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| "Arrangement in Black and Red" (1980) by Leon Polk Smith* |
Can you identify a sliding scale between the two mindsets in your own life?
Do you have a growth mindset for sports or art or academics but not something else, for example?
*Leon Polk Smith--who painted the image above--is a world famous artist who graduated from ECU. You can read more about him here.
I definitely have a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets in certain areas of my life. My mindset is pretty fixed on my artistic and creative ability. My mindset is often mixed on sports. With some sports activities, I have a fixed mindset, but with other sports activities, I believe I can grow in my abilities. It all depends on what I think I'm good at and capable of. As far as academics, I'd like to say that I have the growth mindset concerning it all, but it's very easy to fall into a fixed mindset if a class is very challenging or I get really busy. I think it's very easy to switch between mindsets in our everyday activities, sports, and academics.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree, Brayden. I find it very difficult to believe that anyone could be just one mindset. My mindsets are split in very similar ways to yours; I feel I have a fixed mindset when it comes to the arts but that I have a growth mindset in most academic situations. -Kate Draper
DeleteOne thing that I have a fixed mindset about is sports. I believe that athletic ability is something that you are born with. In other areas like art and academics though, I have a strong growth mindset. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to stay in a growth mindset. Like you said Brayden, it is very easy for me to switch into the fixed mindset in these two areas. I have two extremely talented friends that I took art classes with and I constantly compare my work to theirs, feeling that mine will never be that good. I have another good friend who is very smart that I tend to compare myself to also, believing that my intelligence will never be anywhere close to his. When I switch into a fixed mindset though, I have to remind myself that I am learning more in these areas every day.
ReplyDelete-Kaylee George
From a very young age I have had a fixed mindset about academics. My dad always told me you either had it or you didn't. Throughout school I never had to work hard for my grades so I have never changed my mindset on academics. For sports, I have a completely different mindset. I believe if you are willing to put in the time and effort then it will pay off. I spent countless hours at the field with my dad after everyone else had gone home. I spent most of my nights at hitting or pitching lessons. I can honestly say that all of my hard work paid off. I became a better player and I could see the difference in my abilities.
ReplyDeleteI think I have a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. I believe that I have more of a fixed mindset toward one’s personality, than I do toward things like academics and sports. I have more of a fixed mindset for things that I don’t necessarily want to work on, because it would be challenging. For example, I am perfectly alright with saying that I am shy or that I am uncoordinated; but I would never say that couldn’t succeed in academics. It is possible to improve coordination and social skills, but the fear of working on those things and still not seeing the results one wants to, makes me feel fine with excepting that those are things that I am. Hard work in anything pays off, but I think it is especially emphasized in sports and academics. Yes, like in anything, some people have more natural talent in those areas. Pushing yourself to improve, can make you better than people that don’t work as hard.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up always being coached under the same three coachs, my mindset in sports is very very fixed. There was always a certain way to execute the plays and cheers, it was my coaches ways, or the highway so to speak. Even now I still believe there is a certain way to play the game. But on the other end of the spectrum I would consider my self very growth minded when it comes to academic. I have an understanding that the academic work is always growing and evolving and so showed my idea about it. My parents have always encouraged me to learn and grow in academics and I believe my mindset is due to their heavy influence.
ReplyDelete-Brooke Hill
I completely agree with Dweck when it comes to the idea that one can have a mixture of both the growth and the fixed mindset. I feel like in a lot of cases my initial reaction to situations is stemmed from a fixed mindset, and then I have to consciously switch over to thinking from the perspective of a growth mindset. For instance, if I get a bad grade on a test, I might be dramatic about it at first and think to myself, “This is the end of the world”. It takes me a few minutes to realize that it is obviously not the end. A quote I heard recently went something like this: “Give me a second to be dramatic about it, and then I’ll get over it and move on.” I think this sums me up pretty much perfectly. I’ll be dramatic about the bad test grade, and then I’ll take a second to calm down and realize that I have the power to do something about it, and therefore I will study harder for the next test. I also think that I view pretty much everything from the perspective of a growth mindset. LIke I stated before, I occasionally slip up and let myself fall briefly into that of a fixed mindset, but I truly believe in a growth mindset for pretty much every situation. If you put your mind to something, I think you can accomplish anything. The example that Dweck gave in Mindset about the course people took on drawing really surprised and shocked me. They went into the course with not much skill, and by the end of the week their self portraits were unrecognizable from their first ones. I think this is such a great example of how using the growth mindset and taking the time to learn something that they once were not the best at helped them to improve significantly.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see both mindsets in myself. When it comes to academics I have a growth mindset. I want to better myself in schooling and push myself as far as I can to learn as much as I can. Sports are a different story. I enjoy sports, but if I am not good at it I do not try to get better I just drop it. I played golf for two years in high school and I loved the sport, but I did not feel like I was getting any better in it, so like I always do with extra curriculars, I dropped it. I played piano when I was younger, decided I did not like the teacher and piano was not that fun and I was not that good and quit. My fixed mindset caused me to miss out on two things that I wish I knew how to do, or was better at doing.
ReplyDeleteMiKayla Lott
As I considered the mindsets I had in different areas, I came to a startling realization. I noticed that in many cases, I had a fixed mindset for myself but more of a growth mindset when it came to others. I would constantly encourage my friends that they could be as smart or athletic as they wanted to be. Meanwhile I put a lot of pressure on myself. Now that I am conscious of this, I hope to have the growth mindset for myself as well.
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