Mindset: The New Psychology of Success – Carol S. Dweck

Ph.D. Carol S. Dweck is a psychologist at Stanford University, who has owned years of work studying human mindset and model of thinking and learning new things. In her book, she discusses how to succeed in different areas such as business, sports, arts, work, relationship and school.

“We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.” – Carol Dweck

The book is divided into different areas, but they all contain the same aspect, mindset. She speaks about “growth mindset” and mixed mindset, every area. “Growth mindset” people tend to develop new skills and are willing to change themselves to gain growth and learn new things. Whereas “fixed mindset” see themselves talented people who don’t have to work hard to gain a better life or do anything to be good at something.

Often books discuss all kind of method that people should do the get what they want. Carol doesn’t suggest those methods directly, she gives examples how growth mindset and fixed mindset affect life. People can find themselves in the book and make thinking proses alone. She gives a lot of examples from elite athletes and most successful business owner to regular teacher and student.

The book shows how we learn new things and how we can change our learning to be more effective. It also explains how we can change our mindset to be more efficient. It’s not full of different practice which requires hours of practice per day, it’s more like a journey to you.

Is it suitable for you? Yes, even if you are not an elite athlete or don’t want to own million business, you can still learn something about yourself. Don’t be upset if you find out to be more like a fixed mindset than growth mindset, you can always change that and maybe get a new perspective on life. You may question your actions and reconsider them, you also might get new ideas on your relationship, work, training and overall life. It also helps to understand others and especially if you are a teacher or parent, it shows the power of words.

The book is easy to read and you will understand its idea fast. Each chapter repeats the same thing about mindset but from a different perspective.

“In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I’m going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here’s a chance to grow.” – Carol Dweck