Working with a growth mindset.
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Notes
“So far” and “not yet” describe every learning experience from childhood on.
“Persistent and consistent effort over time can yield results.”
Thoughts
This is right in line with Carol Dweck’s concept of mindsets (from her TED Talk and book, and which I’ve written about before): the notion that, with effort, we can grow our intelligence and, by extension, skills.
More important, what people believe about that fact matters: a person with a fixed mindset, who believes that intelligence (or skill, etc.) is set in stone, will engage in behaviors that almost guarantee that this will be a self-fulfilling prophecy, while those with a growth mindset will engage in behaviors that make success at least possible. (Seth is one of the few I’ve seen who acknowledges that a growth mindset isn’t a guarantee—as he said, effort can yield results. But effort almost requires a growth mindset.)
Seth’s contribution is to demonstrate that growth is natural. We witness it all the time, from childhood on. In some ways, it’s amazing that so many of us—and I count myself among that “us,” sadly—come to tell ourselves the fixed-mindset story. And that story leads to actions that make the story true (or, at least, make it seem true). Until we tell the different story—and, again, one that actually has a lot of evidence to support it—we’ll avoid work.
This is why getting started is so important. There’s no “not yet” without movement.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.