Embracing The Growth Mindset
Originally written in May, 2010; this article gives a good sense of where I’m coming from:
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the “growth mindset”, which is the idea that people who orient themselves to hard work and dedicated improvement are more likely to achieve great results over time. This is in contrast to people who have a “fixed mindset”. These people believe that abilities are pre-determined, and you’ve got to work with what you’ve got. There are serious repercussions for each belief. If a person with a fixed mindset fails at something, they believe that they are a failure, because their abilities aren’t up to the task. To a person with a growth mindset however, failure is just an opportunity to learn and improve in the future. This can be powerful for long term growth. The key differentiator between growth and fixed minded people is the belief in hard work and purposeful practice to get outstanding results. Growth minded people work hard and enjoy the process of improvement, where fixed minded people might or might not work hard, and enjoy the outcome as long as it’s successful.
So what does this have to do with me you ask? For much of my life I’ve been hailed as a prodigy, a genius, a talent, you name it, I’ve been called it, and I always thought it was a good thing. After all, who wouldn’t want to be a genius right? Well there’s a small problem there. When you’re hailed for your accomplishments, and your successes, then you might get a little gun shy about failure. Studies have shown that praising children (or adults) for their abilities and their accomplishments can cause them to shy away from challenges because they don’t want to be seen as failing. In wanting to live up to my “genius” billing, I may at times have made decisions to play to my strengths rather than to my interests. This is the side effect of being hailed for your talent. You don’t’ want to “waste” it by doing unproductive things. So after all these years of being hailed for my “natural gifts” I think back and try to determine where the process might have started.
When I was in grade 3, I was the last person anyone in my class would describe as a genius. Though academically inclined behind the scenes (the child of a doctor and dentist, the younger sibling of another “genius”, go figure), when in class I seemed disinterested and lethargic. I made little contribution to class, and I was more often than not disruptive and a problem-causer. By the time our 2nd of 3 report cards came out, I was doing poorly in many subjects, and most critically, I was failing at math. This would be a turning point. Luckily for me, I was in the class of a very progressive and forward thinking teacher. After a national standard test showed my aptitude for many of the subjects I was doing poorly in, she met with my parents and decided that instead of failing me, and keeping me back in the 3rd grade, she would do something radical: skip me ahead to 4th grade to provide me with a greater challenge. Now I have to pause here and give her a million thank yous, because that is hardly the typical approach to working with a failing student. 99.9% of teachers would have failed me in that circumstance, and would have been justified in doing so, but she didn’t, and it made a world of difference for me. But back to the story. My teacher didn’t just move me ahead and leave it at that though, she took the time to sit with me and give me extra tutoring sessions so that I could catch up with my new peers, and take on the challenging new material. Which subject did I put the most practice into? The one I was failing, math. Again, this was a turning point.
This period in my life is where I can first remember the genius label being applied. After the months of practice and hard work, I became a “math whiz”, and after hearing over and over that I was a “genius” and “talented” I started to believe that my success lay with my innate talent, quickly forgetting the effect of the constant drilling and practice. Fast forward a few years to when I discovered programming, with its strong overlap with math, and logic (another area where I excelled). My natural interest, plus the praise I got for being a “prodigy” drew me inexorably towards programming. Another triumph of my “genius ability”. Fast forward a few more years to my push to enter business school, and the test that stood between me and entrance, the GMAT. Ever since that initial test in grade 3 which saved me from certain failure and stigma, standardized tests like the GMAT have always held a special place in my heart. After writing the test, and scoring in the 95th percentile, I once again got back slaps, and accolades, and the “genius” label trotted out once again.
So all that being said and done, the question I’ve more recently started to ask myself is “do I buy it?” Do I really think that I’m a natural born genius, or is there something else behind it? My long-hailed math skills were obviously the result of dedicated practice with a skilled teacher guiding me (thanks so much), and my programming “prodigy” skills came after months of practice both at home and at school because I found the subject very interesting. How about the GMAT? Did I score well on that because I’m a genius? If so, I’m the kind of genius who took a 20 hour prep-course, and studied for 100s of hours with practice questions, and went through every mistake until I understood the material backwards and forwards.
So what does this all mean? Well for starters it means I’m conflicted. It’s obvious that in many ways being labelled a “genius” and “talented” has fuelled and moulded many of my decisions, and my desire to appear as competent as possible. There are certainly some challenges that I’ve avoided because I find failure distasteful. On the flip side I’ve realized that behind a lot my “genius” lies a great deal of hard work and dedication which nobody gets to see. They see the top of the iceberg (the great results) without seeing all the effort “under the water”.
So getting back to the begging, I’m moving to the “growth mindset” when it comes to the life I want to lead. No more avoiding failure, no more only working hard on things I’m “talented” at. Instead I have to seek challenges and growth opportunities, and work really hard to get better at things I’m not already good at, but want to be. Why? So that instead of allowing the labels others give me decide where I end up, I choose my path and put in the work to walk it with skill.
