One of our greatest fears besides public speaking or walking down the street in our birthday suits is failure. Most people see failure as hitting bottom or as a loss of status. Some see it as a bruise on the ego, a blemish on the slate we try so hard to keep so polished. But, failure is more than all of those. This video, The Power of belief, is going to introduce you to a term called mindset. There are two types--fixed and growth. Watch this video and determine what mindset you are.
Then, think of how you allow your own internal dialogue to sabotage or to empower you. Does your internal dialogue foster one type of mindset over another? Does your mindset change or is it consistent? Explain how your mindset works to help you achieve or halt your progress. The last thing I want you to consider is how you can change your mindset?
This post should be about you reflecting on your mindset, and it should be done in about two paragraphs.
I believe that I primarily have a fixed mindset, although I will exhibit some traits of a growth mindset. I think I have a fixed mindset as a result of my attitude towards school and other endeavors. Most of the time, my inner dialogue tells myself that I will perform better in math and science classes as opposed to language arts and history classes. I will also find myself shying away from language arts and history classes because I need to “focus more on math and science classes.” Although I tend perform well in all of my classes, I still determine attitude towards a class based on the course’s subject. I will also exhibit a growth mindset towards history and language arts classes by taking classes, such as AP Literature and Journalism, in order to improve and strengthen my skills in the courses that I do not believe that I have a natural aptitude for. My mindset changes from fixed to growth whenever I truly want to strengthen my skills in a particular subject, but my mindset generally stays fixed.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset works to achieve progress because it helps me to perform well in the courses that pertain to my desired career. I believe that I perform better in math and science classes so I perform well in those classes and care about those classes more. My mindset works to halt my progress because I am constantly in fear of failure from a bad grade or not achieving something the way I want to, instead of using the bad grade or failure as a means to grow. I can do a number of things to change my mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. I can tell my inner dialogue that failure is actually a good thing sometimes and I should allow those failed experiences to help me grow mentally. I can also change my mindset by forcing myself to take more classes of the classes, such as AP Lit and Journalism, which I believe I won’t do as well in. The last thing I can do to change my mindset is to put myself in adversity more. If I put myself into adversity more, I will be faced with challenges and be forced to grow by training myself to work hard to achieve goals. Changing my mindset will be very beneficial as it will allow me to problem solve and work harder in all endeavors.
Being in a sport all my life has helped me shape my mindset. I’ve been playing basketball since I was in the 4th grade. My parents and other adults started to realize my potential that I had in the sport and so did my coaches from my club teams and my school teams. I was praised constantly, which put me into the fixed mindset that I was better then my peers. That I was the dominate player every single game. But when I entered high school, it all changed. I had equally talented peers, and I was pushed as hard as I could go. As a freshman, I was moved into the JV/Varsity practices, where the practices were faster and the punishments were harsher. This helped shape my mind set into a growing one because from the running, I pushed myself as hard as I could go. Through the games, every mistake I made I didn’t get down on myself anymore about but I always asked the question, “What can I do better? How can I improve myself so I don’t make the same mistake twice?” As my growing mindset grew in sports, it also did in school and in my job. Whenever I wrote a bad paper, I would instantly go to my teacher and ask not what I did wrong, but how can I improve. Similar to at work, I am a server, when I get a complaint I want to understand what I did wrong so it doesn’t happen again. I push myself harder to grow into a better person and grow into a better student, employee, and athlete.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am at an open gym with the younger girls on the basketball team, they never want to defend me because I’m “better than them’” Yes, I see where they are coming from, but if I let their comments get to my head and I indulge myself in their comments, I let it overcome me. I let those words make myself believe I will always be better against anyone I face, which is not true. Being in this mindset might work for open gyms, but not when I face a number two-ranked team in the state. I never let the praises and words get to me. I appreciate the praise, but I will never let it become me. When I praise myself, that is when I let myself accept it. Until then, I challenge myself until I reach my full potential and become the best I can be.
S. Güt 7/8
While there are two different mindsets, fixed mindset and growth mindset, I believe that every individual possesses both. However, one mindset is more prominent than another, and that varies among people. The prominent mindset of each individual is dependent on the experiences they face in life. For those who are given everything and work for nothing and for those that are not given anything, but do not want to find something, they lean towards the fix mindset. This mindset produces both complacency and arrogance, two qualities that all people are guilty of at some point in their life. Growth mindset engenders determination and meaningfulness in life. The people, who can be amazing or atrocious at an experience, that seek self-improvement showcase a growth mindset. Likewise, all people champion this mindset at some point in their life. For me, I feel that I lean towards the growth mindset. I have owned the sense that I am more diligent than smart and more blessed than gifted. I appreciate when people see faults within me, because I take those criticisms as opportunities to grow. Soccer has played a major role in me adopting this mindset more often in my life. At one point of my high school soccer career, I was a complete embarrassment physically and technically. My coach did not hold back, and told me I had to improve. I used those words, and the long off-season to prepare myself for the next season. By the start of it, I was one of the most prepared players on the team. It was through this off-season, and the future created from it, that forced me to the slide to a growth mindset, and strengthen my mentality in both soccer and life.
ReplyDeleteMentality is a synonym of internal dialogue that is not given. It is built. It is the internal dialogue that influences our reaction towards adversity, and it is the influence on how we perceive adversity. When I face a challenge, I accept it fully. If I prevail over this adversity, I have become a better person from the experience. However, I realize before I commit to it that failure against the challenge does not mean defeat. Failure is the option to learn from mistakes and learning from mistakes also provides the opportunity to grow. The internal dialogue, fostered through a growth mindset, prepares me for the outcomes and it is what keeps me progressing in life. As said before, all people exhibit both mindsets. Yet, growth mindset is the lens that people need to look through. To change to growth mindset or to maintain a growth mindset, people must challenge themselves everyday. They must see adversity as an opportunity and not as an obstacle. I wake up everyday hoping to become better than the day before: this is my thinking, a product of growth mindset. I may not become better, but as long as I acknowledge my desire to grow, I set space aside in my mind for growth.
Srivastava R, 2
When it comes to mindset, I’d like to say that I’m more growth than fixed, which is true in most cases. There are certain subjects or topics that I find myself in a fixed mindset, such as AP Macroeconomics this year. Learning has always been something that came easily to me. For that reason, I was rewarded with good grades and praise. Growth was not something I was concerned with as I was already one of the best in all of my classes. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Once I started high school, it became more difficult; not all of my classes came as easily and I found myself not really wanting to try. I had the idea that I should be able to understand everything without much effort because that was how it had always been. I think that most honors students start high school thinking this way; effort would make me look stupid. In some subjects, such as English and math, I still tried to better myself. Learning was more important than looking intelligent so I took on a growth mindset in those classes. I also took on a growth mindset in several other subjects that I enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think my mindset does help me achieve progress, especially looking at how my senior year has progressed in just two short months. My grades have struggled in many of my classes this year, but I have still learned a lot. I’ve tried to keep a positive mindset and consider my growth more than my grades. Bad grades still scare me; I do not want to be looked at as a failure. It has taken me a while, but I have realized that the process is just as important as the grade; that learning and challenging myself are more important than my grades. Through my growth mindset in Language Arts, I realized that it is something I want to pursue in my future career. A constant desire to learn more and to grow in my writing skills aided me in picking my career path. However, my fixed mindset in the sciences limited me in my ability to grow in those subjects that I do not enjoy. I can change my mindset by trying to focus more on learning and understanding concepts in subjects I don’t enjoy rather than just brushing them aside. Rather than getting frustrated and giving up, I can push a little bit harder.
McGregor M, 2
I'd like to think that I have a growth mindset on most topics. I've always been a quick learner and knowledge has been a natural pursuit of mine. However, I don't think I was born with these things. As I grew up, I was placed in a conductive environment and I always wanted to be just as smart as the people around me. I never thought of myself as a prodigy or as someone who didn't need to try to succeed. Also, I have definitely changed my mind on many topics when more information was revealed to me and I would never shoot down idea that I don't agree with. I love having my own opinions that I've thought over for many years instead of blindly following the ideas of others. I think my mindsets have changed over time as I grew apart from my parents and those close to me. Once I could finally breathe on my own, I was able to formulate my own ideas on life and make my own plans. My mind tends to be pretty open about many things. I don't have many fixed ideas, they're always changing as I deem necessary.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm pretty hard on myself when it comes to intelligence. I think my own mind fights against me with a fixed mindset. My internal dialogue always tells me that I'm not good enough. That my motivation is fading and I won't get it back. This year has been a bit of a struggle for me so far and I can definitely say that I haven't let myself slip by. I constantly catch my own thoughts when they discourage me and I try to stop them. However, many of them sink in and that's easily the reason that I'm losing my drive to work harder. My mind keeps on putting me down and it's hard to stand back up from that. In order to change my mindset, I need to keep the processes in mind and not the "natural" aspect of intelligence. If I motivate myself by putting more effort into my work and seeing the improved outcome, I think it will stick that growth is more important than grades.
Bahr, S. 7/8*
I believe the human mind fluctuates between the fixed and growth mindsets talked about in the video, depending on the situation at hand. Personally, I'd categorize myself to have a growth mindset for a majority of situations. When faced with a challenge, I accept the situation and use it to better myself. I disagree with the video, however, in that these mindsets can be onset from specific praises. I believe it is an internal dialogue that varies from person to person that has the greatest effect on which mindset Is truly present. My personal internal dialogue is a greater source of empowerment rather than sabotage because inside and out, I am very optimistic. I am not going to be discouraged by my own mind.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few situations, however, that I definitely possess a fixed mindset. This is not because of a third party's effect, but because of my own mind unwilling to change. Two examples of "challenges" include financial limitations and religious viewpoints. If need be, this mindset can be persuaded into the opposite by my internal dialogue's control.
As a student, yes I receive higher grades in some classes than others. However I believe this to be a cause of laziness rather than a fixed mindset, as some of my peers might argue. My progress cannot be graded by a standardized scale, but by the quality of life I am living controlled by my own growing mindset. And I think I am living a pretty damn good life. "I must have worked hard to achieve this."
K. Brav 7/8*
Throughout my life, I have always been shown the value of working hard and continually trying to improve my abilities. I am always bothered by the people that do not study for classes and rely on their natural intellect to do well on exams. While this approach would probably work for me, eliminating the work involved would change my mindset from growth to fixed. Although I know that I could still pass many of my classes without much additional effort, I have always believed that by doing the work I have an opportunity to learn more. My parents and teachers have always showed me that there is more to be learned. Whether what I’m learning is educational or a life skill, I take failure as an opportunity to grow. I would rather have someday be honest with me about my mistakes than tell me I did a great job. In doing this, they eliminate any opportunity that I would have to grow. At other times, my mindset can be considered fixed. I have never found history classes interesting, and as a result I don’t try and go above and beyond to learn the material.
ReplyDeleteMy own internal dialogue tends to empower me to do better. Even after I ‘fail’ (I believe failure is only temporary: eventually you will learn that your original failure will empower you to do better), I do not get angry at myself. I start fresh again and tell myself that I will do better next time. When many failures accumulate on one another, it gets difficult to move beyond them. However, given time and a growth mindset, I rise above and improve on my original mistakes. My internal dialogue fosters a growth mindset. I am always telling myself that I can do better. I think that if I had a fixed mindset, I would not be as successful. Some people think that knowledge is fixed. By taking challenging classes, I have proven to myself that this is not the case. I have always been very hard on myself and tell myself that I could have done better. This internal dialogue has allowed me to expand my knowledge and capabilities over the years. This mindset is relatively consistent. Even when others offer me praise, I am always quick to show them how I could have done better. Unfortunately, this mindset is often looked down upon by other students. When I get a good grade, internally I am telling myself that I could have still done better. This becomes frustrating for students that did not do as well. Sometimes this prevents me from having a growth mindset and pulls me into a fixed mindset. However, I have surrounded myself with people that are much like me. Since we all realize that there is always more to be done, we encourage one another to stay in the growth mindset. I could focus more on my growth mindset by not caring about the success of others, but rather focusing on my own successes and failures. I have great teachers who show me that there is always more to learn, and by receiving their feedback I am able to further develop my growth mindset.
Ryan M. 2
Looking at the two different mindsets, I feel that I hold qualities of both in my life. In many situations, I live by the rules of a fixed mindset, while in other area, I am strong with the growth way of thinking. For many people, their internal voice is their largest critic. Personally, I am the most judgmental and critical of myself in everything I do. While partaking in different event at school or in my personal life, I tend to be driven by my fixed mind. My human instinct forces me to focus on the outcome rather than the process. When I get caught up in the outcome, I tend to not do my best work and leave things unfinished. This not only applies in school, but in my personal life as well. When I’m in a fixed mindset, I tend to crave an award or recognition without focusing on the process or the effort I put in. This forces me to think that things should always come easy to me. All these voices are my initial thoughts when dealing with topics. After I have some time to think about things, I tend to switch into a growth mindset. This is where I am the most effective and see the best results. When I’m focused on the process more, I work on skills that improve my wellbeing in many areas, not just for one. Even if the outcome doesn’t go my way, I have still gained many skills, which prepare me for action down the road.
ReplyDeleteIn the long run, a fixed mindset tends to be more harmful than helpful. The thinking limits your room for growth and prevents self-improvement. When I am thinking this way, I tend to take criticism the wrong way and my willingness for change decreases. This process usually makes a situation extremely tough, to the point that I have to switch to a growth mindset. When I move into a growth mindset, my situations start to thrive. When I have the willingness to improve and get better, I tend to get more out of different events. The growth mindset also pushes me to do my best while helping me work hard to produce high quality work. To move into a growth mindset all the time, it is important to approach every situation with an open mind and a hungry attitude. Every situation should be approached with the intent to get better and improve. It is also important not to focus on the outcome, but more of the process. When you start to live in the future is when you neglect what is in the present. Staying in a growth mindset is key to improving your makeup and becoming a better person every single day.
Wasylko G, 7/8
No one can have only a fixed or only a growth mindset. A person’s mindset is a combination of the two. Mindset can change throughout a person’s life based on their positive and negative experiences. In the past, I used to have a predominantly fixed mind set but now my mindset is more growth oriented. Through my negative experiences, such as getting a lower score than I would like on a test or not doing as well in swimming as I would have liked, I have learned that having a fixed mindset does nothing to improve my overall experiences nor does it allow me to learn from anything bad that has happened. I believe that working hard and striving to improve my abilities versus simply giving up has allowed me grow as a person and develop a more optimistic outlook. Nowadays, I have a growth mindset because I am starting to acknowledge my mistakes and learn from them. My mistakes show me what I need to do to improve and teach me an idea or topic that I did not thoroughly understand before. Having a growth mindset allows me to do better in school and makes me happy to learn new things in life, even if I do not “need” to.
ReplyDeleteMy interior dialog tends to sabotage me to the point where I feel as though nothing I do is ever good enough. It halts my progress by preventing me from moving forward in life. I always fear getting anything bellow an A on any test or school project because I feel as though my friends, family, and teachers would see me as a failure. My mindset is fixed whenever I do not meet my own expectations. However, I adopt a growth mindset because there is nothing else I could do in order to continue to learn and maintain a positive outlook. Mistakes help me grow by reviling what I need to do to improve, yet I still take any type of failure hard. I could change my mindset by accepting that no one can ever be the best at everything. I know that I could always improve my abilities by focusing on and improving what I did not do well in the past. I try to control my negative inner dialog and prevent it from making me give up on something just because I did not succeed the first time I attempted it.
Judele C, 2nd
In my opinion, my mindset is based on growth. For me, it is easy to realize that no one is truly perfect, nor special, and I am very open to change and adaptation. I see a lot of value in constructive criticism, and I mostly take it with ease (there are exceptions). This has a lot to do with my internal dialogue also. My internal dialogue is not necessarily sabotaging, however, it keeps me in line and balances my ego. It reminds me that I am human, and there is always going to be someone better than me in some way, shape, or form. This is not a matter of low self-esteem, this is a matter of being open-minded and allowing my own egocentricity to be brought back down to Earth. It also allows me to have the ability to reason with and change myself for the better, allowing me to become a better person and understand my own limitations. However, there are times when my internal dialogue does sabotage me. Sometimes my internal dialogue goes on such a high that it thinks I am unstoppable, and the coolest person in the entire universe. This causes me, in some instances, to almost have a fixed mindset. It causes me to think that I am untouchable, and that no one is as good as me. This quickly subsides to the voice of rationality and reason, however, internal dialogue sometimes throws me out of whack.
ReplyDeleteAside from these other psychological trips of “whoo”, my mindset is pretty constant. I am aware of my limitations and I am very open to changing and thinking outside of what I already know. Plus, I am heavily aware of all the other forms of information in the world, and how much it takes to learn. I believe that it is with this self-realization/life reality check (growth) mindset that I have a better chance to achieve. I will admit at times I have a lack of progress due to conceit, however it is the growth mindset that I run on most of the time that keeps me on check. With it, I am aware of my flaws, limitations, and also how I work best, and that allows me to exceed and better understand myself.
When it comes to changing my mindset, however, that is kind of difficult. Yes, as implied, growth would indicate that you have an ability to adapt and understand. However, for me, when it comes to changing internal things: my outlook, my religious views, aside from things like work habits and procrastination that are a little more simplistic, I am a very stubborn nut to crack. To change my mindset to something where I see myself as better or a top competitor would be difficult. I know it sounds ironic, considering I just addressed how open I am to change, but in matters of who I am or how I view things, not as minimalistic as grades or coursework, I am very stubborn and do not often like to change my opinions or outlooks. So in order to change my mindset, I would probably need a lot of daily mental exercise and therapy because unfortunately things like mindset and personality are something that is too ingrained in who I am to be adjusted.
Humans are born to learn. I’m not just talking about school. Before a child can be enrolled in school, he must be taught how to walk, talk, etc. Many people believe that they are not smart because they were not born with ‘smart genes’. They look at Albert Einstein and other extraordinary minds and say, “oh he/she must have been born with their talent.” No one is born with talent. There was a time when Einstein could not count to ten. He had to achieve his goals by studying every night and not taking his abilities for granted. I have a growth mindset. I know that I can learn and attain anything if I work hard. Being part of a family that extremely values education, I am constantly finding ways to improve my skills and abilities. My parents have taught me to take something away from every failure. I look towards my future goals and say ‘okay, how can I get there?’ My actions in and out of school are structured around my future goals. I volunteer at hospitals and shadow doctors in order to learn more about the hospital atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteThere are many times when I hear a voice in my mind telling me to give up, such as when I was taking daily ACT practice tests, but the likelihood of success pushes me to persist. I read an article and watched several videos by khanacademy.org a few months ago. This is when the concept of mindset was first introduced to me. Research shows that the brain grows more when a person fails and struggles rather than gets an answer right. When a person struggles with a problem, his brain grows more than if he had gotten the answer correct on the first try. When I do not do as well as I expected on an assignment, I don’t tell myself that I did poorly and will never do better. Instead, I look at what I could improve. Overall, I react to the risk of failure positively. If someone asks me “what if you fail?” I say “what if I succeed?”
Patel D, 2
I don’t think people are born with talent or raw ability; I think people are born with purpose and that the difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is having the mindset to pursue that purpose. I’ve always considered myself a motivated person, so I think this places me into the growth mindset category. In areas such as writing and music-making, I am fueled with the drive to express myself in better ways. I feel that I validate my worth through what I’m able to create and put out into the world, and so it’s important to me that I find new ways to improve my crafts. Being a violinist especially has helped me develop an empowering inner dialogue. When I was younger, I was discouraged with how I sounded, and I often found myself wanting to quit because I wasn’t immediately perfect. My instrument forced me to discipline myself and taught me the value of practice – that a piece won’t sound beautiful the first time you play it, but it might once you dedicate time and effort. Once I discovered this, my inner voice shifted from grumbles of “I can’t” to assertions of “I might” and that gave me the strength needed to pursue my aspirations. This internal dialogue fosters the growth mindset over the fixed mindset because it instills within me the hunger for challenge. Now I often find myself chasing down feedback and constructive criticism. Whereas I used to take advice as a blow to the ego, I’ve grown to realize that it’s the tool necessary to improve. In fourth grade, red pen all over my essays would have given me a heart attack, but these days there’s nothing I treasure more.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset does change, however, when it comes to areas I’m not interested in. With math, for example, I’m happy with the bare minimum of understanding. I want to know the process and be able to repeat the process just enough to get an A on the test; after that, I want nothing more to do with it. This fixed mindset puts me in a place of “non-growth” – and what’s worse, I’m happy with that. I feel no desire to improve my math skills because I believe I have no reason to. I use the age-old excuse “I’m just an English person” to write off my failures, but I know that if I forced myself to embrace its obstacles, I would improve. Whereas my mindset allows me to make progress in improving writing and musical skills, it deters me from improving my math ones. I would be able to change this mindset by assigning value to math. If I told myself that math was crucial to reaching the places I want to go in life, I’d bite the bullet and study harder. However, my personal mindset focuses in only on the areas I’m passionate about. I don’t think one person can excel at everything, so it’s inevitable that we have to make choices about what we want to be best at. As for me, I’m happy with my poetry and my violin.
N Keller 7/8
One part of The Power of Belief that stood out to me was when Briceno was talking about how many people will say that they are not a math person and develop a fixed mindset. Because of my own grades from geometry to pre-calculus I would tell people, “Oh, I’m not a math person, I’m terrible at math,” but I’ve noticed something different in my grades these past two years. I could sit and complain about math, but I have been improving significantly and always have been attracted to more math based sciences. There are many times I start out with a fixed mindset, telling myself I cannot do some sort of a task, but the thought and fear of failure empowers me to change my mindset. If I did not have a growth mindset, I would have chosen not to take a math class instead of taking AP Statistics this year. I pushed myself to be in sports and take skills classes to help improve my abilities. In the past, I would never try out for solos in choirs or talent shows because I was too intimidated by the thought of failure. Today, I know I may not get the part I wanted in the play and I may not be chosen to sing the solo, but that does not keep me from trying again. Although I am afraid of failing, it does not stop me from continuing to learn and try improve myself.
ReplyDeleteMy own internal dialogue is primarily negative, but I believe that is one of the reasons why I want to improve. If I tell myself I am going to fail, I try to find a way to change my outcome. My mindset does change, first thinking I will not be able to do something to thinking “How can I this?” This mindset has held me back at times, causing me to procrastinate or decide not to do something at all, but most of the time this mindset has helped me progress and succeed. It is very difficult to change my mindset, yet I am still trying to improve it every time I feel like I am becoming lazy and taking the easy way out of a situation. It has taken years to have a dominant growth mindset about school and life in general. I can continue to change my mindset by looking at failure less as a failed attempt and view it as a learning experience every time I do not get the outcome I am searching for.
Hornung A. 7/8
In all honesty, I believe that I have numerous traits of a fixed mindset. My internal dialogue constantly compares my accomplishments, grades and abilities to others around me. When I see someone who is being praised for having outstanding academics I think to myself that I already have a place where I fall amongst my peers. For an example, if Rohan was handed a test back before me and he received an A, I would automatically think that I received a C because in my mind we do not fall in the same academic level. This is why I believe my internal dialogue may restrain me from becoming a more dynamic individual when coming to certain aspects because I feel that we are all classified in different groups and it is extremely hard to break into a higher group than it is to just to maintain where you are at, making my mindset more fixed than growth.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my mindset happens to change on occasion and does reflect few qualities of a growth mindset. I personally might have different mindsets for different areas of my life because when it comes to sports, I believe it is easier for myself to grow as an athlete than a student. In school my mindset may halt my progress but in sports I feel as if it is easier to move up as is it is to move down. If I see someone who is incredibly talented my first thoughts are to work harder to be as a talented as them, which ultimately helps me achieve a great amount progress. I can change my mindset to achieve more by challenging myself and focus primarily on what I can work on to become better rather than what I accomplish.
After watching the video I would say that I have a growth mindset. Well, in most cases. There are some incidents where I do have a fixed mindset, but overall, I would like to think that I have a growth mindset. Math, for example, is where I have a fixed mindset. Math is a struggle for me and it usually has been. So in the case of math I have a fixed mindset of “well half of this I won’t need anyways so as long as I pass the test I’m good.” However, I more often than not have a growth mindset. Like Mrs. Perrins class for example. My mindset is a growth mindset because I am always thinking “I can always try harder and try to fix my mistakes, then one day a miracle may occur and I will actually receive an A on something in the ninety.”
ReplyDeleteMy inner dialogue just goes along with my mindset. My inner dialogue is very encouraging most of the time and very much so goes with the growth mindset. My inner dialogue helps me achieve because I am usually just thinking “Just a little more, I’m almost there, I can do this.” My inner dialogue is actually a lot more optimistic and encouraging than my outer dialogue is. I don’t really know how to change your mindset. Just try to be more positive I guess? Personally I think if you have a growth mindset then why would you need to change it?
-Bunting, A 2nd
I believe that my mindset is more of a growth mindset than fixed. Whenever I do poorly on a quiz, or if I am just not understanding what is going on in a lesson I do not give up and say that I cannot do it. Instead I tell myself, “Okay, what can I do to improve my grade on the next quiz,” or “what can I do to understand this lesson better.” For the most part my mindset stays like this. A growth oriented mentality, because I do not think that I am a prodigy, nor do I think that I cannot do something. I believe that I can be improved and that it is possible to improve. My “internal dialogue” is positive and empowers me to give 110% when doing something. I believe that if I do try, I will succeed. Since I have this kind of mindset, it make it easier to challenge myself and try harder, and ultimately achieve my goals.
ReplyDeleteTo contradict myself slightly, there is one area that I believe that I have a fixed mindset in. This would be sports. Gym was always my least favorite class. There is this certain feeling of “I can’t do it” when it comes to anything sport related. This mindset sabotages any attempt at being athletic because it makes me say, “Why try when I know I will fail. Sports don’t interest me anyway.” It halts any progress made in increasing my athleticism. This is the part of my mindset that I would like to change. I could tell myself to keep trying and eventually I will succeed, but I have tried this in the past and it has not helped. However, as Eduardo Briceño pointed out, whenever I say I can’t do it, tack yet to the end of that. I have a fixed mindset when it comes to sports and athletics, but I believe that if I continue to tell myself what I already do, and add ‘yet’ to the end of almost every sentence that starts with “I can’t”, then I will be able to change this mindset into a growth mindset.
-C. Lenhoff 2nd period
Personally, I think that my mindset can really help me in some cases and absolutely sabotage me in other situations. I do not keep a very consistent mindset when it comes to being fixed or being a more growth based one. I find that my mindset can vary daily. And when my mindset is growth-based, I find that overall I’m more positive about my potential improvement and more driven to do better. Other days I’m significantly more negative when it comes to self-evaluation, and those days usually foster a more fixed mindset, and with that comes performance that is possibly poorer than on other days. One area where I do fall into the fixed area more is in my concern for accomplishments. But really, I find that my internal dialogue can serve to help me or sabotage me, depending on the day. I find that I’m becoming more growth-focused overall, but sometimes that fixed, limiting mindset kicks in. In short, I do not feel that I fall solidly in one single mindset, nor would most people I assume.
ReplyDeleteAs far as changing my mindset, the only way I can think to really do that is to try to be more positive and look at failures as an opportunity to grow. That sounds rather trite and generic but the best and worst pieces of advice often are. But, one point that seems to be absent here is that it is very difficult to change one’s mindset, even for a day, and even harder to produce a permanent change. That being said, I do not think that an additional dose of optimism would hurt me, and it would likely help me to have a better mindset.
-Mike Crow 7/8
This video really surprised me; I never thought I could be my own worst enemy like that. After watching it, I realize I have a fixed mindset about a lot of things; my ability to communicate is chief among them. Any one of you who decides to read this have probably noticed how hard it is for me to talk in class over the years. It’s always been like that, and I guess I’ve accepted that it’s never going to get any better. The notion that MY own mindset has been holding me back scares me. It seems to be pretty fixed, even when it comes to things I’m good at. Sometimes, however, it changes with regards to my writing. I know I am rather good at it, but I also understand how far I still need to go for my hope of making a living out of it to be possible.
ReplyDeleteHow this mindset effects me is so simple it is almost clique: my internal dialogue reminds me that there are things I can’t do. How many times have I backed out of doing something or saying my opinion because I thought I couldn’t do it or because I thought it was stupid? I’ve lost count. Things I know I’m good at, such as singing and writing, are fixed because I don’t think I can get any better. This is especially evident in my singing; I should be concentrating on improvement rather than just assuming I’m good and leaving it at that. Changing this won’t be easy; lifelong habits often aren’t. The only way to change it I can think of is to remind myself nothing is finite. If I think I am bad at something, I should make every effort to practice it. For example, I am getting much better at PowerPoint presentations because I do them all the time in Speech; they aren’t hard anymore because of the practice. Making more of an effort to talk in class, and to actually contribute to the conversation instead of the lame things I’ve been saying so far, will defiantly be on the right track. Also, it stands to reason that if I continue to improve my written communication, my speaking will improve along with it. It all comes down to confidence; if I believe I can do better at something, I will start BEING better at it.
Maslach, K 2
The video portrayed a fixed mindset as someone who is only concerned about their grade or score and a growth mindset as someone who is concerned with how they can be smarter. In some senses I believe that I have a fixed mindset, like when I am in my math class. However, in language arts I am always finding that I learn new things and that I can share my unique knowledge with others.
ReplyDeleteLast year my math class was a huge struggle and I was scraping the bottom of the barrel just to get a C. Every test I took I expected to get a bad grade and I believe that that fixed mindset kept me from realizing my true potential in math. This year it has changed because I found that if I try harder and encourage myself I do much better. Sure, this is also validated by a score on a test, but I also feel better when I know that I understand what I’m doing in a class that is challenging for me. When something is challenging for me I tend to halt my progress, so to say, because I find the lack of progress extremely discouraging. I often tell myself that I cannot do it or I just simply give up. Though when I begin to understand my mindset shifts to being a growth mindset.
I believe that in order for me to have a more growth-orientated mindset I need to not let my fixed mindset in math rule how I view my intelligence as a whole. However, I am not sure how to do that. It is so difficult to not understand something and be okay with that and to understand that learning and growth take time. I think that that is the thing that I have the most trouble with. Not too long ago I was doing my physics homework with the help of my mother and I gave up because I just did not understand it and it was “making” me feel stupid. Now I realize that it was not the difficulty of the problems that was “making” me feel stupid, but rather the fact that I had convinced myself that I could not do it. Now, I have to focus on making sure that my progress is all that “makes” me feel smarter the more I grow.
Dame, E 2
After watching the video about mindset I believe my mindset to be a combination of both fixed and growth. Although during school I look for those comments that tell me how smart I am such as my GPA I don’t look at learning in a fixed mindset. I realize that learning comes only when you work your hardest to get to that spot and nobody is born with a natural talent for one subject over another. I do disagree with myself a little bit on this subject though because I have always thought I was incapable of being really good at art, but after watching the video, the speaker talks about how anyone can change their mindset to learn something such as art. I believe the mindset I currently have, which is a mixture of both fixed and growth, has helped me accomplish goals in life and in school. With school, although I do feel good when my GPA is high, this high self esteem from my GPA encourages me to learn and work harder. The growth mindset I have has helped me get into a Cleveland Clinic Internship. The first time I applied to the internship, I was not accepted, but after fixing my application for the second time around I was finally accepted into the program.
ReplyDeleteIn order to change my mindset on certain issues I would have to work incredibly hard. From the example above with art, I have never been even a mildly good artist, but I have always wanted to become one. In order to change this mindset that in order to be good at art a person has to be born with the genes, I would have to practice for multiple hours a day and take a lot of time to devote it to learning an entirely new concept. In the end, changing my mindset would be worth it because I would be able to learn a new skill that I otherwise would not have.
-Bolger, J; 2
To categorize all of mankind into solely two types of mindsets would be highly irrational. Sure, many people may exhibit qualities leaning heavily towards either fixed or growth mindsets, but to assume that everyone fits the mold would not be accurate. Personally, I find myself to be one of those people that falls into neither fixed nor growth mindsets. At times I exhibit qualities of each. In all honesty, I find that I have a fixed mindset when it comes to many of my classes. I know that I am better at deriving formulas than I am writing an essay, to me it seems my internal dialogue tells me that I should not focus on things I believe I am bad at, but rather foster those in which I am good at. Perhaps, that exemplifies the growth mindset. When I believe I am good at something, I push myself to be great at it. I may falter, but I never fail to continually adapt and grow in that medium.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to changing a mindset, a change in attitude is also required. If a person promotes positivity and optimism they will often find themselves achieving success. It may be cliché, but to believe is to achieve. However, to teach an attitude adjustment is nearly impossible. That change must start within. There is no set in stone formula to self-fulfillment. It is something that comes about through many different tests and trials. No matter where a person falls on the fixed/growth mindset spectrum, only life experience can change a mindset.
-Kett J 2
While convincing, I struggle to place my personal mindset into one of two strict boxes described by Briceno and his social research. As a young child I was encouraged to try all types of hobbies from sports, to music, to creative writing. I still strive to have a 100% growth mindset. However, I do believe that America’s public school system has caused a fixed mindset to trickle into my everyday education. Test scores were never a priority to me, or my mother, until I experienced both positive and negative outcomes from my school. Starting at a young age my motive for participating in class was to be placed in “advanced” classes, and not accept my own learning pace. Up until halfway through high school did I learn how to recognize that I put forth more effort in some areas because of my high interest in them –not because I did not have talent in the other.
ReplyDeleteMy current balance between a fixed and growth mindset has helped me be successful to a certain degree, but can act as a barrier to achieving even more. My fixed mindset gives myself excuses, like lack of time and money, as to why I am not as good at certain things compared to others. I struggle with listening to my conscience and often let foreign voices help decide my fate. I actually find it quite comical that due to a mental disorder I most often have to ignore my internal dialogue if I want to be focused on a path to success. On the contrary, my growth mindset allows me to admit that everyone has limits and that is not a dreadful thing. Together the mix of these mindsets allows me to try to do the best I can do with the hope I can reach further one day. At this moment in time I think my mindset is steady and confident; what I need to change is the amount of effort and focus that is driven by my mindset.
-Grabowski, H. 7/8
Although research has shown that people have either a fixed mindset or a mindset of growth, I believe that the human mind can exhibit both attributes exposed in the video in order to formulate one grand mindset. My mind works in weird ways. One day I may feel as if I am a natural at any given subject. Another day I feel like I truly have learned a given concept through experience and mentoring. I grew to learn the concept. For me, my mindset really is determined by the actions and experiences placed upon me on any specific day. For example. If I am having an awful week, my AP Chemistry homework seems twice as hard, I cannot seem to figure out my physics assignment and the world in its entirety is falling into a big black hole of failure, I generally accumulate traits that consume the idea of a fixed mindset. I generally tell myself that I cannot accomplish anything, that I have lost all interest in the subject completely. My internal dialogue halts any achievement that could have been underway because I create this fixed idea that I was just not born to complete the concept given and that I will just have to try to do something else. My famous internal thought for these days is: “I can basically kiss college goodbye.” On other days, when my week is actually going decent, my homework is completed and I am in a great mood, my mindset is all growth. If I have one slight slip up I tell myself that it is not the end of the world. These are days when I develop the idea that if I have not mastered the concept now, I will over time.
ReplyDeleteAlthough these days of my growth mindset seem to be fading as my senior year continues, I know that this part of my mind is still there somewhere. I have had much trouble this year and have been trying very hard to change my mindset to be more growth oriented. With a mindset more focused on growth, I am bound to achieve a lot more. My mindset is never consistent. This I feel, is one of my largest problems. If I were to develop one strict mindset and kept it true in everything I did, slip ups here and there, such as a bad quiz grade, or not mastering something the first time I had tried it, would not seem as though they would drastically change my future. I must face adversity with a positive attitude. One drastic point that would help me change my mindset would be not letting failure consume me and allowing myself to learn from struggle versus shying away from it. This will ultimately shape my mindset to be exactly what I want it to be- growth.
-Cika M 2
I believe that my mindset is mainly fixed unless it comes to singing, in which case I would consider it growth. My internal dialogue fosters the fixed mindset because that’s how I grew up. I grew up with the mindset that I was smart and did not challenge myself. I simply stayed in the same place believing I was smart because my parents and teachers told me so. But with that being said, my mindset is not consistent. When it comes to singing, I have a growth mindset because I know I can change how well I sing and practice to improve. I don’t always have to be at the same vocal level because there is always room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset can halt my progress in everyday life because it makes me seem content with where I am. If challenges are faced and not achieved, then I just move along. Where if I had a growth mindset I would see that as a step to grow. Now if I were to change my mindset I would accept and knock down challenges and improve more easily. I could change it by working hard to improve myself not only in school, but in my social life outside of school as well. Challenging myself to improve and providing myself ways to do so would change my mindset from fixed to growth
-Camille
When I was younger, I had a very fixed mindset- up through tenth grade, it had always been like that. I was praised by both my family and my peers for being smart, or naturally good at certain subjects, and when I came out lesser than I would have liked to, I would shut down and feel like a failure. I did not think of trying harder, only that I was not good enough. After struggling through a lot of years in that mindset, I began to find the importance of trying and working harder, and slowly I believe I've switched into a growth mindset. Although for some cases, I still find myself in that fixed mindset, and have to force myself out of it.
ReplyDeleteMy internal dialogue is often a fight. I find myself thinking in a fixed way, telling myself something cannot be changed, and I have to force myself out of those thoughts. Sometimes it's harder than others, but overall, the stubborn thoughts of wanting to do better are beneficial to me. My thoughts change a lot, but in the end they always come back to trying to do better, and I think in that way I'm changing my mindset from fixed to growth. To continue changing my mindset, I need to challenge myself more and be prepared for failures, which are still a great fear of mine.
-Avery A, 2nd
I feel as though I fit into the growth mindset category for multiple reasons, one of them being my ability to accept the things that I cannot change. For this reason, I strive for things that may seem out of touch, though I am determined to reach them. Being a perfectionist in many aspects, failure frustrates me. It tears me down and I feel like the things I am reaching for are out of touch a lot of times. I sit back and ask myself how badly I want them, and if it is something I would like to achieve for myself, I make it happen. Through this mindset I have learned a lot about perseverance. Personally, I do not earn good grades naturally, or have been granted with natural God-given intelligence. Many times I find myself exhausted studying for hours in order to achieve the excellence I desire, however I realize that I must work to achieve, sometimes harder than others, and I have come to terms with it. I feel as though this mindset has enhanced my life, as I see the importance of successful feeling, and the relief of achievement.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset has remained pretty consistent for as long as I can remember. Always being a fairly mature individual, from a young age I have come to realize what needs to be done to get the results I want. My internal dialogue has certainly done many things to influence this feeling, both good and bad. A lot of times I feel as though I reach a breaking point, and I have anxiety, and I stay up asking myself if things are worth me fighting so hard for them. Then when I have calmed down, my dialogue comes back more positive, telling myself the reason why I began such a journey in the first place, and what will come out of it. This tends to speed up my progress as I have refreshed myself on my goal and seemingly refocused myself into the right direction. I know where I want to be, and I won’t stop until I get where I want to end up, especially as I take on my senior year and begin applying to colleges and setting the path for my future.
Mewhinney M 2
In my opinion, I exhibit the characteristics of a growth mindset. I have a love for learning and I am constantly trying to improve myself. I like a challenge and I’m always searching for one. For example, I know that I am awful at math and science while I excel at language arts and history. Despite this, sophomore year I decided to take AP biology, as I really wanted to improve my skill set there. I enjoyed the class and at times it was a little hard, but I stuck with it and I found a passion in something that I had previously disliked. This mindset does not only apply to academics but other aspects of life as well. Freshman year I was placed on the JV lacrosse team instead of Varsity. I really wanted to improve my standing and instead of accepting failure, I worked harder than I ever had before. I attended every open gym and gave every practice 110%. I bought myself a goal and practiced every day in order to improve. Because of this, I was able to play in several varsity games that season and the next year I was moved to a starting position on the Varsity team. I didn’t run away from the challenge and I think that shows my capacity for growth.
ReplyDeleteI think that my internal dialogue motivates and inspires me to work harder. There are times when I am at my wits end, but still I tell myself to keep pushing myself. When I am doing well, I remind myself that things can always be better. When things aren’t going so great, I ask myself why and what I can do to fix it. I’m a problem solver and my internal dialogue helps me work things out in my head. My internal dialogue pushes me towards growth and accepting challenges. I don’t think I really want to change my mindset as I think it’s a rather positive one. Instead I’d like to foster it by associating with people who will help me grow not only on an academic basis but on a personal basis. I surround myself with people that are intelligent and supportive and I think that helps me to grow as a person.
-Harris, S 2*
I believe that I have a mostly growth mindset as I value finding things out for on my own and fixing them myself. My inner dialogue empowers me to try and achieve more and I value my own opinion on a much higher level than anyone else’s. Any time I go for something whether it be a grade, a race, or a new piece of music I don’t value the complements that I may receive. I value what my internal dialogue says and usually it isn’t pretty. I don’t see what I have achieved as anything great and I usually think of anything I do as being the worst I could have done on it. Within five seconds of completing the task I’ve picked out what I did wrong on and what I did right and I start strategizing ways to fix it. At a race, usually the coaches and the parents come up to you after you’ve finished running, and will compliment you on what you’ve achieved. I never really listen and I don’t take it to heart. Instead I think of the way I could have sprinted past the girl ahead of me in the last few seconds, or clung on to another earlier in the race, or where I could have stepped so that I wouldn’t have lost my shoe and gained about 7 seconds onto my time. The minute I’ve finished I’ve already critiqued my race and have started planning what to do for next week. I try not to draw on the past and instead look toward the future at what I can fix.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset usually does not change and I consistently try to do better. The few times that it does is when I struggle with things I have trouble understanding and cant find out on my own. I struggle a lot with analyzing different ideas and seeing how they are connected and applying what I’ve learned. When those two things are required I don’t focus as much as I should and often fall into that fixed mindset where I don’t know how to fix the problem, and my progress usually comes to a screeching halt. In order to change this, I have to think backwards and change my attitude toward the task, before rereading or researching what I’m supposed to be doing. Instead of thinking that this is the worst thing I have to do, I think this is the worst thing I’ve done so far and try a different approach.
-Supina R, 2
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ReplyDeleteWhen pertaining to mindset, I know for a fact that I have both a growth and fixed mindset. There are many certain things one can grow from and there are many certain things that an individual must struggle with. If specific things were easy, then everyone would do it. Personally I know what it’s like to be in a growth and then a fixed mindset. During the ‘miserable’ middle school years I couldn’t algebra for my life and my language arts skills were so poor it would make Mrs. Perrin cry. Truthfully, the grades were terrible. I had much room to grow, and I did throughout the year. The next year of middle school (8th grade) was the climax of my academic year. Every subject was performed without difficulty, my math and language arts flourished and the praise was constant. Eventually the subject of language arts is the most fascinating and I still work hardest in the class. I wish it was the same situation for math. Due to the praise from the past, I now struggle with my subjects I once flourished in. Once again, I am back in the growth phase.
ReplyDeleteThe internal dialogue I have is quite an internal struggle. In some situations such as academics, I try to work hard but then I always think of the past. How effortless the subject once was, and what happens if that naturalness is still there? This thinking limits my efforts. I wish individuals in society can naturally grow for their positive benefits. In a school system, failure isn’t an option while in the middle of a quarter. Unless there is a retake on a quiz, you either win or lose, there is no other option. That’s what can be aggravating and what terrifies students the most. We all think differently yet must perform the same. Involving my mindset, it definitely changes in time. When the time is ripe, I will try my hardest in something and fail constantly, yet learn more than the other individual who never failed, yet learned nothing. I truly believe that when I hit my lowest point, I am open to the greatest change. This has been seen timelessly throughout my personal life. When something is truly meaningful to you, your mindset will change on its own. I can change my mindset by eliminating the negative things in my mind, long with the ridiculous praise one could give. I am somewhat irritated when a person uses hyperbole for complimenting someone; it blinds a person of what they can grow on. I need to accept the reality that if I want to accomplish something now, then I need to fail and grow as well. A John Green quote that can easily be relatable is, “It’s all about falling” (Will Grayson will grayson). Without falling, how can one take the journey to climbing to the top once again?
I like to believe that I obtain both the growth mindset as well as the fixed mindset. In all honesty, it depends on the situation that I am in and how I am feeling on that particular day. In the aspect of the growth mindset, I really do have a passion for learning and I love bettering myself in everything that I do. When it comes to running, I like to have a growth mindset. I believe it is very important to be able to look at your mistakes and what you are doing wrong, and build upon them. When I have a bad race, I take a step back and look at everything that I did up until that point: everything I ate, the way I practiced, and my attitude. It is usually my attitude that is in need of change to be able to reach those improvements and goals. With that in mind, I completely flip my attitude upside down and turn on that growth mindset. It's like I have a little voice in my head that completely dictates how everything goes. If I want a race to go well, I listen to the voice in my head that tells me to go faster and tells me not to listen to the pain. That is when I have a good race. When I have a bad race, however, is usually when I listen to the other voice in my head... the one telling me that I can't do it because I am in pain or not good enough. These bad races are the ones when I follow my fixed mindset: the one that tells me that I don't need to worry about how I'm running because I will beat people either way. The reason that I believe that I have a growth mindset, however, is because whenever I have the ideas of a fixed mindset, I become angry with myself and want to change it. With these bad races, the growth mindset part of me comes out and empowers me to strive forward.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset does not really change in a sense that I always try to be better than I was the day before. I like to be optimistic and find out what I can do to improve, rather than just believe that I can come out on top because I have before. Unfortunately, sometimes, the small part of me that does have the characteristics of a fixed mindset does hold me back. I have always been the type of student that succeeds very well, but has to put a lot of work in. I have never been the type of student that gets good grades without trying. Because of this, I sometimes put myself down and don't believe that I can do as well as I should. Whenever I tell myself this, however, I quickly adjust back to my growth mindset because I know that without it, I would not ever improve. I use both my strengths and my setbacks, and move forward from there. It's important to know that you have limits, but it is also important to know that those limits don't have to hold you back; instead, I use the limits that I possess to eventually push through them.
-Shaniuk, B 7/8
I would like to say I’m completely a growth mindset, but I know that is not true. I believe in many aspects I do have a growth mindset, but in some ways I have a very fixed mindset. I do like to believe I have natural abilities in some areas, but I value the importance of working hard in the face of failure. When I succeed at something, I like to think it is a combination of natural talent and hard work, for example school or lacrosse. However, being a perfectionist, I am my own worst critic, so when I fail I am very hard on myself. In my head I think “Dang it Ellen, what’s wrong with you, you can do better.” But I also think of things I can do the next time around that would improve my performance, this is the growth mindset part of me.
ReplyDeleteI think my mind set has changed over the years, because for years as a child I was encouraged to try everything, and to give everything a shot. My parents did not let me quit things, which taught me how to cope with failures productively. However as I got older, it seemed that everyone liked to seem as though they didn’t try at things, or work hard. Everyone liked to give off the impression that they were born out of the womb doing AP Calculus and running five minute miles. I tried to also fit this mold and pretend that I never studied or worked hard, but now I accept that I must work for things and that not all things can be achieved by simply faking it. I believed the only way to change your mind set it to understand what your mindset truly is, as I realized when I had a fixed mindset, and to accept it. I think you must know what your mindset is before you can do anything to change it, and once you know what your mindset is you must try to think of things in an open way, and have a positive attitude.
Florek, E 7/8
I think that I have more of a growth mind set. I know that nobody is perfect and people are always trying to change and better themselves. But, I posses qualities of both mind sets. What determines which mind set you have more of is your negative and positive experiences. I have many positive experiences in my life but also some negative. I know I am the most critical person in my life. I never think what I do is good enough and always strive to be better. If I get a bad grade on a test or essay I try extra hard the text time.
ReplyDeleteA fixed mindset is much more helpful than a growth mindset. If you are trying to always make your abilities better than you will continue to grow. Since I am not as good in math and science as I am in language arts and history I think I have a growth mindset. I’m constantly trying to better myself in those subjects while in language arts and history I am naturally good at them. Having a fixed mindset in language arts and history sometimes affects me negatively. If I get a bad grade in those subjects I think to myself I’ll do better next time, and don’t try as hard. I have to really focus and make myself try harder in those subjects so I can do my best.
The mindset I believe that I have is a strong mix between fixed and growth. I believe that this is so because I believe that I can achieve anything that I set my mind to, but that there are certain things that I'll never be able to do. This is a horrible mindset to have, yet it is how I think. I would love to change it. For example, I believe that I am not a math person, which according to the video indicates that I have a fixed mindset. It is hard to change my way of thinking about that when I am not the strongest in that area.
ReplyDeleteDespitethe certain limitations that I set for myself, I honestly am a hopeful person and don't believe that I can't achieve anything that I want. I believe that I can be extremely successful despite any past occurances and the internal dialogue inside my head is very positive. My mindest works in a way that if I want to do something, I do it well. But if I don't want to do it, even slightly, then it all goes downhill. It's black and white, never gray. A way that I can change my mindset is to believe in myself more in certain areas. I'd like to adopt more of a growth mindset rather than a fixed one.
Javorsky, R 2
I believe that the majority of my mindset is growth, but unfortunately, up to a point, it is also fixed. Being perfectly honest, I am sometimes very arrogant in my intelligence, and I believe that I am very smart. Classes were always very easy for me in middle school, and once I got to high school, I had to start putting in a little more effort, but not much. I thought I was a “natural.” My internal dialogue would favor a fixed mindset, and when I did not get a good grade, I would be very ashamed of it. Over the last couple of years, I have taken some of the hardest classes of my life, and I believe that they have made me a better person in my behavior and have changed my fixed mindset. I have had to put in a great deal of effort, and that has made me a better student. I have transitioned to a growth mindset over the years because I now realize that I will not be able to breeze by on my “natural ability” alone. I need to put in the effort in order to receive the grades that will reflect my true intelligence. And I think that realizing that you need to start putting in more effort makes you all the more intelligent.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before, I have realized that I need to put in the effort, and in some classes, I do. I love language arts, and I want to put in the effort there, so I do. I love writing and reading and all that, so it is easier for me to choose to put in the effort because I enjoy it. However, in classes such as science, it is more difficult for me to find the motivation to put in that extra effort, even though I desperately need to. I do not enjoy the class, and, though I know internally that I need to put in the effort to get a good grade, it is so difficult. The fixed mindset takes over and tells me, “It’s okay. You don’t need to work at it. You’re naturally smart enough to get by.” I need to change this. And I believe that I can change this by working up that extra motivation and realizing that I will not get a good enough grade unless I work hard at it. As Eduardo Briceno said in the video, “When we understand how to develop our abilities, we strengthen our conviction that we are in charge of them” (10:16). I am coming to realize that I am able to develop the abilities I need in order to be successful by studying hard and completing all the work. And this is empowering. By realizing that all I have to do is put in that extra effort, that extra time, I know that I can do well. I have the basic intelligence to pass the class, now all I need to do is utilize that intelligence and really work for it. And that is a growth mindset in action.
-Dushek, K 2˚
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ReplyDeleteI think, now, more often than not my internal dialogue is an asset. It empowers me and reminds me of my potential. Whether or not I favor one mindset over another is situational. For a very long time I was told over and over that I’m smart. I’m smart, I’m smart, I’m smart. I was very fixed on that and I got used to doing well at things when it came to school and academics. Then I took my first truly challenging math class, Honors Pre-Calculus, and got an F on a test towards the beginning of the year… Suddenly I didn’t feel so smart anymore. It was around that time that I realized that I’m not going to be amazing at every single thing that I do, and that is okay. So I swallowed my pride and started seeing a tutor. I stopped dwelling on what I did wrong and started thinking in terms of “What can I gain from this to do better next time?” This way of thinking carried over into most realms of my life and I think I am a more mentally healthy student as a result.
ReplyDeleteI admit, sometimes I have to actively make myself change the way that I am thinking. Even now, when things get tough it is really easy for me to just slip into that little state of depression and accept that I can’t do any better than I did. But I try my best to look past the failure and think “Okay, what is my next opportunity to pick that grade up?” or “Can I get help from someone that understands the coursework better than me?” I think a big part of learning is accepting that you are far from perfect. It allows room for growth and that is the trick to gaining knowledge if you ask me.
- Graf, A. 2*
Every human being posses the power to have a growth mindset, when steered in the right direction. Growing up my mom never told me I had to get A’s or I was grounded, instead I just always had to try my hardest. I was used to this being the way I thought and was never super focused on what grades I got, and as I result I always got good grades. When I entered high school however there was a lot of outside pressure to get good grades other wise I was not going to get into college. I started to do only what I needed to get myself the A, not actually truly taking from experiences as a whole. Everyone would love to say that they are completely growth mindset, but that simply is not true. In schoolings we are trained to think that failures are unacceptable, it makes you less likely to get in a good school. That is a great amount of pressure to put on students, so most of us tend to get into that fixed mindset. Not to say that there are not days when I know better. I do sometimes I am able to take a step back from it all and realize that one bad grade is not going to kill me as long as I learn from it.
ReplyDeleteMindset can either empower you to do better, or tear you down. I do not think that if a person exerts more of one quality than another that will necessarily make them a success or failure. Everyone is motivated by something different, whether that is knowing you got a good grade or feeling that you learned from something is dependent upon the person. For me I feel that the voices in my head telling me I cant do something can make me my own worse enemy. When you are not confident in your own abilities you are inhibiting yourself from doing well. Sometimes it takes outside sources to tell you that you can do something in order to believe yourself. For me this is something I am working on, I shouldn’t need someone else to tell me what I can and can’t do I should trust that I can do them. I think in order to change that we have to ignore what society tells us. We have to do things even when we are told we won’t be able to. This can be hard but when it truly comes down to it we are only on this earth for a short period of time what do we have to lose.
Sansone, A 2nd
I think that my mindset, like most others, is probably fixed with some subjects and growth with others. I come from a family of engineers; therefore, my mindset when it comes to math is rather fixed. I just have a natural proficiency for math where I’ve never had to work particularly hard to get an A. Also, I think that I’ve grown up knowing that if I don’t understand a concept right away, I don’t have to study really hard to get it down because there’s probably someone at home who can tell me about it. When it comes to english and history, I think that I have a more growth mindset because I have a natural sort of curiosity about them. I genuinely enjoy learning and improving my mental capacity for these subjects, therefore I have developed good habits in these areas. My internal dialogue hinders me when it comes to math and science as I am sure that I have gone so long with no study habits whatsoever in these subjects that when I am confronted with a situation where I actually have to study hard to get an A I will not be able to or it will be so much harder for that I have to start from the beginning in developing a way to study.
ReplyDeleteI think that if I wanted to change my mindset it would be excruciatingly hard. It is so much harder to break habits than to form them. I think that changing my mindset would require constant supervision- that I would have to be constantly thinking about it. At this point, I think mindset is more a form or habit than anything. It’s like quitting drinking, if you give in just once, you’ve destroyed months of good behavior.
Jankovsky, A. 7-8*
One of the worst things in life is choosing between two different things, as to which one do you fit under. If I had to pick I would say I fall under a fixed mindset currently, however that is not entirely true. Sometimes I have this thirst for knowledge where I want to absorb every drop or information I can, and other times I feel like I have been wasting my time all these years on learning things just to forget them later.
ReplyDeleteWhen I don't know a word on a worksheet, or in a lecture, or anywhere I write it down and look it up later. That's the kind of person I am, I need to know what is happening around me so I'm not an unactive participant just wandering around letting things pass me by without any question as to why. I feel as if this type of behavior fits under the growth mindset category.
There are other times, where when I get an audition rejection letter, or a poor grade on a test I have an immediate "I hate everything" reaction. I get extremely frustrated with myself and I go into state of panic worrying that the structure of my entire future will come crashing down with one minor setback. This could be described as a fixed mindset.
However, after my usual initial breakdown I get back down to work and try to stitch together the torn pieces of everything. I push a little harder, I reach a little farther, and things usually turn out better.
So one could say my mindset is very inconsistent in about every aspect of my life. I should probably try changing the way I think sooner or later to avoid so much unnecessary stress and pain that comes with the inconsistency. The video almost felt like a cold-truthed scare tactic rather than an inspirational video to have a better life. Sometimes people freak out and have breakdowns worrying that everything going wrong (or the failure they possess) is going to ruin them. This is just a part of life and life would probably be boring without times like this. Could you imagine if you were always happy or always content with yourself? Where would the space for self-improvements be? I just felt as if the video was ridiculing those of us who don't have the "ideal" mindset for success. Everyone is different and has their own way of thinking, and success isn't always determined by how high a test score is, or how high someones salary is. Apparently from the video's standpoint I need to change my mindset, but in my own opinion I don't believe I do.
-Bethany W 2nd period
I will admit it, after watching this video it made me realize that I have a fixed mindset. I let myself believe that if I’m not smart enough, there is no room for improvement. I am so self-conscious about my intelligence. I am always wondering if I am smart enough. I let my internal dialogue talk myself out of saying my thoughts constantly. I might want to give an answer in class, but then I will talk myself out of it in risk of sounding stupid. I feel that by allowing my mind to perform this way, I am shutting myself out from a lot of knowledge and growth. I should be allowing doors to open within my mind, and to achieve a higher level of knowledge. But sadly, with some subjects I am a coward in.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset changes I suppose, depending on the subject. I excel in any science classes, so as a result I am inspired to learn more. When I feel comfortable in a class, I also change into a different mindset. When I love the class I am in, I get comfortable and want to learn. But if I am in a math class, I easily get discouraged. So in all, it depends on my level of comfort. I think I could change my mind set by completely understanding that it is okay to be wrong. I always feel like if I am wrong I will be looked down upon, but that is not the case. Once I face that fact, I believe I will be able to increase my learning growth.
Reva 7/8
My mindset would consist of growth. I always feel that there is need for improvement and it will not be accomplished unless you want it to happen. For example, if I want to get an A on a test, I know that I cannot sit there and tell myself that I already know everything about the topic, or (coming from the complete opposite end), that it is highly impossible for me to even be smart. So I study and study until I feel confident enough inside that the information has been reciprocated and instilled into my brain. Or like even when I first started my job, I did not walk into the place thinking that I owned it and did not need someone to train me, and even each day, I am growing and becoming better at it. Putting yourself down or thinking that you will never achieve or learn a new trade is going to get one no where in life.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset is pretty consistent, unless I am having a terrible day and everything just seems to be going wrong. Then I just want to stop what I am doing and take a break til the motivation level goes back up. One can change their mindset by having influences and encourgagement/discouragement from family or peers. If one is born into a home where they want their child to suceed in school and become a high ranking scholar, then from a young age, they will raise them as being serious about acting good and maintaining top grades. On the otherhand, if the mother/father is strict and too over protective, they can turn rebellious. Also, acts of disapproving over their special interests could make self esteems go plumeting. Therefore staying true to what one wants to achieve in life and having that future goal in their hand, will make them have a mindset of growth, which I belive is a thousand times more free than fixed.
Asturi V, 7/8
I can't say I enjoy this week's blog, having to discover that I do have a very fixed mindset. Knowing that I confine my thinking is not a happy thought, but it's the truth. My internal dialogue is definitely what keeps me at a fixed mindset. Though my fixed mindset is mainly on school. I have a growth mindset when it comes to life skills, I love learning new things, discovering new ways to do things and exploring. Life skills are very important to me, creating relationships and gaining world knowledge are all very important to me, for which I have a growth mindset. My inner dialogue tells me to learn new things and discover the world. I have pretty happy inner dialogue when it comes to applied knowledge. My inner dialogue is very negative when it comes to school. I often accept my grades because I'm just a "B Student", because of my fixed mindset I don't try harder or study longer. I've turned away from opportunities because my fixed mindset has told me I am not smart enough to succeed.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset changes depending on what I am learning. If I am trying to learn something for school or choose a class, my mindset stays fixed. I continue to feel as though I will stay the same way forever. When I am in a real life setting, such as learning how to change a tire or training for a job, I have a growth mindset. I feel like I can achieve those things and continue to grow and learn more. My growth mindset has helped me learn many things, it has help me grow as a well rounded person. My fixed mindset as prevented me from taking certain classes, or studying for tests because it has me content with where I am at, though there is much room for improvement. I can change my mindset by working harder to improve instead of being content with meritocracy. Which will be very hard for me because my fixed mindset is set on average, but if I want to have a growth mindset I need to focus on working harder to achieve more.
Parey C 7/9
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I am somewhere in the middle of a fixed and growth mindset - I possess certain characteristics of both. One quality that makes me think that I have a fixed mindset is that I thrive off of affirmation. I often feel that I did not do well enough or that I failed in some way if someone does not give me positive feedback. But then when I think about it, if I am do not meet my standards or others, I look to those holding the most knowledge and seek their help to improve. That drive to get better and to not give up shows evidence of a growth mindset. It might seem like I am trying to take the easy way out of answering this question, but I am honestly having a hard time deciding which mindset to categorize myself as. I watched this video a few days ago and have struggled as I have thought about the characteristics of each. I’m just going to have to stick with what I said before: my mindset shows characteristics of being both fixed and growth, it just depends on the situation.
ReplyDeleteThere are times when the fixed mindset part of me really causes me to struggle when preparing for tests. Sometimes, instead of studying as much as I should, I will tell myself that I will be fine without studying, that I have enough knowledge to ace the test without putting in the effort. But then some other part of me kicks in. I don’t know that it is necessarily a growth mindset, but there is a little voice in my head that causes me to have some anxiety if I choose not to study, ultimately leading me to do some sort of extra preparation before an assessment. As I mentioned before, affirmation is important to me and helps me gauge my success. After that feedback (whether positive or negative), I am able to learn from the situation and grow to become better at whatever task had been completed, thus demonstrating a growth mindset. I believe this helps me grow as a person and helps me achieve more of the goals I have set for myself. I will never settle for less than what I know I can achieve. In order to change my mindset to become less on the fence and more towards growth, I would need to allow myself to go through challenges without feeling the need to impress those around me. I would need to experience instances where I may fail, but I would need to allow myself to be alright with that and keep in mind that every situation, good or bad, would be helping me grow into a better person.
Woods, L 2
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ReplyDeleteI believe that I am a part of the growth mindset now. I used to be a part of the fixed mindset because I often felt that if I was unable to do something the first time then I would never be capable of it. In math or science if I didn't understand a topic then I felt like I would never be able to, and then I would just say, "I can't." If I received a bad grade, I would just think that it sucked, and hope I did better the next time. Over the past couple of years though I've been pushed out of my comfort zone by teachers, friends and my parents, and it helped me realize that I don't have to be good at everything I try. They have helped me develop a growth mind set. They offered information on things I can do better, and why I should not give up on anything. Now when I go into math and science. I try every way I can to get the answer, and if I still do not get it right then I will try again.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset is helping me achieve progress because I want to do well not only in school but in things outside of that. I don't want to stay at a constant, I want to get better and try new and harder things. I always want to know how to improve on something because there is always something to improve. Whether it is writing an essay or playing a difficult piece I want to do my best. The way my mindset changed was because of people pushing me and the things they said to me. They would say, "It was good but…" I learned how to react to things differently. I take every opportunity as an experience to learn, rather than doing nothing.
LoDolce, A 7/8
I can definetely say I have a growth mindset. In every aspect of my life whether it be school related or at home, I always keep an open mind to learn new things and when I do make a mistake, I learn from it and I definetely don't let it get to me. I learn from it and grow in my actions. However, somewhere I do feel I have a fixed mindset is at my workplace. There I don't feel there is room for mistakes and try my best to excel there everday. My inner dialogue now that I think about it is very positive. Sometimes too positive and that will at times make me take certain things a little too lightly.
ReplyDeleteMy growth mindset has given me the chance to take on many new opportunities that have been risky but that have helped me be the person I am today. My very small fixed mindset has allowed me to be very hard working and value every penny I make at work. I can change my mindset by being more serious about things and shying away from opportunities but I don't want to. It will be a very different change and I feel like I would be more negative.
In certain areas, such as the more academic areas, I am a fixed mindset person. But in other areas, such as the arts, I am a growth mindset person. I definitely believe that my internal dialogue sways more towards the fixed mindset persona when I receive a bad grade. I automatically attest it to a lack of ability, not that I should simply work harder. However, when it comes to choir, which I’m very passionate about, I am constantly pushing myself harder and if things go wrong, I work and work and work until it is correct. My mindset tends to stay consistent if I don’t change something. It’s as if there’s a switch within me that begins to work harder and push myself to put in the effort instead of just relying on my ability to retain information without practice.
ReplyDeleteMy mindset tends to halt my progress in certain situations. When it comes to hard AP classes, it is hard for me to simply rely on my abilities to just pass under the radar. That isn’t enough anymore. This knowledge pushes me to put in more and more effort and overcome different barriers. However, in classes which I believe shouldn’t take so much effort, when I slip a little bit, I tend to get angry with myself and blame my incapability rather than the fact that I didn’t put the effort in. I can change my mindset by treating everything the way I treat things that hold more merit. While it is obvious some classes don’t hold as much weight, they all require some effort and thinking. Instead of saving myself and putting in the effort in only certain places, I can continue to push myself and rise to giving just as much effort all around.
- Gettle, B 2
I don’t think that it is feasible to categorize mindset as two specific entities. Personally, I think that my mindset is a combination of both fixed and growth, with a variety of variables that play into each. Whether I am in a fixed mindset or a growth mindset depends on the mood I’m in, my level of motivation, and if I take an interest in what I am learning. When I am interested and motivated I tend to have more of a growth mindset, while when I am uninterested and unmotivated I tend to have more of a fixed mindset. The inconsistency with my mindset often times varies day by day. I would like to think that my own internal dialogue empowers me, regardless of the mindset I am in. Although a fixed mindset is viewed as the lesser mindset, I think that having the ability to think within both mindsets is beneficial.
ReplyDeleteNot only do I dictate the type of mindset I am in, society has played a role. In the age where standardized testing has become necessary and frequent, students have adopted a fixed mindset within the parameters of testing and school. As a student myself, in all my years of schooling I have been taught to strive for certain test scores. Coupled with this, most teachers tend to teach to the tests so that students can achieve certain scores, which leads teachers to often cut out valuable or interesting information that a teacher may want to share. Although many people consider standardized testing negative, I think that having a fixed mindset in regards to testing can be beneficial at times. From a young age I was always striving to have the best test scores and even now achieving a certain score on standardized tests has become a goal of mine, such as scoring high on the ACT. Whether it be a fixed mindset or a growth mindset, I think that mindset can be chosen based on an individual’s preference and their environment. Working hard and “thinking outside of the box” can help me to change my mindset so that I can learn more about myself and the world around me.
Aguinaga, C 7/8*
After having watched this video on mindset, I’ve realized that I have a very fixed mindset. I am constantly worried about being judged by others, and I allow this to affect my performances. Although I know in my heart that I can always push myself to do better and I can always improve upon all of the weaker skills I have, my mind refuses to believe that I can be anything more than what I am. I catch myself on a regular basis trying to convince myself that I have failed far too many times to ever be better. I do this with my work, school, vocal, and athletic abilities. My mind has fixed itself to think that I could never improve upon something that I am so bad at. This weakens my ability to progress in many things. Once I fall down, I think I’m too deep to get back up. As a result, the next time I try to do a task in which I performed poorly the first time, I tend to do equally as poor or even worse.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, my mindset is consistent. Occasionally, however, it switches to the opposing view. I have a good day every once in a while where I hold more of a growth mindset. On these days, I notice an obvious growth in skills almost immediately. This helps me to achieve goals much more rapidly. Lately, I have been trying to change my mindset to a more positive, growth-like outlook. I can continue to do so by reviewing the fixed and the growth outcomes of the situation. If I look at all the good things that may come if I change to a consistent growth mindset, I will begin to focus more on learning and less on judgment. This will help me to do better and be better, as I someday hope for.
Cruse, S 2
I would have to say that I have a growth mindset. I believe that my inner discourse often promotes this mindset through a desire to learn about new things, a sense of curiosity if you will. This inherent curiosity promotes this mindset because my curiosity drives me to try new things, and to try new things, on some level, I must anticipate one day being good at the novel thing I am trying. This attitude is fairly consistent. There are times when I doubt myself and question whether or not I should be involved in whatever it is I am doing, but I always try to refrain from having this attitude. I think that in thinking you cannot do something you limit yourself and what you can become; a fixed mindset impedes one’s journey towards realizing their full potential. To me there is rarely any other way to think about things. So my mindset is almost always an evolving one.
ReplyDeleteMindset is perhaps the biggest element in achieving a goal; it is the foundation of accomplishing goals. In this regard, having a growth mindset is crucial to having successes, no matter how small, in life. A growth mindset will allow for goals to be achieved because within this mindset failures are an acceptable condition. Whereas in a fixed mindset failures are catastrophic. For myself, this mindset allows goal setting and eventual achievement, because I recognize that I will fail I am more ready to cope with failures as they come, and consequentially am more prepared for the passage to a given goal. I do not want to change my mindset, I am open to it’s eminent evolution, but in general I do not want to stray from the growth mindset. My mindset will grow with time because I choose to allow growth by being open to new things without the fear of failures holding me back. This openness allows for my growth mindset to continue to expand and develop as my life goes on.
Bruggeman J, 7/8th