Customer Reviews

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

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Very interesting descriptions by Carol Dweck of the researches she undertook to better understand what motivates us, our kids. As a parent, the main lesson I retained from reading this book was that I had to change my way of complementing my kids. Based on all the evidence in the book, I've stopped commenting on the result, to focus on the process. I've actually trained myself to give useful feedback. "What a lovely drawing of a flower!" seems quite an unharmful compliment, doesn't it? But apparently, it leads our kids to stop venturing outside the drawing of flowers (What if my drawing of a cat is not as lovely?). A good feedback would be instead to say something in the lines of: "I love how you created a shadow around the petals." See? No judgement attached on the result. Mindset is filled with convincing examples presented in a simple style which reads like a breeze. Loved it!

I have used this with a professional book club and it has changed the group's view of themselves, their teaching, and their relations with family and colleagues. I also gave it out to 9 high school teams as summer reading and began the year with these groups checking their mindsets with reference to the many powerful anecdotes in the book.

Many books give you all the hints at how to live life but this one is unique in that you can actually act on it.

I read this book when it was first published (2006) and recently re-read it before reading Daniel Siegel's Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Presumably he shares my high regard for Carol Dweck's breakthrough insights, as countless other authors have duly acknowledged in books published in recent years. She focuses on two mindsets, one that is fixed and another that can be "grown" with appropriate development. Moreover, she also explains how and why it is possible to change one's mindset. "You have a choice. Mindsets are just beliefs. They're powerful beliefs, but they're just something in your mind, and you can change your mind. As you read [this book], think about where you'd like to go and which mindset will take you there." Long ago, Henry Ford observed, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right."

More recently, in Extraordinary Minds, Howard Gardner observes that exceptional individuals "have a special talent for identifying their own strengths and weaknesses." Dweck suggets that those with this talent seem to have a growth mindset. Readers will appreciate her strategic provision of a "Grow Your Mindset" section at the conclusion of each chapter. She poses direct questions, reviews key points, and suggests several different ways to think about how to expand and enrich mindsets to fulfill one's potential at home, at work, in the community, and wherever else has special relationships.

These are among the subjects, topics, and passages that caught my eye:

o "Is Success About Learning -- Or Proving You're Smart?" (Pages 16-17)
o "Mindsets Change the Meaning of Failure" (32-39)
o "Mindsets Change the Meaning of Effort" (39-44)
o "Negative Labels and How They Work" (74-80)
o "Leadership and the Fixed Mindset" (112-114)
o "Groupthink versus We Think" (134-136)
o "Mindsets Falling in Love" (148-157)
o "Bullies and Victims: Revenge Revisited" (165-171)
o "Sending Messages [to Children] About Process and Growth" (177-179)
o "Teachers (and Parents): What Makes a Great Teacher (or Parent)?" (193-202)

I am among those who think that Mindset is among the most important books published during the last decade. While re-reading it again, I was reminded of three key points that help to explain much of human behavior: First, that almost all limits are self-imposed; next, that there is much we cannot control or even influence but we [begin italics] can [end italics] control how we respond to what happens to us; finally, that taking full advantage of a growth mindset requires a commitment no less demanding in terms of its nature and extent than a commitment to peak performance. For example, revelations about such a commitment after decades of research by Anders Ericsson and his associates at Florida State University. (For more about that research, read his HBR article, "The Making of an Expert," and one or more of these books: Daniel Coyle's The Talent Code, Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and Geoff Golvin's Talent Is Overrated.) Thank you, Carol Dweck, for helping so many of us to gain a better understanding of who we are, and, of greater importance, of who and what we can perhaps become with a growth mindset.

I wish I read this article eons ago. But it is never too late to understand your past, control your present and re-create your future. This is truly a great foundation for human psychology, development and achievement.

I've only started this yesterday and had a hard time putting it down at 1am...

The book is well written and organized so anyone can read and understand the message - which is rewarding effort rather than accomplishments in order to feed the growth and promote further growth!

I think this book does one step better than most "motivational" books - it helps you understand why we are motivated and how best to motivate others.

I look forward to adopting the "growth mindset" and reducing the "fixed mindset" in every challenge of my life!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will read it again soon. It explains many things that I've experienced. I thought it also filled in questions that books on Positive Psychology either didn't answer well or didn't answer at all. The information is also practical in all aspects of life. In line with the author's research, most successful people that I've observed say the key to their success was their desire to continue learning and growing.

Very good book! As a parent of young children, it makes me reflect what I say to my kids. I want my kids to work hard and be motivated, and this book helps me guide my kids in that direction. Thank you for giving me a different mindset.

Dr. Carol Dwecks research and findings are insightful, practical, and applicable to us all. The book speaks of how each of us is currently using 1 of 2 Mindsets; the Fixed mindset or the Growth mindset. Once I understood the differences, I was able to determine which mindset was more prevalent in my daily activities and I could immediately see so much room for growth and development in my life.

I know you will too.

The examples provided help to make the definitions of the 2 mindsets clear and understandable. In particular, Dr. Dweck speaks how the mindsets are applied in business, sports, teaching and parenting. The book also gives you concrete and simple advice for capitalizing on a growth mindset and all it can bring to your lives.

My life is better, because I read this book.

This book takes positive parenting to a new level. It combines a nurturing approach with practical wisdom that shows the child that while brain potential is unlimited, it takes consistent effort and good strategies to develop skills and abilities.