a person is also capable of changing brain functions and their thinking patterns.

Neuroscience shows us that the brain continues to develop and change, even as adults. The brain is similar to plastic in that it can be remolded over time, as new neural pathways form. This has led scientists to identify the tendency of the brain to change through growth and reorganization as ‘neuroplasticity’. 

Studies have shown the brain can grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and improve the speed of pulse transmission. These suggest that a person with a fixed mindset can slowly develop a growth mindset.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck, you can change your mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This is also supported by neuroscience studies demonstrating the malleability of self-attributes such as intelligence.

How to develop a growth mindset

Researchers have found that it is possible to promote a growth mindset by teaching students about neuroscience evidence showing the brain is malleable and improves through effort.

 There are several ways to develop a growth mindset:

1. Realize that, scientifically, you can improve

One of the most direct methods of fostering a growth mindset is by understanding our brains are built to grow and learn. By challenging yourself with new experiences, you can form or strengthen neural connections to ‘rewire’ your brain which, in turn, can make you smarter. 

2. Remove the ‘fixed mindset’ inner voice

Many people have a negative inner voice that acts against a growth mindset. Try to flip thoughts such as ‘I can’t do this’, to ‘I can do this if I keep practicing’ to nurture a growth mindset.

3. Reward the process

Although society often rewards those who achieve excellent outcomes, this can work against a growth mindset. Instead, reward the process and the effort exerted. One study by Dr. Carol Dweck showed that rewarding effort over results on a maths game improved performance.

4. Get feedback

Try and seek feedback on your work. When students are provided with progressive feedback about what they did well and where they can improve, it creates motivation to keep going. Feedback is also associated with a pleasurable dopamine response and enhances a growth mindset.

5. Get out of your comfort zone

Being brave enough to leave your comfort zone can help foster a growth mindset. When faced with a challenge, try to choose the harder option that will allow you to grow.

6. Accept failure as part of the process

Failure, setbacks, and initial confusion are all part of the learning process! When trying   something new,see occasional ‘failures’ as positive learning opportunities—try to enjoy the discovery process along the way. 

The Wrap Up

The growth mindset is the belief that intelligence and ability can be nurtured through learning and effort. Growth-minded people see setbacks as a necessary part of the learning process and bounce back from ‘failure’ by increasing effort. This mindset has positive effects on motivation and academic performance in students.The limited evidence from neuroscience suggests the brains of people with a growth mindset are more active than those with a fixed mindset–particularly in areas associated with error-correction and learning.

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Our sources

Mindset Health only uses high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed research, to support our articles. We work with experts to ensure our content is helpful, accurate and trustworthy.

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Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What's the Difference?

• 10 Mar 2022

One common misconception in entrepreneurship is that you either have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or you don’t. In reality, entrepreneurial skills can be learned and strengthened like any other skill.

“Do you have to be a creative genius to succeed?” asks Harvard Business School Professor William Sahlman in the online course Entrepreneurship Essentials . “Do you have to be young, or technical, or a college dropout, or risk-seeking to become an entrepreneur? I don’t think so. Every person can find opportunities, attract necessary resources, and build teams to bring successful products and services to customers.”

This mindset—that ability and intelligence can be achieved through effort—is called a growth mindset, and it’s an invaluable asset in the startup world.

Here’s a primer on the difference between growth and fixed mindsets, why a growth mindset is essential for entrepreneurship, and how you can achieve and maintain one.

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Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort. On the other hand, someone with a fixed mindset views those same traits as inherently stable and unchangeable over time.

For example, as an aspiring entrepreneur, you need basic finance skills to create your business’s budget and prepare its financial statements . If you have a fixed mindset, you may think, “I’ve never been good with math, let alone financial statements. I’m not cut out to run my own business.”

Now imagine you approach the situation with a growth mindset. You might think, “I don’t have a background in finance, but I can learn and practice those skills until I feel capable.”

The concept of growth and fixed mindsets was coined by psychologist Carol Dweck in her 2006 book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success .

According to Dweck , challenging situations can be catastrophic for those with fixed mindsets because of the implication that if they don’t already have the skills or intelligence to complete a task, there’s no chance of improvement.

When you have a growth mindset, you believe you can gain the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed, which makes every challenge a learning opportunity. Given the numerous challenges entrepreneurs face, a growth mindset can be a powerful tool as you work toward your venture’s success.

Related: Must-Have Entrepreneurial Skills for Aspiring Business Owners

4 Reasons Entrepreneurs Need a Growth Mindset

While a growth mindset can benefit anyone, it’s crucial for entrepreneurs. Here are four ways a growth mindset can serve you as you launch and grow your business.

1. It Allows You to Move into New Fields

When you have a growth mindset, your past doesn’t define your future. This can be an asset if you have expertise and experience in another field and want to pursue entrepreneurship.

For example, Indya Wright , former commercial banker and deputy clerk at the Washington, D.C. Superior Court, launched her own public relations and production firm, Artiste House . Rather than let her previous career define her potential, she knew she could learn the language of the startup world through hands-on experience and taking Entrepreneurship Essentials .

“You need to find ways to equip yourself with the skills necessary to sustain your business,” Wright says. “You’re investing in your own success.”

2. It Fosters Resilience

Resilience —the capacity to recover from and move through difficult situations—is critical in the entrepreneurial world. When challenges, setbacks, and failures inevitably arise, your business’s survival depends on your ability to persevere and learn from difficult situations.

In one of Dweck’s studies , her team analyzed students’ brain activity while reviewing mistakes they made on a test. Those with a fixed mindset showed no brain activity when reviewing the mistakes, whereas the brains of those with a growth mindset showed processing activity as mistakes were being reviewed.

A fixed mindset can physically prevent you from learning from mistakes, while a growth mindset can empower you to perceive mistakes as learning opportunities.

3. It Enables You to Iterate on Your Product

“It’s most productive to think of entrepreneurship as an iterative process—a way of managing that involves continually searching for a winning combination of opportunities and resources,” Sahlman says in Entrepreneurship Essentials .

This continual process of testing an idea, learning from the results, and reiterating the product is only possible with a growth mindset.

An entrepreneur with a fixed mindset is likely to view negative feedback as a sign they don’t have the ability to make a valuable product. This can result in avoiding feedback for fear of rejection, untested products and bad product-market fit, or giving up on a venture altogether.

An entrepreneur with a growth mindset, on the other hand, receives negative feedback and constructive criticism and uses it to improve their product offering. With a growth mindset, uncovering your product’s weaknesses doesn’t translate to an inability to create a valuable product. Rather, it enables you to create the best version of it for your target market.

Related: 5 Steps to Validate Your Business Idea

4. It Keeps You Humble

Finally, a growth mindset constantly reminds you that there’s always more to learn. By knowing you have the capacity to improve, a growth mindset can keep you humble throughout your entrepreneurial journey.

This can be especially useful in combatting stagnation. People’s needs, attitudes, and motivations change over time, so periodically reassess your product-market fit. If you get too comfortable with your initial knowledge, you could miss opportunities to grow with your target audience and meet their needs as they arise.

Maintaining a Growth Mindset as an Entrepreneur

If you realize you’ve been living with a fixed mindset, you can make the switch to one centered on growth by giving yourself ample opportunity to learn new things.

Examples of opportunities are networking and knowledge-sharing with other professionals, reading articles and books on topics you’re interested in, and brainstorming and problem-solving with others to gain new perspectives.

Additionally, taking online courses can be an accessible, rewarding way to maintain your growth mindset and remind yourself that you can learn new skills to make your entrepreneurial venture a success.

Are you interested in bolstering your entrepreneurship skills? Explore our four-week online course Entrepreneurship Essentials and our other entrepreneurship and innovation courses to learn to speak the language of the startup world.

About the Author

Fixed Mindset Versus Growth Mindset

A mindset can be explained as the mental attitude that determines how an individual reacts or responds to different situations. The mind is a powerful organ that significantly affects a person’s behavior. People are responsible for their success or failure in life. Also, success or failure to achieve one’s goals is dependent on an individual’s mindset. The things that an individual thinks or believes significantly influences both their short-term and long-term goals. That explains why some highly talented people fail in life while others with fundamental skills achieve big things. In particular, it all depends on one’s mindset. People who set their minds can do anything as long as they are devoted and committed to going far in life. Others who doubt their abilities by limiting their mindset fail to meet their dreams. In every field, be it in business, education, relationships, or sports, an individual’s mindset is crucial and useful in determining a person’s achievements. A growth mindset fosters development and success, while a fixed mindset hinders the achievement of meaningful goals.

Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, argued that people with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities, talents, qualities, and intelligence are innate and cannot change. In other terms, these individuals document their skills rather than improving and developing them. They are content with their capabilities and never bother to learn new things. Fixed mindset individuals believe that some people are destined for success and cannot get it by just working hard (Rissanen et al. 205). They assume to be the smartest ones based on what they know. People possessing a fixed mindset avoids circumstances since it makes them feel that they are not smart or talented. When the work gets hard, they quickly give up. In this case, failure is the limit of their ability (Rhew et al. 11). Such people place themselves in various positions. For example, they are either good or not, they can do it, or they cannot do it and whether their potential is predetermined or not. For example, Albert Dunlap, the former chief executive officer of Sunbeam, had a fixed mindset. Dunlap increased its stock by firing thousands of employees and selling two-thirds of Sunbeam’s plants in 1996. Dunlap was unable to handle a large company’s operations, which is why he decided to downsize it. He had a fixed mindset that he cannot manage, control, organize, and run Sunbeam successfully due to its large size. Two years down the line, Dunlap left the company leaving it with $1.7 billion in loans (Dweck, “Mindset” 68). Therefore, it is evident that fixed mindset leaders can contribute to an organization’s collapse due to poor strategic decisions. According to Dweck, a growth mindset is when one believes in himself or herself. It is when individuals think that the intelligence they possess will develop them throughout their lives. When people believe that they can learn, they keep mastering new things. As a result, an individual has a growth mindset, working hard, and becoming proud of their potential. According to Dweck’s research, having a growth mindset is essential since it improves one success and improves a person’s insight.

In contrast, a growth mindset person understands that one’s abilities, talents, and skills can be improved and developed through persistence, knowledge acquisition, and effort. Individuals with such a mindset believe that they can succeed in anything as long as they work hard. They seek new knowledge from different sources to improve their fundamental skills. Hence, such people do not over-rely on their talents. Instead, they keep searching for ways to grow and develop their professions (Dweck and Hogan 2). Thus, those with a growth mindset believe that for one to achieve success, there must be diligence, and achieving should not come naturally along with putting in hard work and effort. People with a growth mindset won’t see it as a waste of time, like how one with a fixed mindset would. On the other hand, individuals with a fixed mindset trust that success comes with no effort by believing that they are born with natural talents and abilities. If one achieves anything without any effort, they are natural (Limeri et al. 12). Hence working hard and putting more or even the tiniest amount of effort is terrifying and risky since great achievers do not need to waste their energy, and in cases of failure, all the hardworking is wasted.

Persons with a growth mindset do not allow difficulties to barricade them from reaching their goals. Looking into the growth mindset, individuals think that their furthermost undeveloped capability can be established through commitment and working hard, and as a result, brains and talents are the starting point. Practically, all great individuals have had these characters. A good example is Michael Jordan, the former American basketball player (Dweck, “Mindset” 50). In most cases, successful athletes start their careers while in high school. They build a good reputation and get a scholarship to colleges where they can develop their talents further. However, that was not the case with Jordan. He was cut from his basketball team at high school during his sophomore year. Despite the challenge in his career, Jordan did not lose hope and focused on his goals. He worked hard to improve his skills, and he believed that he could achieve anything. In the long term, Jordan became the best basketball player in the United States of America’s history (Dweck, “The Choice to Make a Difference” 23). Thus, people who possess a growth mind deal with the challenges. They work hard to overcome the problems since they know that they will grow and learn about them. According to these people, failure is an opportunity for growth, they can learn and do anything they want, and their effort and attitudes determine their ability.

To sum up, the primary difference between a fixed and growth mindset person is that the former does not look for ways to improve talents and skills. A person’s life is shaped by his or her thoughts. An individual mind is potent since what one thinks about themselves and the things they believe in can prevent change from taking place or permit a new onset of skills to bloom. In a case where having a growth mindset will most definitely help one achieve more compared to having a fixed mindset. People have much more to gain if they deepen their understanding of the growth mindset concept and the procedures of setting it in action. Although growth mindset people might only have fundamental knowledge, they put effort into learning things that might help them develop their skills. Overall, the way a person thinks and perceives things can either hinder or promote growth and development.

Works Cited

Dweck, Carol, and Kathleen Hogan. “How Microsoft Uses a Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders.” Harvard Business Review , 2016, pp. 1–4. Web.

Dweck, Carol S. “The Choice to Make a Difference.” Perspectives on Psychological Science , vol. 14, no. 1, SAGE Publications Inc, 2019, pp. 21–25.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success . New York: Random House, 2008, pp.1–147. Print.

Limeri, Lisa B., et al. “Growing a Growth Mindset: Characterizing How and Why Undergraduate Students’ Mindsets Change.” International Journal of STEM Education , vol. 7, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1–19.

Rhew, Emily, et al. “The Effects of a Growth Mindset on Self-Efficacy and Motivation.” Cogent Education , edited by Olympia Palikara, vol. 5, no. 1, Cogent OA, 2018, pp. 1–16.

Rissanen, Inkeri, et al. “In Search of a Growth Mindset Pedagogy: A Case Study of One Teacher’s Classroom Practices in a Finnish Elementary School.” Teaching and Teacher Education , vol. 77, 2019, pp. 204–213.

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Growth Mindset

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

There are enviable individuals who acquire skills and knowledge effortlessly, others are more orderly and achievement-focused than are their peers, and still others who exhibit unusual talents. While such positive traits are not evenly distributed, they are not necessarily out of reach for those who are not "natural" high achievers. A growth mindset , as conceived by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck and colleagues, is the belief that a person's capacities and talents can be improved over time.

• How the Growth Mindset Works
• Cultivating a Growth Mindset

In studies that examine mindset, participants are given statements such as: “You have a certain amount of intelligence , and you really can’t do much to change it.” Participants who disagree with such statements are considered to have more of a growth mindset. However, agreeing with such a statement would mean that the participant has more of a fixed mindset.

A growth mindset contrasts with a fixed mindset. The latter is the limiting belief that the capacity to learn and improve cannot be meaningfully developed. The growth mindset, conversely, is open to the effort even if it takes time. Proponents of the theory contend that adopting a growth mindset, and rejecting a fixed mindset , can help people be more open to success.

Some people get stuck in thoughts such as  I’m not good at anything. I always strike out. Everyone else does better than I do. They are convinced that they can’t learn anything new, and that it’s far too late for them to try because they will fail anyway. They feel they struggle too much in their tasks, and they feel inferior by the seemingly easy success of the people around them.

Proponents of the theory propose that individuals with a growth mindset will be more oriented toward self-improvement and more likely to persist in the face of challenges and failures. They will treat obstacles as opportunities to grow rather than signs of their abilities being inadequate. However, persistence is useful only up to a point, sometimes a person has to pivot and try other things to reach their objectives and goals .

The autodidact is the person who logs onto YouTube to figure out how to fix the toilet. This person is happy to learn unsystematically and informally, with no instruction whatsoever. They are self-taught, so to speak. Conversely, formal education is big on passive learning; everything is done by rote and teaching to the test is foregrounded; kids have to score high marks on standardized tests if they want to get into the college of their choice. Yet such passive learning is hardly a way to learn or learn with excitement.

Many of history's most celebrated masters were self-taught. We can argue that Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo Da-Vinci were avid self-teachers. Lincoln learned prose from the Bible and Shakespeare, and he learned logic from books of law. In fact, many of our lauded thinkers are considered self-learners. Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg are all college drop-outs. Yet they are among the world’s wealthiest individuals to date.

You can argue that people can flow from growth to fixed thinking, or maybe even the other way around. When a person is criticized, judged, or blamed, it’s easy for them to feel defensive and inadequate. That growth thinking may well give way to a fixed frame of mind, stunting the ability to learn. People who work for bullies, can move from growth to fixed thinking poste haste.

Efforts to encourage a growth mindset in students have gained traction in many schools. But does it work? Many studies have aimed to assess whether mindset interventions deliver measurable improvements in student achievement, and the results are mixed: Some researchers report positive results while others find little or no evidence that such interventions make a difference, and critique the earlier studies that established the concept.

It’s possible that growth-mindset interventions boost some students, but not others. In one of the largest experiments, which focused on ninth graders in the U.S., students were given a relatively brief intervention (less than an hour, in total) in which they learned about mindsets and how behaviors such as putting in effort and changing one’s strategy could be helpful. For lower-achieving students, the researchers reported, the intervention was followed by an average gain of 0.10 GPA points.

Educators can try these various methods:

• Pose challenges and obstacles as opportunities

• Give constructive criticism and encourage acceptance of criticism

• Encourage persistence

• Encourage failure as a part of the learning process

• Encourage a positive attitude

• Show that having goals and purpose can help

The language you use matters. If you cling to words such as always, never, forever, you are possibly an all-or-nothing thinker. Things always go wrong for me. I will never get the right equations. I am forever a failure. These are typical thoughts of a person with more of a fixed mindset. Doing away with all-or-nothing thinking may help. Also useful is using the word yet , this word implies that you will reach your goal soon.

Yes, you can live a more purposeful and meaningful existence by being open to everyday challenges through learning and development . You can put aside thoughts of what has to happen in life, and opt for acceptance of what life brings. In addition, swapping out negative framing like perfection and obstacle for positive ones such as opportunity and average will help as well.

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Dweck’s Fixed and Growth Mindsets

This essay will delve deeper into Carol Dweck’s concepts of fixed and growth mindsets. It will explore the psychological underpinnings, real-world applications, and the impact of these mindsets on personal development. More free essay examples are accessible at PapersOwl about Epistemology.

How it works

The power of people’s beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, have a profound impact on almost every aspect of their lives. Individuals own two mindsets; fixed and growth. Fixed mindset assumes that people’s creative ability, intelligence, and character are still absolutes which cannot be changed in any meaningful way. However, growth mindset perceives failure as not a proof of fatuity but as an encouraging facilitator for development and for stretching people’s prevailing abilities. These two mindsets provide a great deal of people’s behavior as well as people’s relationship with success and failure in the personal and professional setting.

The paper discusses the growth mindset and what evidence can be found and presented that humans possess a growth mindset.

Humans possess a growth mindset. Essentially, humans have a fundamental belief that their learning and intelligence can develop with experience and time. By doing so, they persevere to achieve their goals. Growth mindset guides their perseverance in their actions. For instance, employees in organizations usually believe they can get smarter. Furthermore, they understand that their effort has an impact on their success, therefore, they put a lot of effort resulting in higher achievement. In another case, within the school context, students believe their capacities and intelligence can grow with persistence, learning, and effort. Simply, their basic capacities are starting point for their potential. Such students with that mindset hold onto the idea that everybody is able to be smarter.

Growth is grounded on the conviction that human’s elementary potentials are things that can be nurtured through efforts. There is a room for everyone to grow and change through experience and application. In her research, Dweck noted that this type of mindset makes a desire for learning instead of hunger for endorsement. The hallmark of this mindset is the belief that people qualities may be nurtured through deliberate practice and effort. Individuals in this mindset, usually don’t get discouraged by failure. In fact, in failing situations they see themselves as learning. As a result, they get motivated. This could be explained in terms of having a growth mindset. With growth mindset, individuals view themselves as winners rather than failures. It is a “self-theory” about one-self that entails believing about one’s capabilities like being intelligent or not, being competent in professional live or not or generally concerning one’s personal life.

Humans are able to admit and embrace their weaknesses. This is done by making modest goals and taking a reasonable time to attain them. In the end, they find themselves succeeding in nearly every task they undertake. In this way, they are more optimistic in what they do. Moreover, humans have the ability to perceive challenges as opportunities. For example, on a daily basis individuals are faced with new challenges like if they would accept a new job or if they would sign up to take a new class. Indeed, challenges play a big role in developing a person. Avoiding challenges would result in lacking opportunities to learn and grow. Ultimately, the ability of the brain to change throughout life is an indication that humans possess a growth mindset. Some people might be aware or not aware concerning their mindsets but whichever the case, the mindset of an individual has a great impact concerning achievements in learning, acquiring skills, personal relationships as well as professional success among several other aspects of life. There are the two main mindsets; the “fixed” and the “growth” mindsets. Those people with fixed mindset trust that their qualities such as intelligence or ability are generally fixed characters. They do not attempt to develop them but rather spend time documenting on them. Moreover, they hold that personal abilities alone can bring success even when there are no efforts made. The learners who have embraced this kind of mindset to be holding that there are only two options concerning their abilities; being “smart” or “dumb” and they lack a method for changing that.

People with growth mindset normally trust their basic capabilities. They built up through being devoted together with working hard. Their basic abilities are actually their starting point. This perception generates love for learning together with a resilience which is very important in accomplishing great achievements. The learners who hold this kind of mindset believes that they have the ability of becoming smarter through working hard. The persons with this mindset are not disheartened by failure. Instead, they perceive challenges as well as failures to be chances for improving their learning together. They actually do not waste their time trying to prove how great they have achieved but rather look upon how they can further improve their achievements. Another aspect that makes “growth mindset” so attractive, it generates a desire for knowledge quite different from deprivation for approval. What is so much interesting is the opinion that human potentials such as intellect and creativeness, as well as even relational aptitudes like love or companionship, can be cultured through effort together with thoughtful practice.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential. London: Robinson, 2012. Internet resource

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What Is a Mindset and Why It Matters

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Shaheen Lakhan, MD, PhD, is an award-winning physician-scientist and clinical development specialist.

• Definition and Types

Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets

• Your Mindset (Quiz)
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What Is a Mindset?

Your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. It means that what you believe about yourself impacts your success or failure .

According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, your beliefs play a pivotal role in what you want and whether you achieve it. Dweck has found that it is your mindset that plays a significant role in determining achievement and success.

Mindsets can influence how people behave in a wide range of situations in life. For example, as people encounter different situations, their mind triggers a specific mindset that then directly impacts their behavior in that situation.

According to Dweck, there are two basic mindsets: fixed and growth. If you have a fixed mindset, you believe your abilities are fixed traits and therefore can't be changed. You may also believe that your talent and intelligence alone lead to success, and effort is not required.

On the flip side, if you have a growth mindset , you believe that your talents and abilities can be developed over time through effort and persistence. People with this mindset don't necessarily believe that everyone can become Einstein or Mozart just because they try. They do, however, believe that everyone can get smarter or more talented if they work at it.

Here are some fixed vs. growth mindset examples.

Press Play for Advice On Growth

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares how to build a growth mindset. Click below to listen now.

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How Mindset Forms

So how is your mindset created in the first place? Dweck's research reveals two primary sources: praising and labeling, both of which occur in early childhood.

The Impact of Praise

In a landmark series of experiments, Dweck and her colleagues found that kids behaved very differently depending on the type of praise they received. They found that personal praise, or praising a child’s talents or labeling them as “smart," promotes a fixed mindset. It sends a message to a child that they either have an ability or they don't, and that there is nothing they can do to change that fact.  

Process praise, on the other hand, emphasizes the effort a person puts in to accomplish a task. It implies their success is due to the effort and the strategy they used, both of which they can control and improve over time. 

Here’s an example of how they’re different. If your child gets a good grade on a math test, personal praise might be, “See, you are good at math. You got an A on your test.” Process praise, on the other hand, might sound like this: “I’m impressed by how hard you studied for your math test. You read the material over several times, asked your teacher to help you figure out the tricky problems, and tested yourself on it. That really worked!”

Adults can take steps to ensure that their children develop growth mindsets by praising efforts not results. By focusing on the process rather than the outcome, adults can help kids understand that their efforts, hard work, and dedication can lead to change, learning, and growth both now and in the future.

The Impact of Labels

Labeling, which involves assigning people characteristics based on stereotypes or associations with different groups, can also lead to the development of fixed or growth mindsets. A person who holds a stereotype that girls are bad at math or that boys are bad at reading may form a fixed mindset about their own abilities in those specific domains.

For example, researchers have found that just having students check boxes about sex and race was enough to invoke internalized stereotypes that affected test performance.

The Impact of Mindset

Your mindset plays a critical role in how you cope with life's challenges . When a child has a growth mindset, they tend to have a hunger for learning and a desire to work hard and discover new things. This often translates into academic achievement.

As adults, these same people are more likely to persevere in the face of setbacks. Instead of throwing in the towel, adults with a growth mindset view it as an opportunity to learn and grow. On the other hand, those with fixed mindsets are more likely to give up in the face of challenging circumstances.

In her book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," Dweck writes that those with fixed mindsets are constantly seeking the validation to prove their worth not just to others, but also to themselves.

Carol Dweck

"I've seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?

What Is My Mindset?

Do you have a fixed or growth mindset? To find out, start by reading the following statements and decide which ones you agree with most:

• You're born with a certain amount of intelligence and it isn't something that can be changed.
• No matter who you are, there isn't much you can do to improve your basic abilities and personality.
• People are capable of changing who they are.
• You can learn new things and improve your intelligence.
• People either have particular talents, or they don't. You can't just acquire talent for things like music, writing, art, or athletics.
• Studying, working hard, and practicing new skills are all ways to develop new talents and abilities.

If you tend to agree most with statements 1, 2, and 5, then you probably have a more fixed mindset. If you agree most with statements 3, and 4, 6, however, then you probably tend to have a growth mindset.

How to Unfix a Fixed Mindset

While people with a fixed mindset might not agree, Dweck suggests that people are capable of changing their mindsets. Here's how.

• Focus on the journey . An important factor when building a growth mindset is seeing the value in your journey. When you're fixated on the end result, you miss out on all the things you could be learning along the way.
• Incorporate "yet." If you're struggling with a task, remind yourself that you just haven’t mastered it “yet.” Integrating this word into your vocabulary signals that despite any struggles, you can overcome anything. 
• Pay attention to your words and thoughts . Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones to build a growth mindset.
• Take on challenges . Making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn. So, instead of shying away from challenges, embrace them.

O'Keefe PA, Dweck CS, Walton GM. Implicit theories of interest: Finding your passion or developing it? Psychol Sci . 2018;29(10):1653-1664. doi:10.1177/0956797618780643

Gunderson EA, Gripshover SJ, Romero C, Dweck CS, Goldin-Meadow S, Levine SC. Parent praise to 1- to 3-year-olds predicts children’s motivational frameworks 5 years later . Child Dev . 2013;84(5):1526-1541. doi:10.1111/cdev.12064

Steele CM, Aronson J. Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans . J Pers Soc Psychol . 1995;69(5):797-811. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.69.5.797

Dweck CS. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success . Updated Edition. Ballantine Books; 2007.

Moser JS, Schroder HS, Heeter C, Moran TP, Lee Y-H. Mind your errors: Evidence for a neural mechanism linking growth mind-set to adaptive posterror adjustments . Psychol Sci . 2011;22(12):1484-1489. doi:10.1177/0956797611419520

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Home / Essay Samples / Psychology / Child Development / Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset Essay Examples

The concept of growth mindset in pedagogy.

An aspect of my teaching that I am interested in making more effective is developing a Growth Mindset in my own teaching identity and in the classroom environment. The purpose of growth mindset essay is to reveal this concept through different perspectives.  I am deeply...

Optimistic Mindset: How to Built It

If you were to ask most of the people out there if they believe in being positive and calm no matter what situation the life throws them into they’d probably say against it. Yet that’s not necessarily what they truly think. It’s just the way...

What is Human Flourishing: Definition, Strategies&implementation

The purposes of this what is human flourishing essay are (a) to provide a framework for business educators to understand human flourishing, (b) to present strategies business educators can implement that encourage both teachers and students flourishing, and (c) to discuss the results of flourishing...

Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset in My Life

There are two mindsets someone can have about a subject whether it be related to work and school or something in one’s personal life and the difference directly affects one’s ability to succeed in any. Carol Dweck explains the two mindsets known as a growth...

Intelligence and Growth Mindset of Students

The belief of intelligence can be developed with a growth mindset. Effort is good, it's how you get better in the college education system, the matter of learning, and building a foundation of improvement of ability is a true necessity. Students with a growth mindset...

The Meaning of Growth Mindset

Growth mindsets can be witnessed all around the world. A Growth Mindset can be applied to my college career by believing that I can strive to do better. In order to have a growth mindset, you have to believe in yourself in order to succeed....

Impacts of Critical Thinking on Growth Mindset

In the articles “Learning to Think” and “Growth Mindset”, the authors describe how critical thinking can impact lives immensely. Both articles present the idea that if people think positive then their results will become more positive. While developing a more positive mindset may be tough...

Exploring the Process of Child Development Between 1 to 2 Years

The period between 1 and 2 years is one of the quickest transformations. At that time your baby will learn to walk and explore the world. Becoming the parents of a child becomes very challenging and highly demanding in a diverse way as it’s essential...

Discussion on Bence Nanay’s Critique of the Belief Desire Model

In this paper, I am going to give one of Bence Nanay’s critique of the belief desire model. I will further discuss extensively whether his perceptual based account has met the challenge he posed against the belief desire model by giving sufficient examples. I will...

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About Growth Mindset

A growth mindset means that you thrive on challenge, and don't see failure as a way to describe yourself but as a springboard for growth and developing your abilities. Your intelligence and talents are all susceptible to growth, although people may differ in every which way in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

People with a growth mindset believe that intelligence and creativity, as well as things like love and friendship, can be grown and cultivated with practice and time. They are less likely to be discouraged by failure because they reframe challenges as learning opportunities. This allows them to feel happy and content.

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