Applying Growth Mindset to My Life

I have heard of the term growth mindset prior to listening to Carol Dweck's three short videos on growth mindset. However, this was the first time I have heard of Carol Dweck. My experience with the term growth mindset stems from my experience with the University of Minnesota baseball team. We use this term as a player development tool for our players to keep themselves motivated throughout the season and focused on the daily process of getting the right amount of sleep, nutrition, number of repetitions, maintaining team values, etc., instead of worrying  about the now and why factors for why things are not working out. As Carol discussed in her TED talk, individuals that engage in a growth mindset that are deeply connected, learn from their mistakes, and maintained an increased effort will succeed at a higher rate than a fixed mindset individual who only cares about the outcomes. To stray away from the fixed mindset, I believe implementing the diagram below could help to promote a long-term growth mindset.

(Growth Mindset Self-Talk Diagram by Kristin Wiens. Web Source: Twitter)

As for my lifestyle, I consider to sit on the growth mindset side of the spectrum. However, I would not necessarily rank myself too high on the growth mindset side as I am a person that will do what I need to succeed the first time and with a good grade. In addition, I do not mind when things are easy but I do realize that it doesn't take much effort which takes away from growing as an individual. However, when things get tough, I am a person that perseveres and increases there effort and attention span to complete the assigned task.

Relating to my time at the U, I would say the thing that I have learned the most from is putting a greater trust in myself that I will be able to get my assignments done on-time, with quality, and a meaning behind it. Putting an ultimate effort behind all homework, projects, and exams not only helped me out in the short-term but helped me out at a later time as well.

I am always up for learning more about different topics that relate to development of individuals. Since growth mindset falls underneath this category, I am excited to learn more about growth mindset and its effects on individuals not only in the classroom but in sports as well.

At the moment, my personal learning goal is to take a few pieces of information away from the class that could eventually benefit me in the coaching field that is related to player development.

Moving on to the last bullet point, growth mindset should be implemented or used with caution. This is because of the aspect of praise that is associated with growth mindset. Kohn (2015) found through previous studies that praise can act as a determent to one's mind if it is provided at the wrong time. One example Kohn (2015) used was if compliments were only provided to a person for trying hard, then the person receiving the compliment might perceive them self as being a loser. Wormeli (2018) also believed that there is such a thing as growth mindset, however using the same interventions for everyone will not work to increase everyone's mindset in a positive manner. That means that one type of praise might work for one person, but might not worke for another. Or one type of effort might work for one person, but might not work for another. This is similar to a common psychology statement of correlation doesn't indicate causation.

Citation:

Kohn, A. (2015, August 16). The "mindset" mindset: What we miss by focusing on kids' attitudes. Retrieved from https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/mindset/

Wormeli, R. (2018, August). Grit and growth mindset: Deficit thinking? AMLE Magazine. Retrievedc from http://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/DiversityandSocialEquity/DivDet/TabId/185/ArtMID/791/ArticleID/937/Grit-and-Growth-Mindset-Deficit-Thinking.aspx#.W2obHSnVZZQ.twitter