21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The overall theme of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success was a case of two mindsets. Carol Dweck, the author, explained that everyone in this world has a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. Fixed mindsets do not think outside the box. The most prominent trait of this mindset is that, people tend to give up, ultimately resulting into failure. However, the growth mindset, is the mindset that all human beings should strive for. Personalities with a growth mindset grow from failure. These individuals see failures as opportunities, to expand on their mistakes and learn from them. This book was very fascinating to read, and also very motivating. Dweck goes through many intricate life situations, which some of the readers may relate to. This creates a perfect pitcher for the audience to learn from reading an experience rather than actually experiencing it.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003? I believe this book ties together pretty well with our class. I think our professor understands that we are all different people with different mindsets and experiences. Those experiences play a major role in the entrepreneur that everyone has in them. To be an entrepreneur, one needs to have the growth mindset, which Dweck explains perfectly. Our professor stresses that when we are faced with a puzzling assignment and want to give up, we should really keep going and figure it out. That is what individuals with growth mindsets do as explained in the book. They love challenges because it's only going to make them better.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would the exercise involve?

This question is pretty cool. I think an exercise in class should be to share two experiences that the student has had, one being a growth mindset reaction and one being a fixed. The person needs to figure out why they behaved differently in those two experiences, or whether they grew from a transition from fixed to growth. 

4) What was the biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

While reading, I had an 'aha' moment that took be by surprise. This aha moment came from the section on sports and players' mindsets of being a champion. I have played basketball all my life. I was a very competitive person, even when I was a child. I played many sports all my life. It took me a while to find me which sport I was best at, I loved failing at different sports, because I knew that one day I was going to find one that I could overcome its challenges that I met athletically and grow from them. I had an aha moment by relating my old-self to having a growth mindset that was explained in the book.