I am currently reading Mindset by Carol Deck on Kindle while on a business trip (otherwise I watch episodes of Ridiculousness until 3 AM). Over the summer, my training team and I marketed a three part series in our Learn Something New series at work. I'm only on chapter 3, but as I read I was reminded of when in my life I made decisions using a "fixed mindset" and when I used a "growth mindset". If you don't know the difference, look it up or read the book.

Fixed Mindset

  • Quitting band in the 6th grade because I was terrible and the only trumpet player left.
  • Not showing up for the 6th grade spelling he because I had won in the 4th grade but lost at the regional bee and was embarrassed. To be fair, I told my teacher I didn't want to do it before I won the class qualifier. I thought good spelling (and penmanship for that matter) were not that important in the grand scheme of things.
  • Dropping out of Algebra II in the 11th grade because I didn't want to get a bad grade.

Growth Mindset

  • On my BMX everyday at the local track until I could complete the whole track series without skipping or crashing.
  • When I went to college, I changed my attitude from "I have to study" to "I get to learn new things”.
  • Taking an out-of-state job transfer to work under a person with the reputation of being a mean boss in order to gain valuable experience that would make me marketable for a wider variety of jobs.

These are just a few and I find myself slipping in between both mindsets. However, when I become aware of when I'm using fixed, I can often reframe into a growth mindset quite easily.