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# Mindset

Book - [Mindset: The New Psychology of Success](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset)

## The Mindsets

* Alfred Binet invented IQ tests to improve education system in France at the time.
* Gene expression requires input from the environment to work properly.
* How people achieve expertise *is not some fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement* - Robert Sternberg.
* There two broad categories to which people fall under,
  * Fixed mindset - thinks one's intelligence is something very basic about

    onself and is thus fixed which one cannot change very much.
  * Growth mindset - thinks that one can change and grow and get smarter along

    the process.

## Inside the Mindsets

* Fixed mindset
  * Dislikes change
  * Needs validation and thinks 
* Growth mindset
  * Relishes challenges which can stretch them
  * Not afraid to fail and learn from mistakes
* Quote from 1960s

  > Becoming is better than being
* Coping with failure without thinking that it is a fixed state one's fated to is one of the hallmarks of a growth mindset
* Growth mindset allows people to value what they are doing *\_regardless of the outcome*.

## The truth about ability and accomplishment

* Thomas Edison, Mozart, Darwin and countless others spent a great deal of time labouring and perfecting their works which we recognise today as productions of genius.
* Growth mindset is about studying to learn and not just to ace tests.
* Major part of gifted people with growth mindset is that their endless curiosity and challenge seeking.
* Even art and artists when examined closely reveals how much training and effort goes into producing the masterworks. A great example would be Jackson Pollock.
* Praise can be a harbinger of fixed mindset if it is directed at the results or talent and *not* the efforts.

## Sports: The mindset of a champion

* Character in sports

  > Character is the ability to dig down and find the strength even when things are going against you
* Mark of a champion is the ability to win when things are not quite right
* Growth mindset people found success in doing their best, in learning and improving
* Growth mindset people found setbacks motivating
* Growth mindset people took charge of the processes that bring success and that which maintain it
* Sports greatness, 

  > Even though the finest athletes are wildly competitive and want to be the best, greatness does not come from the ego of the fixed mindset, with its somebody–nobody syndrome.

## Business: Mindset and Leadership

* A company that cannot self-correct cannot thrive - example from Enron
* The type of the leader at the helm of a company matters a lot. 
* Leaders who have the growth mindset, who are *self-effacing, who constantly asked questions and had the ability to confront the most brutal answered* had the most impact on their companies successes.
* It is not about proving themselves but constantly trying to improve themselves.
* Growth-minded leaders, have a belief in human potential and development - both their own and other people’s.
* True self-confidence is "the courage to be open - to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source"
* Growth minded managers believe that skills are learnable, including negotiation skills.

## Relationships: Mindsets in Love (or not)

* When people had fixed mindset, they felt judged and labeled by rejection
* Fixed mindset people are set on hurting
* To understand all is to forgive all

  > Tout comprendre c'est tout pardonner
* Growth mindset people care more about understanding, forgiving and moving on
* [Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26329.Emotional_Intelligence) - book is recommneded
* Growth mindset can be applied to yourself, your partner and the relationships themselves
* Thinking following is a destructive in a relationship,

  > “If we need to work at it, there’s something seriously wrong with our relationship.”
* Daniel Wile, a relationship expert,

  > choosing a partner is choosing a set of problems The trick is to acknowledge each other's limitations, and build from there

## Parents, teachers, and coaches: Where do mindsets come from?

* Praising efforts rather than *innate* ability is a better way to go about giving recognition for kids.
* Offering constructive criticism is the best course of action.
* Teachers should not be judgemental.
* Great teachers love to learn and teaching is a way of learning. Feynmann believed in the same concept.
* Coach John Wooden,

  > “You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better.”

## Changing mindsets

* Keeping track of the internal monologue is pretty important.
* Thinking differently has to be inculcated for a growth mindset.
* A growht mindset approach can be applied for learning growth mindset as well!
* All of us both mindsets. So it is important to understand what triggers each type.
* Things to always keep in mind,

  > What are the opportunities for learning and growth today? For myself? For the people around me?
  >
  > When, where, and how will I embark on my plan?
  >
  > When, where, and how will I act on my new plan?
  >
  > What do I have to do to maintain and continue the growth?