Mindset Dr. Dweck Character Analysis

An individual possesses one of two mindsets: either the fixed mindset, or the growth mindset. In the former, someone believes that his talent and intelligence is present inside of him at birth. He is born either smart or dumb, and there is no use trying to get better at something that he is initially not skilled at. Furthermore, his success is a measure of how naturally good he is at something. To the latter, success is defined by his ability to face challenges and make mistakes. To a person with a growth mindset, failure is simply room for improvement. In Mindset, Dr. Dweck proves the existence of these two divergent systems of thought, and declares that everyone can alter their beliefs and acquire the growth mindset. Dr. Dweck explains
A success a child has, such as being accepted into the Eagles program, can define how they see themself in the future. Success and self worth go hand in hand. Dr. Dweck highlights the existence of the two mindsets and their relation to self valuability with the case of two athletes. When it comes to four year tennis all star John McEnroe, his accomplishments led him to feel superior to others. His talent made him better than others. He would yell brutally at assistants he deemed lesser, and other people treated him as a god. He possessed a fixed mindset: he held a high amount of talent, and his successes defined him as a special human being. On the contrary, another athlete superstar Michael Jordan was of the growth mindset. He had worked hard to earn his success, he was not simply born with it. He did not believe that his talented was fixed, or that it was within him at all times. Therefore, he did not see himself as above any other person. He wanted to be treated like everyone
Dweck demonstrates the existence of the growth mindset. Personally, I see the growth and fixed mindsets everyday at school. It has become clearer and clearer to me that school is no longer about learning; it is about receiving a good grade. Students, including myself, will cheer if they get an easy teacher in a class where they will learn little, and will groan if they are stuck with a hard teacher who will teach them a lot, rather than simply “giving” them an A. After reading this article, I have realized that I hold the fixed ability mindset. Moving on, I will try to transfer over to the growth mindset. I will make the most of the opportunities bestowed on me and try to learn as much as I can. I will try to raise my hand more without the fear that my answer or question will sound stupid to my peers. I will also attempt to do new things, and put myself into situations in which I feel challenged and slightly uncomfortable. I believe I can do this, because as Dr. Dweck says, though one may have a fixed mindset, he or she can change. Dr. Dweck proves that it is of the utmost importance that we do not define ourselves; we are neither smart nor dumb, talented nor inept. This applies to categorizing myself as having a growth mindset or a fixed mindset: I can always change my beliefs, and strive to