Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

“For thirty years, my research shows that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

By starting with her credentials first, as a researcher with over 30 years of experience, Dweck tempers the reaction toward her claim that something as simple as a mindset can have such a great effect. Dweck is careful to support her claims with evidence that appeals to all readers. She relies most on ethos-building rhetoric when she cites her own studies or brings in famous examples and pathos-building rhetoric when she includes personal vignettes related to her own changing mindset and the personal experiences of individual test subjects. Because she is writing for a lay audience, logos-building rhetoric such as data is summarized and kept brief. She relies on her experience and expertise to convince the reader that individual success, a major theme, is about growth and effort, not talent.

“In fact, studies show that people are terrible at estimating their abilities. Recently, we set out to see who is most likely to do this. Sure, we found that people greatly misestimated their performance and ability. But it was those with the fixed mindset that accounted for almost all the inaccuracy. The people with the growth mindset were amazingly accurate.”

Dweck’s preferred mode of organization throughout the book is one of contrast in which she describes the effects or traits of one mindset in stark relief with the other. Generally, as here, this pattern serves to highlight the unhealthy or self-defeating thought patterns that the fixed mindset creates with the more reasonable and supportive patterns of the growth mindset. Here, she focuses on the impact of the differing mindsets on something as fundamental as self-knowledge, supporting her thematic message that individual success comes down to one thing: mindset.

“When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world—the world of fixed traits—success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other—the world of changing qualities—it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.”

Dweck creates many narratives around the theme of The Power of Perspective and its impacts. By describing each mindset as a generative force behind an entire world and then providing parallel narratives from each mindset, she immerses the reader and helps them begin to think from both perspectives. With each immersive experience, she hopes the reader will believe in the power of mindsets to shape a human’s response to the world.

“You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They’re powerful beliefs, but they’re just something in your mind, and you can change your mind.”

One of Dweck’s major goals is to convince readers of their own individual ability and potential to change their life for the better. Dweck believes most people have untapped potential, and tapping into it can unlock a hidden font of motivation and empowerment. The way to do this, says Dweck, is as simple as changing one’s mind. By boiling the hard work of changing down to such a simple, everyday occurrence, Dweck promises that it is both possible and uncomplicated.

“In short, people who believe in fixed traits feel an urgency to succeed, and when they do, they may feel more than pride. They may feel a sense of superiority, since success means their fixed traits are better than other people’s. However, lurking behind that self-esteem of the fixed mindset is a simple question: If you are somebody when you are successful, what are you when you’re unsuccessful?”

Dweck anticipates counterarguments and tries to answer questions that might arise in readers’ minds regarding her own arguments. Unlike many at the time, Dweck sees self-esteem not as the key to individual motivation or as a tool for individual success, but as a hindrance. The irony of self-esteem, Dweck reveals, is that it puts people into cycles of permanent judgment and seeking validation, and this cycle is self-defeating. It sets up a false syllogism: If success proves superiority, then failures prove inferiority. In challenging this syllogism, Dweck hopes to shift the reader’s attitude regarding success and failure.

“All of us have elements of both—we’re all a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. I’m talking about it as a simple either-or right now for the sake of simplicity. People can have different mindsets in different areas. I might think that my artistic skills are fixed but my intelligence can be developed. Or that my personality is fixed, but my creativity can be developed. We’ve found that whatever mindset people have in a particular area will guide them in that area.”

In meta-analysis of her own information, Dweck again anticipates counterarguments and concedes points to maintain her credibility. She assumes the reader is skeptical. By admitting she’s aware that her claims may seem oversimplified, she can also explain the fact that fixed-minded individuals can be quite successful; however, that might be because they have a growth mindset about the thing they are successful at, or they may not remain successful for long. This primes the reader for Chapters 4 and 5, in which she explores both famous athletes and famous CEOs from the mindset lens.

“The fixed mindset limits achievement. It fills people’s minds with interfering thoughts, it makes effort disagreeable, and it leads to inferior learning strategies. What’s more, it makes other people into judges instead of allies.”

Dweck spends more time describing the fixed mindset because her goal is to convince readers of its ability to thwart Developing Growth and Potential in Others. Dweck draws the reader in with pages of exploration of evidence ranging from her own studies and case studies of other psychologists to narratives about famous people to personal anecdotes. She then hits the reader with the conclusion in stark summary. By immersing the reader in the evidence first, she makes her conclusions, which sometimes read as lists of negative traits or attributes, feel more believable.

“So in the fixed mindset, both positive and negative labels can mess with your mind. When you’re given a positive label, you’re afraid of losing it, and when you’re hit with a negative label, you’re afraid of deserving it.”

Dweck often writes out the logic and thought patterns that are inherent in both fixed and growth mindsets so that the reader can understand those thought processes in connection with real-world outcomes. This serves two purposes: It conveys the manner in which differing perspectives lead to varying approaches to the same issue and helps the reader become aware of their own internal thought processes. Because differences in perception of failure and success lead to behavior patterns that help or hinder individual growth, Dweck hopes to help the reader shift theirs to unlock their own potential for growth.

“We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who are born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.”

In later chapters, Dweck reveals how fixed and growth mindsets are taught through the constant social messages people receive, starting in childhood. She spends time setting up the ways in which US culture contributes to fixed perspectives through its response to such things as great athletic talent. In the world of sports, most people view success as a result of natural talent, not hard work, practice, or character. Through narrative exploration of sports legends, Dweck contrasts narratives of natural talents like John McEnroe, who burned out quickly, against those of athletes like Wilma Rudolph, Michael Jordan, and Muhammad Ali, who were considered long shots for success but became legends. In deconstructing the myths of the greats and shifting the stories of success toward their work, rather than the talent, Dweck hopes to correct readers of the common misconception that natural ability shapes success.

“Ever think of taking responsibility? No, because in a fixed mindset, you don’t take control of your ability and motivation. You look for your talent to carry you through and when it doesn’t, well then, what else could you have done? You are not a work in progress, you are a finished product. And finished products have to protect themselves, lament, and blame. Everything but take charge.”

Dweck often inserts the reader into another’s thought processes using a second-person point of view. Here, she puts the reader in McEnroe’s shoes, which both immerses them in the type of thought processes she hopes to teach them to correct and creates sympathy for those who are stuck in this limited and uncomfortable view of the world.

“Character, heart, the mind of a champion. It’s what makes great athletes and it’s what comes from the growth mindset with its focus on self-development, self-motivation, and responsibility. Even though the finest athletes are wildly competitive and want to be the best, greatness does not come from the ego of the fixed mindset, with its somebody-nobody syndrome.”

Again, after exposing readers to many narratives of great sports legends and deconstructing each legend to expose the real components of their success or ultimate failure, Dweck concludes that natural talent alone cannot help athletes reach their potential. She understands that most people view athletes as superhumanly talented, so laying out the evidence first and then deconstructing it allows Dweck to gradually bring the reader toward an understanding that runs counter to their preconceptions.

“Fixed mindset leaders, like fixed mindset people in general, live in a world where some people are superior and some are inferior. They must repeatedly affirm that they are superior, and the company is simply a platform for this.”

Next, Dweck ventures into the realm of famous CEOs to explore The Power of Perspective on another cultural fixture, the world of business. Dweck reminds the reader of the basic fixed-mindset logic but then applies it not only to the CEO’s performance but to that of the entire company. By setting up a company as an extension of a CEO’s fixed mindset, Dweck can draw the reader into accepting later arguments she makes regarding the possibility of fixed-mindset cultures permeating businesses and setting them up for failure.

“McCall goes on to point out that when leaders feel they are inherently better than others, they may start to believe the needs or feelings of the lesser people can be ignored. None of our fixed-mindset leaders cared much about the little guy, and many were outright contemptuous of those beneath them on the corporate ladder. Where does this lead? In the guise of ‘keeping people on their toes,’ these bosses may mistreat workers.”

Dweck takes a common trope and experience of many readers, that of the mean boss, and uses studies and mindset theory to explain why it exists. Echoing an earlier claim that from a fixed-mindset perspective, a company is simply a platform for validation, Dweck drills down into the particulars regarding the impact of an individual’s perspective on the culture of entire companies. Individual perspectives, Dweck argues, don’t simply impact individuals but can also affect thousands of people through leadership decisions.

“We have shown in our research that with the right kinds of feedback even adults can be motivated to choose challenging tasks and confront their mistakes.”

Toward the end of her exploration of The Power of Perspective and mindsets on business, Dweck uses her own studies and those of other psychologists to challenge the idea that individual growth and intelligence cap with age. Her emphasis that “even adults” can learn subverts the pervasive attitude that age somehow impacts the ability to learn.

“People who work in growth-minded organizations have far more trust in their company and a much greater sense of empowerment, ownership, and commitment. […] Right in line with this, employees in growth-mindset companies also report that they were much more committed to their company and more willing to go the extra mile for it. […] Those who worked in fixed mindset companies, however, expressed greater interest in leaving their company for another.”

Relying again on contrast, Dweck spells out the stakes of promoting one perspective at work over another. She concludes that like human growth and achievement, the growth of businesses and institutions hinges on the dominating perspective. Logically, says Dweck, only the growth mindset can create the conditions to promote growth.

“So far, having a fixed mindset has meant believing that your personal traits are fixed. But in relationships, two more things enter the picture—your partner and the relationship itself. Now you can have a fixed mindset about three things. 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 things are up for judgment. A growth mindset says all of these things can be developed.”

Just as she did with the CEOs, Dweck further attaches the impact of perspectives to each component of a relationship, illustrating that perspectives have the power to influence all relationships, not only the individual. The reader is set up to infer that because society is made up of a collection of interconnected relationships, mindset theory has far-reaching social consequences.

“One problem is that people with a fixed mindset expect everything good to happen automatically. It’s not that the partners will work to help each other solve problems or gain skills. It’s that this will magically occur through their love, sort of the way it happened to Sleeping Beauty, whose coma was cured by her prince’s kiss, or Cinderella, whose miserable life was suddenly transformed by her prince.”

Dweck uses allusions to popular fairy tales to subvert pervasive societal narratives regarding relationships. Fairy tales, in particular, explain cultural attitudes toward love because they send the message that the struggle lies in finding love, not in maintaining it. These stories are shared most often with young children, setting up an unhealthy attitude that individual success means finding love, and people live happily ever after once they find it. Dweck anticipates that the reader might be skeptical about her characterization of fixed-mindset traits in relationships. In connecting it to popular childhood stories, she normalizes and creates empathy for those who might feel silly realizing they also share those views.

“As with personal achievement, this belief—that success should not need effort—robs people of the very thing they need to make their relationship thrive. It’s probably why many relationships go stale—because people believe that being in love means never having to do anything taxing.”

Dweck explains how fixed perspectives related to love create conditions that actively undermine individual success. Unrealistic attitudes and expectations lead to behaviors that strain relationships rather than build them up. This sets the couple up for failure, but because fixed perspectives create the assumption that love lost was never meant to be, the fixed mindset prevents individuals from putting in the work needed to grow and change with their partners.

“The belief that partners have the potential for change should not be confused with the belief that a partner will change. The partner has to want to change, commit to change, and take concrete actions toward change.”

Dweck spells out an important distinction: Though the growth mindset allows for individual growth and creates opportunities to change and grow, relationships can still fail. Furthermore, a relationship might need to be ended if the work involves danger to one or more partners, such as in cases of abuse. The difference, Dweck says, is that once a relationship ends, those with a growth mindset do not see this as a sign that they are unlovable failures, and they can use their experiences to create more success for the next relationship.

“Boys who believed in the fixed mindset showed a boost in self-esteem when they endorsed the stereotypes. Thinking that girls were dumber and more scatterbrained made them feel better about themselves. (Boys with a growth mindset were less likely to agree with the stereotypes, but even when they did, it did not give them an ego boost.) This mentality can intrude on friendships. The lower you are, the better I feel is the idea.”

Dweck relies on the unsettling details of an adolescent case study to show the lasting implications of each mindset for society at large. She connects perspective to societal ills such as sexism.

“When we hear about acts of school violence, we usually think it’s only bad kids from bad homes who would ever take matters into their own hands. But it’s startling how quickly average, everyday kids with a fixed mindset think about violent revenge.”

Dweck further reveals the stakes of mindset theory by tying the fixed-mindset perspective’s lasting impact on victims of bullying to the infamous mass shooting at Columbine High School. She posits that many may suffer the consequences of perspectives in which humans cannot change and grow. Dweck is careful to point out that average, rational people respond with distorted behaviors when their thinking is distorted by fixed-mindset beliefs. She hopes that readers who are connected with schools and children will listen carefully to her final chapters, in which she explains how those supporting the development of young people can reach out and shift them away from the limiting, sometimes dangerous impacts of fixed-mindset perspectives.

“In fact, every word and action can send a message. It tells children—or students, or athletes—how to think about themselves. It can be a fixed mindset message that says: You have permanent traits and I am judging you. Or it can be a growth mindset message that says: You are a developing person, and I am committed to your development.”

Dweck again uses contrast to give the reader a framework that sorts social messaging into two buckets, one supporting fixed-mindset views and the other supporting a growth mindset. Identifying and acknowledging these messages is a first step in deconstructing and changing critical messages about success and failure. Dweck hopes that those who are in the business of nurturing children—parents, teachers, and coaches—will use this framework to adjust their own messaging and create environments where students learn to value growth, effort, and challenge without the worry of permanent failure.

“Children need honest and constructive feedback. If children are ‘protected’ from it, they won’t learn well. They will experience advice, coaching, and feedback as negative and undermining. Withholding constructive criticism does not help children’s confidence; it harms their future.”

Dweck alludes to the pervasive culture of self-esteem that was popular in parenting and teaching at the time of the book’s publication. She anticipates the concerns of parents, coaches, and teachers who adopted the view that children’s self-esteem is so fragile it cannot handle contact with the things that help kids learn and grow, such as failure, challenge, or criticism. Dweck is careful to emphasize that constructive criticism and honest feedback support human growth and motivate children to reach higher toward their potential, whereas harsh personal criticism, undeserved praise, and punishment backfire and promote fixed mindsets.