Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training.
People often confuse a growth mindset with being flexible or open-minded or with having a positive outlook - qualities they believe they've simply always had. My colleagues and I call this a false growth mindset.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A growth mindset is more than just being positive or flexible; it's a deliberate approach to learning and embracing challenges.
In this quote, Carol S. Dweck highlights the distinction between a genuine growth mindset and what she terms a 'false growth mindset.' She emphasizes that while qualities like flexibility and positivity are admirable, they do not alone equate to a true growth mindset, which involves actively engaging in learning and seeking personal development. People may mistakenly believe they possess a growth mindset simply because they have these traits, but it requires a more intentional commitment to growth and improvement.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational talk about personal development, I would use this quote to emphasize the importance of true learning and growth.
More from Carol S. Dweck
All quotes →Some students start thinking of their intelligence as something fixed, as carved in stone. They worry about, 'Do I have enough? Don't I have enough?'
In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you're not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn't need effort. In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented.
Our message to parents is to focus on the process the child engages in, such as trying hard or focusing on the task - what specific things they're doing rather than, 'You're so smart. You're so good at this.' Although it's never too late to change, what you do early matters.
Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
I loved everything. I loved sciences and I loved humanities. But ultimately, I felt that in the humanities, you know, you're writing about things that already exist. But in the sciences, you're discovering things that no one has known before. Ultimately I chose psychology because it seemed to combine science with things that I liked to think about.
Similar quotes
If you vanquish ego-clinging today, tonight you will be enlightened.
Defy the crowd. The crowd isn’t always wise. It can also lead you down a path of silliness, sub-optimal choices, and downright destruction. Enchantment is as necessary for people to diverge from a crowd as it is to get people to join one.
I think forgiveness is probably one of the greatest forms of self-love there is because you don't do forgiveness for anybody else. My captors will never care if I forgive them... It will not make a day of difference to them at all, but it will make a huge difference to me.
Meditation gives you the wherewithal to pause, observe how easily the mind can exaggerate the severity of a setback, and resist getting drawn into the abyss.
The melancholy joys of evils pass'd, For he who much has suffer'd, much will know.
You will become a teacher of yourself when for the same things that you blame others, you also blame yourself.