Are you tempted to strive for perfection over learning? Do you question if you can learn something new or change a habit you have? Let’s talk about fixed versus growth mindset today.
Listen to Podcast: iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts
Download Podcast Workbook
Mentioned on Ep 119: Are you tempted to strive for perfection over learning? Do you question if you can learn something new or change a habit you have? Let’s talk about fixed versus growth mindset today.
Welcome back to The Burnout Doctor Podcast, I’m your host Dr. Jessica Louie. We are talking about what is fixed versus growth mindset today. Thank you for sharing your action steps from our last episode on dealing with impostor syndrome. Many of you are taking action by using our complimentary Burnout Starter Kit – don’t forget to download yours today! We all write our own stories in our lives and homes. Let’s all bring joy into home and joy into work.
Have you ever heard this statement? People are born with a love of learning and a fixed mindset can undo this.
Now, this is a podcast episode and not meant to replace your reading from Carol Dweck, PhD on Mindset. Please invest in yourself and read the physical book or listen to the audiobook from Dr. Dweck. It is truly life-changing if you apply the action steps in it.
What is fixed mindset?
Now, let me start by saying I had a very fixed mindset for most of my life until my mid-20s. It was an environment that I think a lot of children, teenagers and college students grew up during the 1990s. I also think it had cultural context as a Chinese-American woman who felt the need to always get an A grade.
I know where a lot of the fixed mindset we have comes from. We are tempted to create a world in which we are perfect.
Being human means being imperfect. You are not alone in this.
Fixed Mindset:
- Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much
- You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are
- You are a certain kind of person and there is not much that can be done to really change that
- You can do things differently, but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed
Fixed mindset leads to supersensitive feelings about being wrong or making a mistake.
What is growth mindset?
Growth Mindset:
- No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit.
- You can always substantially change how intelligent you are
- No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially
- You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are
Author Dweck identified five key situations in which’s a person’s mindset has a significant influence on the outcome:
- Challenges
- Obstacles
- Effort
- Criticism
- Success of others
Challenges:
- Fixed mindset: challenges are avoided to maintain the appearance of intelligence and capability.
- Growth mindset: challenges are embraced, demonstrating a desire to learn and grow
Obstacles:
- Fixed mindset: giving up in the face of obstacles and setbacks is a common response in the fixed mindset
- Growth mindset: showing grit and resilience in the face of obstacles and setbacks is a common response in the growth mindset. Please go back to episode 113 on how to build resilience on the podcast
Effort:
- Fixed mindset: putting in effort is viewed as a negative trait; if you’re good at it, you shouldn’t have to try hard!
- Growth mindset: putting in effort and working hard are critical to paving the way to achievement and success
Criticism:
- Fixed mindset: negative feedback, regardless of how constructive, is ignored and often viewed as a personal attack
- Growth mindset: criticism isn’t a personal attack, it’s a tool for providing important feedback that can aid in learning and growth
Success of others:
- Fixed mindset: the success of others is viewed as a threat and evokes feelings of insecurity and vulnerability
- Growth mindset: the success of other people can be a source of inspiration and education
Do we have one mindset or the other?
Simply put: NO
We have a mixture of fixed mindset and growth mindset. We decide what mixture of these mindsets we want in our lives. They change throughout our lifetimes. The first step in mastering a growth mindset is being honest with ourselves about what triggers a fixed mindset.
Now, you may not believe me. I was skeptical at first when I read about how we can work to change our mindset. But I can tell you that over the past 6 years of working to increase my growth mindset and decrease my fixed mindset that I’m a completely different person today than I was 6 years ago.
What are some ways I transitioned to a growth mindset?
First, I was painfully shy and introverted for much of my life. I had social anxiety. I was afraid of large crowds. I didn’t know what to say to new people. Communication is a big part of our lives. Many people may not believe me when I talk about my painfully shy characteristics as a Keynote Speaker, Podcast and YouTuber, but that was me. When I shifted into a growth mindset, I reminded myself that social interactions are for learning and enjoyment and NOT for judgment. I reminded myself that the more I practice in new social situations, the better I’ll feel about them and the more confident I will be.
I’ve also been through a lot of failures and mistakes in my life. I’ve failed quizzes. I’ve failed exams. I bombed my first writing assignment at USC – my freshman English course – my first C in my life and nearly broke down. Thankfully, I had a wonderful professor at USC and my parents telling me that it was one mistake, it was time to learn from it and improve.
I’ve also learned a lot as an educator. I’m an educator in the traditional sense of the word as a University Associate Professor. I’m also an educator here on the podcast, on YouTube and through my written content on my websites reaching beyond the traditional classroom. I’ve learned to stop labeling students and see a growth mindset in each. Looking at how can I reexamine my approach to engage with a student. All students can be taught and it’s a matter of finding the learning style that works best for each student.
How do we transition into a better aligned mindset?
Is there a time in your past that you can’t let go of?
A test score?
A dishonest action?
Being fired?
Being rejected?
Focus on it. Feel all the emotions. What did I learn from that experience? How can I use it as a basis for growth?
Is there a time in the past that someone performed better than you did? Did you assume they were smarter or more talented?
Now consider that they used better strategies, practiced harder, worked their way through obstacles. You can do that too.
Growth Mindset for Parenting:
Do you label your children? One is the scientist and one is the athlete?
You are not helping them even though you feel that this is praise. Praising kids’ ability has shown to lower their IQ scores in research studies. Find a growth-mindset way to compliment them.
Growth Mindset in the Workplace:
- Are you focused on your power more than your team’s well-being? Do you ever reaffirm your status by demeaning others? Do you ever try to hold back high-performing employees because they threaten you?
- Could you be less defensive about mistakes?
- Profit more from feedback?
- Create more learning experiences for yourself?
- See employees as collaborators, as a team
In my Joy at Work Course, you can get even more advice and action steps on how to approach mindset to define your own success in life.
Make sure you’re following along on our YouTube channel (youtube.com/drjessicalouie) as well with new videos going live every Saturday!.
Until next time, spark joy my friends!
Tl;dr: What if fixed mindset? What is growth mindset? Do I have one mindset or the other? How do we transition into a better aligned mindset?
Note, my views are my own and are not associated or representative of my employer(s).
This podcast is for educational purposes only and not medical advice.