If only one book you have to read - it is the 'Mindset'

If there is only one book you choose to read in your entire life then it has to be the book: 'mindset' by Dr. Carol Dweck. I’ll add one more book to this list which is  'Thinking Fast and Slow' by Dr. Daniel Kahneman (Nobel prize winner). I’ll talk about that in another blog.

Book name: Mindset the psychology of success

Author:  Dr. Carol Dweck

Publisher: Random House

Reach out to me via tirthanks@gmail.com , if you are interested in reading materials/videos etc. on this book, I’ll be more than delighted to share.

A year or so back I came across some ted videos such as ‘The power of believing that you can improve’ and ‘Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset: An Introduction’ and other video Growth mindset V/S Fixed mindset.  These videos caught my fancy after viewing & understanding it. Though I kept reading/viewing some articles and videos on this, I have to admit I was super late in reading the book on this theme. ( A piece of advice read this book ASAP you get your hands on it!)

Why this book is a must read for anyone?
 It makes revelation based on more than 2 decades of research in human motivation and power of belief under the broader domain of psychology. The book is an outcome of this research done by the author.

And the revelation is

• Humans are found to have either a GROWTH mindset OR a FIXED mindset OR both, and switching from one mindset to another is possible.
• GROWTH MINDSET = believes that intelligence/ talent can be developed, by constant learning & efforts one can become smarter, take criticism constructively, accepts mistakes as a part of learning.
• FIXED MINDSET =  believes that intelligence/ talent is fixed or given or unchangeable, efforts are needless/fruitless, hide mistakes, believes success/failure define them, learning/efforts are not required.
• It proves the most essential point that success means constant endeavor for learning & improving & it does not mean proving your smartness or adding trophies/medals for the sake of it.
• It highlights profoundly the impact of GROWTH V/S FIXED mindset for as varied different fields as sports, parenting, relationship, business, teaching, coaching, leadership and so on.

·    For every reader, there is something to gain from this book. In fact, I would go to the extent and say… as long as you are a human being there is no reason for you to not read this book & to not implement it!

I would try to cover here a brief overview of this book with few domains.

Sports: The book elaborates on how mindset shaped the life of many sports celebrities. Sports prodigies labeled with  talented, skilled, genius, ‘you are different/unique’ tags at the early stage of their sporting career have inculcated on their own or conditioned by other (coach & parents primarily) for the FIXED mindset. As the FIXED mindset takes larger control, these likely prodigies have shown sign of least improvement/learning, unacceptability for the slightest failure and confirmation for the belief that their talent is no good. While sports prodigies inculcated with the GROWTH mindset either by on their own or positively reinforced by their parents/coaches go on to develop their games, continuously learn/improve with rigorous training, embraces failure - take feedback & improve. With the GROWTH mindset they go long way with a focus on improving the game & becoming better sports character with a larger sense of fulfillment. With the FIXED mindset success can come with prodigy being super egoist, trophy collector along with the fear of failure/bad image. Here, success may not be long-lasting.

The above context is crucial for all sports enthusiast kinds/adults and pro & also for their parents & coaches. Think of Sachin Tendulkar when you think of a GROWTH mindset.

Business: The book nicely highlights the case of Iacocca as CEO of Ford Motors as how FIXED mindset of him eventually destroyed not only him but also the culture of the company and the company itself. The CEO/Head/ Chairman with FIXED mindset are generally fixated with notion of them being a super genius, talented, intelligent, deserving royal treatment – and being a hero of the company. This mindset leads to significant but absolutely unwanted expenditure for buying fancy cars, charter planes, executive suits etc. on company’s money to feed their FIXED mindset. Many times the business decisions they take are influenced by their FIXED mindset only, with lack of a larger goal of taking important stake-holders of the company into consideration while making such decisions. While the career of Jeck Welch as CEO of GE is highlighted as a case of GROWTH mindset in business. The leader with a GROWTH mindset lives and acts with a belief of him being as good as any other employee of the firm, continuously co-learning & improving, readiness to accept the challenge & failure.

One can easily find an Indian version of CEOs with a GROWTH or a FIXED mindset- may be you don’t have to look far – may be you know them!

Relationship:  The book uncovers how mindset influences the relationship at various stages with the example of some real cases. People with the FIXED mindset take break-up or rejection as a failure with a tag of unlovable. They suffer from constant hunger for revenge. For people with a  GROWTH mindset, the break-up or rejection in a relationship is equally painful but they focus on forgiving and moving on. Among married couples having a GROWTH mindset leads to more mature, evolving, accepting relationship even if there is a presence of conflicts.

Few lines from the books aptly summarize the above theme;

FIXED mindset thinking: “You can believe that your qualities are fixed, your partner’s qualities are fixed, and the relationship’s qualities are fixed—that it’s inherently good or bad, meant-to-be or not meant-to-be. Now all of these things are up for judgment.” – chapter 6, page no: 86, e-book.

GROWTH mindset thinking: “The growth mindset says all of these things can be developed. All—you, your partner, and the relationship—are capable of growth and change.” – chapter 6, page no: 86, e-book.

I feel any reader can sense it from the above few lines from the book that how mindset has a profounding impact on relationships which has gone sour or sweet.

In a nutshell, below image captures the gist of the book;

Source: Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck

Do read it ! The book may just change you!