Rethinking Growth Mindset

A note to readers:? Before you start writing your corrections, vehement disagreements, and hate mail, please note that I am not questioning the academic research that went into developing the literature around the Growth Mindset (with credits due to Carol Dweck for her book of the same name), nor am I saying Growth Mindset is necessarily wrong.? Rather, I’d like to introduce some nuance into the conversation that is partially captured in the aforementioned book, but gets lost in everyday references to the concept.? And now…

Growth Mindset – A Quick Introduction

As mentioned above, the term Growth Mindset has been around since Carol Dweck released her seminal work by that name.? The implication, particularly in today’s vernacular, is that successful people have a Growth mindset, while unsuccessful people have a Fixed mindset.

A Growth mindset represents thinking that one can change, improve, learn, and do more, whereas a Fixed mindset represents thinking that one is stuck, cannot change, or “born that way”.

Right On

The observations and research supporting the concept are right on.? They all make sense – the success stories we know demonstrate the application of new learning, extra effort, continuous improvement until the person gets far enough in that field. ?The outliers, to our knowledge, are those who have been propped up by someone else – someone else who did all the background work to make the outlier person famous, wealthy, powerful, or successful based on some other yardstick we may use.

Everyone else?? Well, we’re the extras in the movie that is our society.? We do what we know, nothing more, nothing less.? We are who we were born to be.

But…

There are some nuances that we must keep in mind when we discuss the concept of Growth Mindset.

Our culture is not good with nuance.? Something either is, or it isn’t.? We have 2 political parties on 2 sides of a spectrum.? We’re rich, or we’re not.? We’re smart, or we’re not.? We’re Fixed or we’re Growth.

We don’t like nuance because there are too many complications.? We don’t have time or energy to think through the possibility that there’s not just an infinite grayscale, but also an infinite number of colors.

We also don’t like to think about why some are Growth-minded, and some are Fixed.

So, as I often do, I’m going to write about something we don’t like…

My Primary Case Study: Me

Before I do, I’ll explain why I’m writing this, and why I’m doing it now.? Personally, I would love to think I have a Growth mindset.? I’m often reading, learning, trying things.? And yet, I’m not necessarily achieving those success measures.

I also realize, in many ways, I exhibit a Fixed mindset.? I got as far as I did with music simply through inherent talent.? I squeaked through high school based on passing tests, rather than doing homework.? I showed great promise in Freshman track due to natural capabilities, only to peak before my first track meet.? I had talent, intelligence, physical capabilities – I was gifted.? (I was even placed in a gifted class in junior high school.)? And those gifts were lauded by others.? I’m even a white male.? Talk about having a royal flush of privilege handed to me.

(Another note to readers:? Please put away your pens or keyboards if you’ve restarted the hate mail.? I’m not after pity for being a gifted, privileged person.? That’s ludicrous. ?However, I am already my own worst critic for not putting those gifts to best use.)

The downside of being gifted and privileged, and it’s a big downside, believe me, is that I never learned how to work hard for something when I was young.? I have the most respect for those who were given some of the hardest circumstances, and through hard work, determination, learning, and growth, overcame those circumstances to do something truly meaningful.

Getting back to why:? In listening to a podcast this morning – I won’t name the host or guest, because I have a lot of professional respect for both of those individuals – the association of effort with impossibility was labeled as "pathetic". In other words, those who are stuck in a Fixed mindset are pathetic.

That felt like a condescending, scathing indictment of everyone with a Fixed mindset – the two individuals missed the nuance.

Hence, I sit here writing.

Shades of Gray

One nuance that I highlighted in my own transparent story above is that I don’t believe we’re either one or the other – Fixed or Growth.? Rather, we move in and out of Fixed and Growth.? And we can be steadily Fixed in one area and Growth in another.? Even more, having a Fixed mindset in a particular area may be the most appropriate choice.

Transient State

In my early thirties, I was in what I might call a slow-Growth mindset – which could be translated into a Fixed mindset if you want to twist your brain enough.? I believed I could make incremental gains in my life and in my career, but that’s all I could accomplish.?

I wasn’t satisfied with that trajectory – particularly from a financial standpoint – so I went to another Fixed understanding:? I needed more formal education in order to level up.

Unlike the “skate by” attitude I exhibited in high school (which, incidentally, contributed to limitations in my choice of graduate schools), I WORKED HARD.? I put in more time, effort, and changed thinking during that degree program than I had over the majority of my life.? Arguably, I was demonstrating a Growth mindset.

Then, after graduation, my thinking and actions seemed to settle into a steady state again, much like my previous mindset, but maybe one notch higher.

What had happened??

I interpret it as me going through a transient state.? Variables had changed, so my behavior changed for a time, and then I settled into another steady state.

I cannot read others’ minds, but I have to imagine I’m not the only one who has done that.? Based on that story, can you say I have a Growth mindset?? Or a Fixed one??

Nuance.

Bifurcation

Michael Phelps has become a household name by becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time.?

He didn’t rely on talent or capability.? Sure, he had the prototypical swimmer’s body, but he also invested tons of time and effort into improving his performance.? Growth mindset, yes?

But what happened after he retired?? By his own admission, he fell deep into depression.? Trust me, deep depression is not a hallmark of a Growth mindset.? In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.? Whether the depression stems from the physical or the emotional side of a person (the topic of perhaps thousands of books), it is accompanied by a feeling of lost hope, of being stuck, of no way out.? Classic Fixed mindset.

If Phelps had continued to swim, would he have suffered from depression?

From the perspective of mindset, I’d argue that he may have had a Growth mindset with regard to his swimming, and a Fixed mindset with regard to the rest of his life.

Nuance.

The Hawking Mindset

Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist whom most consider to have been one of the best in the field – up there with Einstein.

He also had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease).? ALS comes with severe physical limitations, ultimately leaving Hawking wheelchair-bound for more than 50 years.?

If we were to adhere to a strict Growth vs. Fixed mindset theory, one could accuse Hawking of having a Fixed mindset since he did not continue to put out effort over those 50 years toward improving his ability to stand or walk.? Instead, though, he is lauded for his major contributions to the field of physics.

So, Hawking gets a pass on the Growth/Fixed mindset question with regard to his physical capabilities.

Who else should get a pass?? Where is the line between insurmountable limitations that should be accepted vs. challenges to overcome?

I, for one, would advocate that, while there may not be a quantitative means of determining pass or fail in this measure, we can’t just settle for a strict division between people with a Growth mindset and people with a Fixed mindset.

And maybe, in his own way, Hawking answered that for us.? Once wheelchair-bound, his body continued to deteriorate.? Maybe ALS will be cured someday, but a cure, or even improvement, wasn’t an option in his lifetime.? But he found ways of making up for those limitations.

Hawking’s diagnosis was at the beginning of his career, while in college.? His major breakthroughs came afterward – both in his career and in how he coped.? He had virtually no control over his body.? Yet, after losing his ability to speak, he learned to communicate using a computer.? He learned to move around independently using a motorized wheelchair.? And to say he is considered successful would be an understatement.

Nuance.

Imbalanced Equation

We’ve looked at some nuances in the either/or perspective of Growth and Fixed mindsets.? Let’s look at this from another perspective, though.?

I have heard some speak as if gaining a Growth mindset is clear cut.? Maybe they themselves have suddenly chosen to switch from Fixed to Growth, and the rest is history.? Or, as an academic, they feel it should be that simple.

In my case study, though, my subject (yeah, me again…) hasn’t found it that easy.

I am intellectually informed on the subject.? I’ve read the original book.? I’ve read other books that refer to and support the original book.? I’ve listened to podcasts where the host and guest refer to the original book and other books that refer to and support the original book.? I’ve read posts that promote the podcasts that…? well, you know…

I have also applied the necessary levers that indicate a Growth mindset:? Effort, learning, Grit (yes, I’ve read that book as well – thank you, Angela Duckworth), and so on.

I’ve seen positive results from moving those levers.? I completed that master’s degree with a high GPA.? I’ve had other positive results I could list out for you.

And yet, as I was reflecting today, I currently operate from a mostly Fixed mindset.

I’d bet that a good percentage of people out there – even ones you might view as high-performers – are also mostly operating from a Fixed mindset.? I would also go out on a limb and say that some people are simply more predisposed toward tapping into the Growth mindset.

Why would that be?? Here are some reasons to ponder.

The Eye of the Tiger

You may be aware of the fight or flight response to stress.? If a tiger attacked you in the jungle, the normal response would be to flee if possible, or else fight back.? One could argue that Chuck Norris would just stare it down.

Fight or flight is a healthy, automatic response.? The brain sends signals to the body to shift blood flow toward the legs and arms and away from the brain for a short period of time, prompts the flow of stress hormones like adrenalin, and otherwise does its best to ensure your survival.? Your capacity to think is reduced so that you simply react out of reflex.? (There are much better technical explanations of this, but that’s outside our scope here.)

But what does this have to do with the Growth mindset??

Normally, it shouldn’t.? A Growth mindset would come from a place of positivity, where you’re looking at accomplishing something “good”, however “good” is defined.? I’d argue that those who operate from a place of positivity, or generally good mental health, find it easier to tap into the Growth mindset.?

On the other hand, if someone is struggling with their mental health, the only occasions where they would tap into the Growth mindset are challenges to their status quo.?

Take my master’s degree, for example.? At the time I was considering it, I had a wife and two kids (living on a single income), and was feeling salary pressure from increasing home costs, inflation, and society at large.? I was also feeling out of place in my career.? So, rather than taking graduate school on as a positive challenge, I was seeing threats to my family’s financial stability.

I approached it, indirectly, out of fear.? I worked hard at it for the same reason, fear.

I was being faced down by a financial tiger.

Fight or flight:? I fought.

Let’s take this a step further.? It turns out that in addition to the normal fight or flight responses, there are also freeze and fawn responses, which tend to result as abnormal responses in humans to prolonged stress and trauma.? (For the purposes of this writing, freeze = inaction and fawn = giving in.)

In nature, freezing can be normal and useful.? In human cultures, though, it looks like procrastination, quiet quitting, or laziness.

The part worth focusing on here is the “prolonged stress and trauma”, whether it results in overactive fight or flight response, or leads to freeze or fawn behavior.? So, in someone who has endured prolonged stress or trauma, most behavior will look like one of these stress responses, and not like the positivity I referred to earlier.

More research is showing that these overactive stress responses come from circumstances beyond a person’s control.? (The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk and The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate both explore this in great depth.)

To connect the dots, assertion #1: ?People who have endured trauma or prolonged stress are less likely to be able to tap into that Growth mindset.? Through no fault of their own…

Nuance

Learned Helplessness

One of my favorite advertisement series (I shuddered as I realized what I just wrote…) is from an insurance company, where a “life coach” is helping adult children recover from the “syndrome” of becoming just like their parents.? Hilariously funny, even when I see some of the same habits in myself, but also poignant.? We are all deeply affected by how we were raised.?

While we are young, we are highly suggestive to the messages around us as we try to figure out this thing called life.

Let’s turn to our case study again.? Some messages I heard:

·???????? You have to have a college education to accomplish anything meaningful

·???????? You’re so talented

·???????? That dream isn’t realistic

The messages may seem innocent, or possibly even true.? But the underlying tone is not one of empowerment.? It’s about guardrails.? I can do things because I’m talented – not through learned skill or hard work.? I have to go a certain route.? There are limits.

Learned helplessness.

In my case, it wasn’t just my parents.? I got it from school, from job advertisements, from newspaper articles, even from my friends who got similar messages in their lives.

Imagine these alternative messages:

·???????? You can accomplish meaningful things!? (Full stop.)

·???????? I can tell how passionate you are about that from all the effort you put into doing well at it

·???????? That dream is realistic if you put your heart into it

Do you know of anyone (personally or publicly) who heard similar messages to that?? Think about all the successful people whose parents were also successful (or who were supportive).? In sports, Tiger Woods comes to mind, both from the support he received from his father and in the way his son is already tearing up the fairway.? In entertainment, James Garner passed down these positive messages to his now-famous daughter, Jennifer Garner.?

We can find countless examples of this.? Yes, in some cases, it’s due to family connections or money, but there are many more cases of the learned confidence to take on Growth opportunities.

You’ll notice that, like the stress response discussion above, this is largely out of our own control – it’s in the control of those contributing to our upbringing.

Assertion #2:? Growth mindset can be trained, or at least odds improved, through messages received in our upbringing.

Nuance.

All Grown Up

The third reason to explore may look like a blend of the first two, but is different in one key way:? The person in question has some agency or control in the situation.? We can, to some degree, set ourselves up to be either more or less likely to successfully tap into the Growth mindset.

We saw, in the tiger example above, that stress reduces our ability to operate consciously.

We saw, in the case of learned helplessness, that the messaging we hear affects what we believe about ourselves and our circumstances, and that those messages and beliefs are very difficult to reprogram.

Let’s look at a different case study.? (Not me.? …OK, yeah, it is me…)

About five years ago, I once again became impatient with my financial situation.? In a case of SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome), I chose to pay for more education to help me add a side hustle.? I also added some additional expenses – some necessary, some not so much – to my budget.? I then learned about other side hustles and business opportunities, and so on.

Now, one might consider this acting in a Growth mindset.? However, it compounded my stress level to an unhealthy degree.? Not surprisingly, fight, flight, freeze, and fawn (particularly freeze) ensued.?

Right back into a Fixed mindset.

In a fictional case study (really not me this time), we may have a person who has a reasonable, neutral stress level, who wants to do something meaningful that’s outside their past accomplishments.? But, on sharing their intentions with their closest friends (which may, in fact, include all the influencers on social media, Google, ChatGPT, news media, and other inputs), they hear “That’s not realistic – you should be really careful about that.”?

Right back into a Fixed mindset.

This time, there’s some agency.? Our fictional subject has some choice, especially over the long run, of who they hang out with or seek advice from.? Likewise, I had opportunities to limit what I added on, as well as consider whether what I was pursuing was important and authentic to who I was.

Assertion #3:? We can force ourselves into situations that squeeze us back into a Fixed mindset.

Nuance.

Growth For What?

A final note to readers:? I’ll be shooting from the hip a little in this section.

Many of the “use cases” I hear of for tapping into the Growth mindset aren’t really that positive.? They’re generally about career, money, or self-promotion.

I’ve heard a number of influencers talking about using the Growth mindset to level up from 6-figure incomes to 7-figure incomes (or beyond).? Does that extra zero in their bank account really lead to fulfillment, or to anyone’s benefit beyond that person?

I used Michael Phelps as an example, receiving more gold medals than any other Olympian in history.? Given the depression he experienced afterward, he was arguably unfulfilled by this feat, and we could argue it provided no meaningful benefit to others.

On the other hand, there are many unsung heroes who stretch and grow for worthwhile goals.? What am I calling worthwhile?? Goals that lead to long-term fulfillment, or to the betterment of others.? Research has shown that long-term fulfillment is generally linked to positive relationships, expertise in craftsmanship or artistry, and contribution to community.

More nuance.

Now What?

Growth mindset is not debunked, it exists.? But how useful is the concept?? With so many nuances, far less control than we’re given to think, and dubious outcomes, I’d suggest that the Growth mindset should be downplayed.

·???????? It’s not helpful to use the Growth mindset to promote the next big coaching program.

·???????? It’s not helpful to use the Growth mindset as a filtering mechanism for job candidates or college applicants.

·???????? It’s not helpful to use the Growth mindset just to fill your bank account, gain power or fame, or as a shortcut to filling the hole in your soul.

What would I substitute?

I have yet to come up with a catchy name, but I’d recommend that we spend more time caring for each other, helping each other through challenges, and creating things of beauty, rather than worrying about whether we’re continuously growing.