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BN#74 - Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
In this week’s newsletter, I am happy to share my book notes on Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, PH.D.
Agustin Cisneros
December 06, 2024
Hello Everyone!
In this week’s newsletter, I’m excited to share my Book Notes on Mindset by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D.
Right around the time I first learned the concept of mastery, I discovered this book on mindset.
It was hard to pinpoint precisely what a growth mindset meant, but after reading this book, it has proven to be a useful framework for seeing effort as a strength rather than a weakness.
I often fall into the trap of having a fixed mindset, especially when trying something new.
In the fixed-mindset world, effort is a sign of weakness, proof of a lack of talent or natural ability, making pursuing something difficult more challenging.
So, I decided to re-read this book to remind myself that we can choose to believe that our ability to achieve is not a fixed trait but rather something we can develop through individual effort, strategies, and help from others.
You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re powerful beliefs, but they’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.
📚 Book Breakdown
Topics: Psychology & Personal Development.
Type: How-to (Skill)
Pages: 277
Personal Rating: 3.5/5
Main ideas/concepts - Good
Stories and examples - Okay
Engagement - Good
💬 Personal Reflection
Have you ever thought that your abilities to achieve are fixed?
In this book, Carol S. Dweck shares findings from her research on the two beliefs people can adopt regarding their ability to achieve.
Through research and examples, she outlines the differences between adopting a growth and fixed mindset in different areas of life, including parenting, business, school, and relationships.
The fixed mindset is the belief that your qualities are carved in stone and static.
The growth mindset is the belief that your qualities are things you can cultivate and develop through individual effort, strategies, and help from others.
The viewpoint you adopt will influence how you perceive challenges, effort, criticism, success and failure.
From a fixed mindset, validation is the end goal. We are always looking to prove or disprove our natural ability to achieve.
Challenges and obstacles become things to avoid and disengage from, as they are ways we could be exposed. We stop trying new things and developing new skills.
Effort is seen as a negative, implying that one is not naturally smart or talented enough. If one were, one wouldn’t need to exert this much effort.
On the other hand, if you adopt a growth mindset, the end goal is to develop yourself, not validation.
It’s about stretching yourself to learn something new; the only failure is not learning.
Challenges and obstacles go hand in hand with a deep interest in solving them. They neither approve nor disprove our natural ability; they call out our natural interest in learning.
Effort is the source of your perceived talent or natural abilities.
Overall, this is a good book to read if you want to change your beliefs about what individual effort, criticism and the success of others mean when it comes down to your ability to achieve.
I recommend reading the first three and the final chapters while making the other chapters optional.
The biggest takeaway I got from the book is that…
“Becoming is better than being…
The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.
This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.”
-Agustin
✍️ Favourite Quotes
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow?”
“You don’t have to think you’re already great at something to want to do it and to enjoy doing it…The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.”
“If your claim to fame is not having any deficiencies—if you’re considered a genius, a talent, or a natural—then you have a lot to lose. Effort can reduce you.”
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