Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck was an interesting and motivational read that examined the short and long-term effects of different mindsets on the personal and professional lives of individuals. In this book, Dweck is advocating for people to consider adopting a growth-type mindset, which involves valuing the ability to challenge yourself, take risks, and grow intellectually. This is opposed to a fixed-type mindset, which essentially boils down to the idea that you are either smart or not, intelligence is not changeable, and you should stick to your strengths.
While reading this book, I found two areas of focus particularly salient: the first was the section that focused on how to give compliments to children and raise …show more content…
The idea that wanting revenge was a fixed mindset way to consider a relationship ending made a lot of sense. In a way, it is essentially blaming someone because the relationship was not “successful”. This reminded me of something one of my favorite writers, Dan Savage, always says about relationships. In his podcast, Savage Love, Dan frequently explains that romantic relationships are the one thing that we view as successful only if they end with one or more people dead (Savage, 2017). He goes on to argue that two people walking away from a relationship with a new understanding of themselves, of what they need, want, or will not tolerate in a relationship is also a version of a successful relationship (Savage, 2017). In a way, Carol Dweck is saying the same thing in her book. She claims that people with a growth mindset, at the end of a relationship, “They tried to learn something useful about themselves and relationships, something they could use toward having a better experience in the future. And they knew how to move on and embrace that future” (Dweck, 2006, p. …show more content…
I think I understand the point that Dweck was attempting to make—that how we praise children is later shown in their work ethic as adults. However, even the title of the section, “The praised generation hits the workforce” bothers me (Dweck, 2006, p.136). I reacted very defensively to this section because it struck me as yet another example of the criticisms millennials frequently hear from older generations. Dweck explains that the new generation is used to being rewarded for every little thing, and that being praised too much caused us to now have to deal with “A workforce full of people who need constant reassurance and can’t take criticism” (Dweck, 2006, p. 137). I think that this is incorrect. I would argue that every generation sees people who are not equipped to take criticism, and it sees people who are extraordinarily hard workers. I would also argue that the common critique about millennials being all about participation ribbons is ignoring a potential example of the growth mindset at work. After all, are participation ribbons not literally congratulating a person for working really hard, regardless of the results? To me, that seems like the growth mindset at work. I think I was hoping that Dweck would give a little more credit to millennials and at least explain that a lot of the praise we got as children was an
While reading this book, I found two areas of focus particularly salient: the first was the section that focused on how to give compliments to children and raise …show more content…
The idea that wanting revenge was a fixed mindset way to consider a relationship ending made a lot of sense. In a way, it is essentially blaming someone because the relationship was not “successful”. This reminded me of something one of my favorite writers, Dan Savage, always says about relationships. In his podcast, Savage Love, Dan frequently explains that romantic relationships are the one thing that we view as successful only if they end with one or more people dead (Savage, 2017). He goes on to argue that two people walking away from a relationship with a new understanding of themselves, of what they need, want, or will not tolerate in a relationship is also a version of a successful relationship (Savage, 2017). In a way, Carol Dweck is saying the same thing in her book. She claims that people with a growth mindset, at the end of a relationship, “They tried to learn something useful about themselves and relationships, something they could use toward having a better experience in the future. And they knew how to move on and embrace that future” (Dweck, 2006, p. …show more content…
I think I understand the point that Dweck was attempting to make—that how we praise children is later shown in their work ethic as adults. However, even the title of the section, “The praised generation hits the workforce” bothers me (Dweck, 2006, p.136). I reacted very defensively to this section because it struck me as yet another example of the criticisms millennials frequently hear from older generations. Dweck explains that the new generation is used to being rewarded for every little thing, and that being praised too much caused us to now have to deal with “A workforce full of people who need constant reassurance and can’t take criticism” (Dweck, 2006, p. 137). I think that this is incorrect. I would argue that every generation sees people who are not equipped to take criticism, and it sees people who are extraordinarily hard workers. I would also argue that the common critique about millennials being all about participation ribbons is ignoring a potential example of the growth mindset at work. After all, are participation ribbons not literally congratulating a person for working really hard, regardless of the results? To me, that seems like the growth mindset at work. I think I was hoping that Dweck would give a little more credit to millennials and at least explain that a lot of the praise we got as children was an