27A - Reading Reflection No. 3

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

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

·      The general argument of the book was explaining how there are two different mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A growth mindset is a way of looking at things in a way where we can improve and learn from our failures and our experiences and that challenges us to continue learning and improving ourselves to become the best version possible. In comparison, the fixed mindset focuses on not challenging ourselves and living with the current circumstances that we are in. Dweck emphasizes how most successful people choose the growth mindset and that by looking at things from a positive point of view, we can better further ourselves as individuals.

2.     How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT3003?

·      This book connected with what I am learning in ENT3003 because in this class I have learned about how we can go grow from our experiences and from failure. This class utilizes mainly interactive assignments that require us to go out and experience what an entrepreneur would experience if they were starting up their own business venture. Since the class is structured like this, it requires us to utilize more of a growth mindset, in order to learn from our experiences and utilize the feedback that we have received and turn that into improvements for our concepts. Mindset plays a large role in the success of any entrepreneur and I think learning about these two different points of view in the book helps further this belief.

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

·      An exercise that I would design for this class would be to analyze the different aspects of entrepreneur’s decisions that can be attributed to their mindset. By having students analyze entrepreneur’s decisions and how these decisions can be attributed to their mindset, students are better able to understand the role that mindset plays on overall success as an entrepreneur. Doing these reading reflections is an excellent way of understanding entrepreneur’s points-of-view and I think that by further analyzing their mindsets, students can find ways where they can implement the growth mindset into their own lives.

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

·      To be honest, I think the biggest “aha” moment was in identifying the current way I think and view things to the mindsets within the book. Dweck presented many examples on how the fixed/growth mindset can be seen and I was able to really see how I sometimes incorporate both mindsets within my life. I didn’t really expect to connect with the book in the way that I did and I think that is what made the book more interesting to read. I learned more about the elements of a growth mindset and how I can actively apply these elements in order to go about thinking of things in a way that will result in self-improvement and self-growth.