Chapter 1: The Mindsets
Summary: Mindset theory explains why we are the way we are. This chapter discusses the two different kinds of mindsets and what we can do to change our current mindset for optimal growth and learning. People with a fixed mindset think that their intelligence or skills are fixed or predetermined. People with a growth mindset know that their intelligence can be learned. Fixed mindset people believe that failure means they are stupid or cannot overcome something. Growth mindset people look at failure as learning and a challenge they are looking forward to overcoming.
Key Concepts: Failure = learning. Achievement is not fixed prior ability, but purposeful engagement. Don’t hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them. You can change your mindset.
Connections: As I was reading, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I actually had some growth mindset in my daily life (thanks to my mother). One thing that stood out to me was getting a C+ on a paper and how we react afterwards. Dr. Scheer’s class has given me a lot of C+ kind of grades. One test that came back, I was confused as to why I did so poorly (I studied and went to class and did the readings). I took my test to Dr. Scheer and we talked about what I could do to improve my studying techniques. I then became friends with Megan and she said she would teach me how she studied, and I was able to learn how Megan could get A’s on Dr. Scheer’s tests. For my practice, I will be looking at my challenging opera music as a challenge I want to overcome. Instead of it is too hard to sing, but rather I will need to use the new practice strategies I’ve learned to get the melody into my ear and my body. It's a challenge to learn this music in 2 weeks rather than It's impossible to complete this task.
Chapter 2: Inside The Mindsets
Summary: The key is not ability, it's whether you believe that ability is something inherent and only needs to be demonstrated or whether you believe that ability can be developed. Fixed Minset-er’s want to look smart and that effort is pointless. If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try. They also feel threatened by the success of others, but this robs them of opportunity and they plateau early. People with a growth mindset are inspired to learn and challenges make them stronger. Their self esteem is not tied to their success. Failure is just another opportunity to learn. They are inspired by people who have success.
Key Concepts: Learners (growth) and nonlearners (fixed). Be like a baby, learn and stretch as much as you can.
Fixed mindset: people don’t give effort to something they think they won’t succeed at right away. Feeling worthless when you fail. Its about immediate perfection
Growth mindset: Its about learning something over time, confronting a challenge and making progress. This is hard. This is fun. Becoming is better than being. Effort is what makes you smart or talented. Failure can be a painful experience, but it doesn't’ define you.
Connections: Something I want to experiment with in my practice is reminding myself that it is okay to fail. My mindset for practicing has been “this is the time to make it perfect”, but this chapter made me realize that I might be missing something by not allowing myself to stretch, challenge myself, and fail. I have felt like I’ve been at a plateau in my practice, but that is because I have not challenged myself to make more mistakes so that I can learn rather than feeling like “I’m not becoming a good singer”. I want to get past the fear and make a plan to conquer it instead.
Chapter 3: The Truth About Ability and Accomplishments
Summary: We have to be self aware to see what our strengths and weaknesses and see what motivates you. You can learn new skills through observation by looking to those who are more successful than you and seeing what strategies they used to get there. We can only make positive growth when we know and acknowledge our own weaknesses. When you feel overwhelmed, that is the time to dig in and do what it takes to accomplish your goal.
Key Concepts: Working hard doesn’t make you vulnerable, but it makes you smarter. We don’t study to ace the test, we study to learn, we get better grades. Go over your mistakes until you understand them. The fixed mindset limits achievement and makes people into judges rather than allies. Prodigies aren’t born with a skill, they are born with an extreme love of learning and challenge. Stereotypes don’t disrupt the performance of those with a growth mindset. 99% of success is hard work.
Connections: I loved the idea that just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn’t mean other people can't do it with training. A lot of the time I would say “I can’t do that because it's not something that comes naturally to me” such as singing high coloratura. But this chapter gave me the motivation that I can find and practice strategies that can help me achieve that goal. The drawing class portraits showed a lot of progress in just five days, so I know that with my training this semester I will be able to learn the skills to become stronger at singing.
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