Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
Dweck, Carol S. 2008. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books.
You should read this book if you are a parent, a partner, a coach, a teacher, or a business person. It teaches us about growth. It teaches us to help others—our children, spouse, students, athletes, or employees—grow. In fact, Carol Dweck teaches us all that we can be much more every day, all by simply taking a more-productive attitude.
She writes:
Can anyone do anything? I don’t really know. However, I think we can now agree that people can do a lot more than first meets the eye.
Sometimes, the result of Dweck’s research will surprise you. Here’s an example:
After seven experiments with hundreds of children, we had some of the clearest findings I’ve ever seen: Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.
That’s right: Telling kids how smart they are will not lead to better performance. In fact, it degrades their performance in most cases, because the kids start to rely on being naturally smart, instead of exercising their brains. If parents praise kids for hard work, on the other hand, Dweck finds that kids really take off.
It’s a great book—one that can change your life and the lives of people around you.