27a- Reading Reflection 3

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Summary

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

The general theme of this book revolves around the concept behind the rest of the book, which is that of two different mindsets. The first is the fixed mindset, in which one is acknowledges the idea of set abilities, aptitudes, and talents that can only be proven or not. Whereas, the growth mindset is one that believes these traits can be developed, learned and changed. The book then goes in depth as to how these mindsets affect one’s way of life from leadership and success to everyday decisions.

2.      This book connected to my learning in ENT 3003 because if there is one concept that this class reinforced for me, it was how to approach failure. This book directly connects to this idea because it stresses the different ways in which your mindset determines your outcomes. If one fails, the best way to approach the failure is to view it as a positive, as a way of learning and growing. This book directly adds to this idea by focusing on the mindset one use’s in various life situations. If you have the mindset that failure is a part of life, and to use it to as an advantage and a way of pushing forward, then your mindset will determine the outcome of the failure.

3.      One exercise that I would develop is to have the students think of an instance of an instance in their lives in which a particular mindset determined how they perceived the situation, and if having a particular mindset altered the situation, then why they think so. For example, I was in a severe car accident at the start of 2019, and I was constantly feeling down on myself and self-pitying. By realizing the way I was viewing the situation as a curse instead of a blessing and then altering my mindset as a result, I was able to flip my situation around and then really use the car accident as a way to grow.

4.      What surprised me the most about this book is the author interprets one’s mindset as the key to handling life’s obstacles, in addition to the way in which you are able to control the various aspects of your life. I don’t feel this is completely true, but I definitely see merit in the idea. I have dealt with depression and other hardships in my life, and one of the reasons I was truly able to climb out of these points in my life is through the mindset I had. I was able to climb out of these dark times simply because I realized I was the position I was in because of self-pity and self-loathing. By altering this mindset I was able to overcome these obstacles. However, I believe there is much more to success simply than one’s mind set. You always have to put effort and time into the things you do for true success, and I didn’t feel the author really stressed this in the book.