Positive Growth Mindset

Have You Got a Fixed Mind-Set or a Growth Mind-Set?

Alfred Binet(1857-1911)

"Some recent philosophers seem to have given their moral approval to these deplorable verdicts that affirm that the intelligence of an individual is a fixed quantity, a quantity that cannot be augmented. We must protest and react against this brutal pessimism; we will try to demonstrate that it is founded on nothing."

Alfred Binet, Les idées modernes sur les enfants, 1909

Inventor of the IQ Test

Did you know?

Did you know that your attitude to intelligence and learning can affect your academic success? Many of us believe that people are either intelligent and talented or that they are not. They believe that this so called 'fact' will determine how well we do at school. Some people are smart, some people are not and that this is somehow fixed from the day we are born. However, years of scientific research into education and learning have shown that this is simply NOT TRUE. Stanford University Psychology Professor Carol Dweck conducted research over 30 years into this issue. She described two basic type of people when it comes to attitudes to learning: those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. Her theory of learning is supported by the biology of our brains-how our brains actually work-something called brain plasticity-look it up! Basically, imagine your brain like the water pipes in a city. Imagine there is a problem with the water supply. To fix it, we might dig up the old pipes or lay new pipes to make new connections for the water to flow better and get where it needs to go. Our brain is like that.

So what's the difference?

The basic difference between each type of mindset is as follows:

A person with a fixed mindset believes that intelligence is fixed. Yes I learn new things (for example I start studying French this year) but how well I do is limited by my natural fixed ability.

In contrast, a person with a growth mindset understands that our intelligence can be developed-it can GROW and change over time. We can become more intelligent!

"Love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort and keep on learning"

Carol Dweck

Does this mean that everybody can become a genius like Einstein? No, not necessarily. But it does mean that everybody-everybody-can get better, can improve and can grow. That's not just inspirational words-its our biology.

How do I know what my mindset is?

Firstly, with very few exceptions, nobody is only one type of mindset or another. Like everything, most of us are a bit of one and a bit of the other. Secondly, we have developed our mindsets through our experiences or the things we have heard or been told over the years. Some of the ideas in this graphic might or might not be true about you. Perhaps you are a mix of both?

It doesn't actually matter. What matters is knowing there is a difference.

So what is the secret? Can I develop a growth mindset?

Here's the good news! There is no secret. It's just science. Think of your brain and your intelligence as a muscle. Just like any muscle, if you train it, if you practice, it will GROW and get stronger. Just as in sport or any area of activity, it requires FOCUS, EFFORT and COMMITMENT to get better.

Knowing that you can actually change and get smarter (because that's how our brain's really work) is where you start. Start with this little change and go from here. Stop saying to yourself 'I can't' or listening to others tell you that 'you can't'. Say to yourself and to them-'I can't...yet!'

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