Get the key ideas from
Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
Mindset (2006) discusses the differences between people with a fixed mindset versus those with a growth mindset. Our mindset determines the way we deal with tough situations and setbacks as well as our willingness to deal with and improve ourselves. This book demonstrates how we can achieve our goals by changing our mindset.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“Mindset sheds light on how our beliefs about our own abilities and talent influence how we learn and which paths we take in life. Understanding more about the concepts of a fixed and growth mindset helps me to reflect on my thoughts more profoundly, and changes how I think and act. I found this BiB very inspiring and spot on.”
– Holger, CEO of Blinkist
- Anyone who wants to find out about different mindsets and how they influence our behavior
- People who want to learn how to realize their own potential to the fullest
Carol Dweck is a professor of psychology at Stanford University. In addition to Mindset, she has also published Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality and Development and Handbook of Competence and Motivation.
Go Premium and get the best of Blinkist
Upgrade to Premium now and get unlimited access to the Blinkist library. Read or listen to key insights from the world’s best nonfiction.
Upgrade to PremiumWhat is Blinkist?
The Blinkist app gives you the key ideas from a bestselling nonfiction book in just 15 minutes. Available in bitesize text and audio, the app makes it easier than ever to find time to read.
Start free trialDiscover
3,000+ top
nonfiction titles
Get unlimited access to the most important ideas in business, investing, marketing, psychology, politics, and more. Stay ahead of the curve with recommended reading lists curated by experts.
Start free trialJoin Blinkist to get the key ideas from
Get the key ideas from
Get the key ideas from
Mindset
The New Psychology of Success
- Read in 13 minutes
- Audio & text available
- Contains 9 key ideas
Synopsis
Mindset (2006) discusses the differences between people with a fixed mindset versus those with a growth mindset. Our mindset determines the way we deal with tough situations and setbacks as well as our willingness to deal with and improve ourselves. This book demonstrates how we can achieve our goals by changing our mindset.
This is a Blinkist staff pick
“Mindset sheds light on how our beliefs about our own abilities and talent influence how we learn and which paths we take in life. Understanding more about the concepts of a fixed and growth mindset helps me to reflect on my thoughts more profoundly, and changes how I think and act. I found this BiB very inspiring and spot on.”
– Holger, CEO of Blinkist
Key idea 1 of 9
Our mindset shapes whether we believe we can learn and change and grow – or not.
From the shape of your skull to the size of your foot, your body’s physical characteristics are more or less entirely predetermined from the start. Of course you can get plastic surgery or break a bone, but we human beings generally have very little control over our bodies’ features.
But what about intellectual and physical abilities, like playing basketball, drawing or solving math problems? Are they hereditary or learned? Today, most scientists agree that if you want to become a concert violinist, you not only need to have a musical disposition, but must dedicate years of your life to practising.
Still, there are as many answers to this question as there are people, for our mindset plays a crucial role in how we see ourselves and others. Simply put, our mindset shapes our beliefs in accomplishing something.
These two extremes form the basis for the concept of a fixed versus a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe they are born naturally gifted at doing some things but utterly incapable of others, whereas people with a growth mindset believe they can become virtuosos of anything if they try hard enough.
So the people in the latter group continue growing throughout their lives, acquiring new skills without reservation and actively engaging in their relationships. For them, life in all its facets is in a constant state of change.
By contrast, people with a fixed mindset often let their black-and-white way of thinking obstruct their development. If they fail at something, they bury their heads in the sand or blame others. They hope for everlasting love in their relationships rather than working on the relationships themselves.
Our mindset shapes whether we believe we can learn and change and grow – or not.
Key ideas in this title
- Our mindset shapes whether we believe we can learn and change and grow – or not.
- An individual’s abilities are set in stone in the fixed mindset.
- Growth and development are possible in the growth mindset.
- People with a fixed mindset seek approval; those with a growth mindset seek development.
- The fixed mindset sees failures as disasters; the growth mindset sees them as opportunities.
- People with a fixed mindset avoid difficulties; those with a growth mindset relish them.
- Our mindset is often strongly influenced by the role models we had as children.
- Anyone can adopt a growth mindset and make the impossible possible.
- Final summary
