Dweck's Brainology

Ever since my parents’ divorce my dad has always told me to be independent and to achieve everything on my own so no one could have the satisfaction of saying they’re the reason for my accomplishments. His words have been a reason behind my motivation for as long as I could remember. Growing up my family has always told me that you receive the effort you put into achieving something and if failed I was encouraged to try again. Like in “Brainology”, an article that compares two groups of mindsets-Fixed mindset and Growth mindset, Dweck argues that motivation, performance and confidence are results of being praised for effort rather than for intelligence (Dweck 4). An individual with a fixed mindset is sought to believe that they only have a
limited amount of intelligence, so when things get tough they tend to feel less confident in what they are trying to achieve. On the other hand, an individual with a growth mindset is sought to believe that intelligence is gained through effort and learning. In my opinion, I feel like I am both a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, depending on what I am working on. For instance when it comes to managing my time that has always been a weakness of mine. One way or another I always seem to end up behind or struggling to finish on time. When I am short on time I become frustrated to where I just want to just give up. This, puts me into the fixed mindset category. Having that type of mindset has its downfalls because it somehow makes things that much more difficult for me. Another of my weaknesses is how easily distracted I get. I have noticed that when I am working on stuff that doesn’t interest me I tend to get distracted easily and I find it very difficult to get back into focus once. On the other hand when I am working on something that really interests me I find myself more focused and motivated than I do when working on stuff that doesn’t interest me. For example, when it comes to learning about the medical field and helping others I have come to realize that it is something I really have a passion for. What catches my eye about the medical field is how the human body functions and how it makes me want to keep learning about it. Like in the article “Brainology”, Dweck research states that individuals with a growth mindset believed that intelligence is thorough effort and education. They don’t believe that everyone has the same abilities or have the same level of intelligence, but they do believe that everyone could improve their abilities. A growth mindset is developed by confronting challenges, learning from mistakes, and using your setbacks as lessons to learn from (Dweck 2). Another one of my strengths has been my family. They have always been there to support me for everything I set my mind to accomplish. Even when I would fail at something they gave me the encouragement to get back up and take another shot at it. I was told that it is okay to fail and that everyone fails at some point in their lives but not to let that define my level of intelligence. My family taught me to put effort and hard work in everything I sought out to accomplish, even if it was the littlest accomplishment. Throughout life you are going to be put into many life changing situations, but how you learn and reflect from them is all up you. Instead of dwelling on the setbacks, failures, and challenges you encounter use them to build up your strength. If it wasn’t for my weaknesses and failures I wouldn’t have learned to overcome my fears of failing and to keep pursuing my dreams after a setback.