Gustave Blåbær reviewed Mindset by Carol S. Dweck
Review of 'Mindset' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A bit long and redundant sometimes but still great
288 pages
English language
Published May 27, 2006 by Random House.
Mindset is one of those rare books that can help you make positive changes in your life and at the same time see the world in a new way.A leading expert in motivation and personality psychology, Carol Dweck has discovered in more than twenty years of research that our mindset is not a minor personality quirk: it creates our whole mental world. It explains how we become optimistic or pessimistic. It shapes our goals, our attitude toward work and relationships, and how we raise our kids, ultimately predicting whether or not we will fulfill our potential. Dweck has found that everyone has one of two basic mindsets.If you have the fixed mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities are set in stone--either you have them or you don't. You must prove yourself over and over, trying to look smart and talented at all costs. This is the path of …
Mindset is one of those rare books that can help you make positive changes in your life and at the same time see the world in a new way.A leading expert in motivation and personality psychology, Carol Dweck has discovered in more than twenty years of research that our mindset is not a minor personality quirk: it creates our whole mental world. It explains how we become optimistic or pessimistic. It shapes our goals, our attitude toward work and relationships, and how we raise our kids, ultimately predicting whether or not we will fulfill our potential. Dweck has found that everyone has one of two basic mindsets.If you have the fixed mindset, you believe that your talents and abilities are set in stone--either you have them or you don't. You must prove yourself over and over, trying to look smart and talented at all costs. This is the path of stagnation. If you have a growth mindset, however, you know that talents can be developed and that great abilities are built over time. This is the path of opportunity--and success.Dweck demonstrates that mindset unfolds in childhood and adulthood and drives every aspect of our lives, from work to sports, from relationships to parenting. She reveals how creative geniuses in all fields--music, literature, science, sports, business--apply the growth mindset to achieve results. Perhaps even more important, she shows us how we can change our mindset at any stage of life to achieve true success and fulfillment. She looks across a broad range of applications and helps parents, teachers, coaches, and executives see how they can promote the growth mindset. Highly engaging and very practical, Mindset breaks new ground as it leads you to change how you feel about yourself and your future."This book is an essential read for parents, teachers, coaches, and others who are instrumental in determining a child's mind-set, and in turn, his or her future success, as well as for those who would like to increase their own feelings of success and fulfillment." --Library JournalContentsIntroduction1. The MindsetsWhy Do People Differ?What Does All This Mean for You? The Two MindsetsA View from the Two MindsetsSo, What's New?Self-Insight: Who Has Accurate Views of Their Assets and Limitations?What's iIn Store2. Inside The MindsetsIs Success About Learning--Or Proving You're Smart?Mindsets Change the Meaning of FailureMindsets Change the Meaning of EffortQuestions and Answers3. The Truth About Ability and AccomplishmentMindset and School AchievementIs Artistic Ability a Gift?The Danger of Praise and Positive LabelsNegative Labels and How They Work4. Sports: The Mindset Of A ChampionThe Idea of the Natural"Character"What Is Success?What Is Failure?Taking Charge of SuccessWhat Does It Mean to Be a Star?Hearing the Mindsets5. Business: Mindset and LeadershipEnron and the Talent MindsetOrganizations That GrowA Study of Mindset and Management DecisionsLeadership and the Fixed MindsetFixed-Mindset Leaders in ActionGrowth-Mindset Leaders in ActionA Study of Group ProcessesGroupthink Versus We ThinkAre Leaders Born or Made?6. Relationships: Mindsets In Love (Or Not)Relationships Are DifferentMindsets Falling in LoveThe Partner as EnemyCompetition: Who's The Greatest?Developing in RelationshipsFriendshipShynessBullies and Victims: Revenge Revisited7. Parents, Teachers, And Coaches: Where Do Mindsets Come From?Parents (and...
A bit long and redundant sometimes but still great
The book is recommended at my workplace. In the book, the author has tried to describe two opposite mindsets namely fixed mindset and growth mindset. People with fixed mindset believe that talent and capabilities are fixed. On the other hand, people with growth mindset believe that you can always improve by hard work and effort. The author first introduces the concepts of fixed mindset and growth mindset. Then she explains those mindsets, and the behaviors affected by the mindsets. She then explains the impact of the mindsets in the areas of sports, business, relationship, parenting and coaching. She has used a lot of examples from her own life, and from lives of important people to explain her points.
The author does a good job in explaining the merits of growth mindset and demerits of fixed mindset. The very concept of growth mindset is introduced in the book. Being aware of …
The book is recommended at my workplace. In the book, the author has tried to describe two opposite mindsets namely fixed mindset and growth mindset. People with fixed mindset believe that talent and capabilities are fixed. On the other hand, people with growth mindset believe that you can always improve by hard work and effort. The author first introduces the concepts of fixed mindset and growth mindset. Then she explains those mindsets, and the behaviors affected by the mindsets. She then explains the impact of the mindsets in the areas of sports, business, relationship, parenting and coaching. She has used a lot of examples from her own life, and from lives of important people to explain her points.
The author does a good job in explaining the merits of growth mindset and demerits of fixed mindset. The very concept of growth mindset is introduced in the book. Being aware of both the mindsets and developing growth mindset will help us in our real lives.
But the author has gone in over selling mode and has described growth mindset as the panacea of all problems in the world. Often her narratives become repetitive. She has touched the negative impact of growth mindset occasionally. Also, she has undervalued the role of talent.
I love it when authors manage to boil complicated concepts down to a simple (to express and understand) idea. This book is one of those works.