Fixed vs Growth: Two Mindsets that Shape Our Lives

Years of research by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck highlights the power of our beliefs, both conscious and unconscious, in shaping almost every aspect of our lives. "One of the most basic beliefs we carry about ourselves...has to do with how we view and inhabit what we consider to be our personality. A 'fixed mindset' assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can't change in any meaningful way...A 'growth mindset,' on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Out of these two mindsets, which we manifest from a very early age, springs a great deal of our behavior, our relationship with success and failure in both professional and personal contexts, and ultimately our capacity for happiness."

http://www.dailygood.org/story/1145/fixed-vs-growth-the-two-basic-mindsets-that-shape-our-lives-maria-popova/