If you think you will fail, then you definitely will! Success requires a mindset to succeed. Knowledge and skills are not enough if your mind is not geared towards success. Self-regulation and direction of the mind to welcome success are absolutely necessary.
What are fixed and growth mindsets?
A person with a fixed mindset sees mistakes as failures and is of the belief that their knowledge and learning are fixed according to their intelligence levels. They do not make the extra effort as they feel effort is useless. On the other hand, people with a growth mindset treat mistakes as a feedback to put them back on track to pursue their goals. They are of the faith that their intelligence and knowledge can grow and they make extra effort to win. It has been seen that students with a fixed mindset usually opt for easier courses as they feel they cannot handle difficult ones. How others perceive them is very important to them. But those with a mindset of growth take on challenges and persist even when the going gets tough. They use their potential to the full to achieve the best. So, conversion of the fixed mindset to a growth mindset is required.
Edison’s story
Thomas Alva Edison made more than 14,000 attempts before he could successfully create the electric bulb. When he had failed for the 10,000th time a reporter asked him how he felt. According to Edison he had not failed at all but found out successfully 10,000 ways that do not create a light bulb. This is a perfect example of how a growth mindset works.
Role of teachers (and parents too!)
Standardized tests are somewhat responsible in creating a fixed mindset among students who gauge their success or failure through their marks in the tests. This hampers motivation to a large extent and puts a break on learning. A lot depends on the teachers and they have to devise ways to make use of standardized tests without harming the mindset of the students. The students should not evaluate their self worth based on these scores. The CCE method of CBSE has taken this in consideration and is in accordance with creating a growth mindset among children.
Our mind is like a car. The driver decides the direction and the goal. We all have to be in the driver’s seat to decide where we are headed. In this case it is the teacher who is in the driving seat. He or she has to help the students manage their minds in a positive manner while edging them quietly towards their goals. Teachers cannot do this alone and need to be supported by parents and the students themselves. When applied correctly with the right mindset there is no saying to what pinnacles of success knowledge and skills can take a person!
