Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck

Right away, I'm going off on a tangent.

I discovered almost a year ago the infinite and wonderful universe of podcasts. First, I stumbled upon Change ma vie, a podcast in French from Clothilde Dusoulier, a French woman who, not unlike me, started listening to podcasts non-stop when she discovered their existence, and learned things she wants to share on her own podcast. In several of her episodes, she mentions Brooke Castillo and her Life Coach School Podcast as a major influence. So I started devouring that too, and I learned things that ease and soothe my inner life to such an extent that I can't believe I didn't learn that before. I could have saved myself from many dark times.

I'm talking about this, because all personal development is based on a fundamental concept, which is not always explicitly named: the "growth mindset", developed by Carol Dweck among others. And it just so happens that I had her book explaining it in detail in my library all this time, thanks to my psychologist mother.

The growth mindset is simply a way of looking at things, but without it, one wonders what one would do. People who have learned to develop this mindset see intelligence and skills as traits that can be developed. They see failures and mistakes as incentives to improve and achieve their goals. People with the fixed mindset, on the other hand, tend to think that everyone is born with a fixed intelligence and talents, and that there is little that can be done to develop them. Their lives are therefore devoted to proving to the world their intrinsic and immutable value. After failures, they are usually devastated, because they see them as signs that they are in fact not smart, or that they are in fact not cut out to undertake this project, study in this field, play this sport, or learn this instrument. Oops, that sounds like me.

This book demonstrates, with extensive research, that people with a growth mindset are far more likely to succeed in achieving their goals and be happy in the process than those with a fixed mindset. The truly successful and admired people are those who have learned from their (inevitable) failures and have an unquenchable thirst to learn and improve.

This book really excited me. It puts into words in a very clear way a principle that I had picked up bits and pieces here and there, but that I had not formalized in my mind. Moreover, it is very well popularized, it has all the necessary nuances, and I even laughed. Now that I know that this is the right way to look at things, and that there is absolutely no risk in adopting it, I can turn to it whenever I need it.

I can't recommend it enough. It's an absolute must. Go get it.