#59 Entity Mindset vs Incremental Mindset

ByLukas
| | |

Do you believe you’re good at something solely because of talent, invalidating all the work you’re putting in?

Or do you believe you can change the course of your life, and let your daily actions shape who you are?

The American psychologist and author of the book “Mindset” Carol Dweck describes how the way you think about your abilities can make or break your success in life:

  • Entity (fixed) mindset: “I’m good at languages, I’m bad at math”
  • Incremental (growth) mindset: “I worked hard on this, I’m learning, I’m discovering how to do this”

An entity mindset makes you run into a wall

When things get tough, people with an entity mindset often give up, because they don’t truly believe they can get much better.

After all,I if you believe it’s all about innate ability, then why make any effort to develop strengths or weaknesses?

An entity mindset also leads to fear of failure and perfectionism. If you’re believed to have an innate, fixed talent that’s set in stone, you’ll constantly need to live up to an unreasonably high standard for that particular talent.

An incremental mindset makes you thrive

People with an incremental mindset, on the other hand, thrive in tough situations: they know that through perseverance and a focus on daily practice and perseverance they can develop their skills and talents.

Even if predisposition plays an important role, switching to an incremental mindset will always make you feel better about yourself and your daily actions.

And while education and childhood experiences have a large impact on your mindset – you can always change your mind – by changing your actions.

Similar Posts

  • #4 When the best story in the world has already been written…

    ByLukas

    When the best story in the world has already been written… why do I write?

    Because writing is not a choice – and neither is telling stories.

    Because stories are never finished.

    Because the best stories in the world are written over and over again.

    Because a story well-told depends on who you’re telling it to.

    Because we all tell the same stories anyway, but that one little change, that one new interpretation can make the difference between touching someone or missing the mark.

    But what IS the best story in the world?

    I don’t know.

    I do know they don’t have to be very elaborate to have impact:

    For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

    Ernest Hemingway

    When someone, sometime, stumbled upon six words that can evoke so much… How can I NOT continue my own search for stories and the words to tell them?

    P.S.: Credits to Jony Mitchell for writing the best song in the world.

    P.P.S: Extra credits for singing the most heartfelt version even after suffering a stroke and having to relearn to talk and sing.

    P.P.P.S.: Credits to The Tallest Man on Earth for showing that a new interpretation can make even the best song in the world reach new heights, and providing the inspiration for this post.

  • | |

    #48 Volume matters

    ByLukas

    The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes (the “vital few”).

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

    I’m okay with publishing 80% rubbish if that’s what it takes to stumble upon something good.

    But if only 20% of what I publish is any good, and I publish one post a week, then on average, I’ll only publish something insightful once every five weeks.

    If I publish once a day, then on average, I’ll publish something insightful more than once a week.

    This is why I’m okay with publishing a daily blog post.

    It’ also why I write pages and pages of stream-of-consciousness journaling every day, most of it rubbish, whining, scattered thoughts, if that’s what it takes to get to that one insight or breakthrough. Sculpting away, day by day.

    Write more rubbish, and you’ll write more good stuff too.

    Volume matters.

  • #277 Feel the words

    ByLukas

    If you know what you want to say but you can’t find the words yet, write without thinking about the words.

    Write while thinking about the feeling.

    Allow yourself to feel it first.

    Feel it fully, then write the words.

    Feel it fully, let stream-of-consciousness words come out..

    Feel it fully, then start sculpting away.

    Keep feeling it, and keep writing about it. Every day. Because sooner or later, feeling the words words will reveal what you want to say.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *