Growth Mindset Theory and Me

Growth mindset theory is the idea (pioneered by researcher Carol Dweck) that it is beneficial for kids to learn that they can develop their abilities with diligence and perseverance.

The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. Kids who have a fixed mindset attribute their success or failure to their talent, not their effort.

When Carol Dweck developed growth mindset theory, she was mainly thinking of how it could help kids and educators. But people of any age in any field can benefit from growth mindset strategies.

Take me, for example. When I’m not writing (or filming, or posting), I’m studying for the GRE, which I plan to take in a few weeks.

Standardized tests are the bane of my existence. Here’s some backstory:

When I was taking the ACT in high school, I struggled because I read slowly. Most of the time, this is a good problem to have. I read and write well because I read carefully. I take time to absorb the words on the page.

My reading pace is ideal when I have the freedom to manage my own time in a professional or academic setting. When I’m taking a test that requires me to answer a specific number of questions on a specific number of passages in a specific amount of time, it’s the worst.

I took the ACT three times. My score was less than ideal the first time. To my surprise and delight, it jumped up four points the second time. Surely the third score would be my ticket to a full-tuition scholarship at a high-ranking school, right?

Wrong. My score went down a point!

At the time, I didn’t realize that I had some options here.

Option 1: Celebrate the fact that I took that wretched test again! Even if I hadn’t gotten the score I had hoped for this time, I had worked and studied, and I could apply what I had learned in that process to the next round of testing.

Option 2: Fixate on the fact that my score went down. What was the point of all this practice if it wasn’t reflected in my scores? I needed to face the fact that I was not a good test-taker and I had reached my peak.

I chose option 2. I still got into a top-forty school with a decent scholarship, but who knows what might have happened if I had chosen option 1?

Flash forward several years, and I’m studying for the GRE. I make time for studying in my daily routine. I stick diligently to this routine for more than a month, since my test date gets postponed due to COVID-19. I relearn long-forgotten math skills. I go through a study book, taking timed practice sections.

And again, one of my practice scores goes down. At the time, I had just begun researching for this blogpost. So I took a deep breath and described my progress in growth mindset language. I even wrote “NOT YET” in big letters next to my progress chart.

“Not yet” is one of Dweck’s most emphasized growth mindset strategies. You’re not supposed to say (to yourself or anyone else) “you failed.” Instead, you say, “you haven’t succeeded yet” or, “your score hasn’t gone up yet.” Growth mindset language always acknowledges potential.

I find growth mindset language fascinating because it isn’t necessarily what we would call encouragement. It has nothing to do with pep-talks. On the contrary, blunt language still counts as growth mindset language as long as that crucial “yet” is tacked on at the end.

Another growth mindset strategy is to replace the phrase “I’m failing” with “I’m learning.” The idea is to reward process, not results. This way, you’re training your brain to face challenges and grow.

I know for a fact that I’ve benefited from growth mindset strategies in certain areas of my life without even realizing it.

I discovered yoga as a freshman in college. I got plenty of exercise walking to my classes and other activities, but I was very stressed (as most college students are). And I thought it would be nice to stretch and take a homework break. It wasn’t long before I was completely hooked on my weekly yoga class.

What about it was so addicting? Part of it, I realize now, was the application of growth mindset theory. Every class, my instructor emphasized that the decision to come to practice was an accomplishment in itself. With each challenging pose, she reminded us not to judge ourselves but to appreciate that we were learning.

Of course, my exercise routine changed as my other routines changed over the years. But whenever I find time for a yoga practice, I’m building on the skills—mental and physical—that I learned in that first class. Unbeknownst to me, I had been taught growth mindset strategies that wired my brain and body to develop new abilities.

If someone had scanned my brain while I was taking the ACT, then again when I was struggling with warrior three, those scans would almost certainly have shown a biologically distinct reaction to each of those challenges. Isn’t that amazing?

So here’s what I’m learning now:

• The journey is as important as the destination.

• Say things like “Not yet” and “I’m learning.”

• Reward myself for engaging in the process.