What separates people who perform consistently well in life from those who don't? According to psychologist Carol Dweck, it's their mindset. Dweck identifies two mindsets: the good growth mind-set and the bad fixed-mindset. The fixed mindset believes that you either got it or you don't. You are either born talented or smart or gifted in some way, or you're not. Those with this mindset expect success merely from showing up and rely only marginally on preparation, hard work and learning. Unfortunately, those with a fixed mindset can never afford to fail because this would give the lie to their supposed inborn gifts. When they do fail, they sulk, feel bad, blame others and don't think about ways to improve. Eventually they stop taking risks because that may further expose them to failure and its consequences.
In contrast, those with a growth mindset do not believe that success is based on talent alone. For them, talent is a foundation on which they build. When people with growth mindsets fail at a task they may feel the same disappointments as those with a fixed mindset, and even become depressed. But instead of giving up, these people will look for ways to do better the next time because they believe that they are not "fixed" but can continue to learn and grow. They remain on a learning curve all their lives, a curve that may have its ups and downs but one that continually rises.
I found the most important advice to be how to approach parenting through a growth mindset by praising the effort more than the talent. This will help your child develop their own growth mindset as they learn that their abilities are not set in stone, that they can bounce back from a set back and grow from failures.
Dweck's claims, backed up by research and case studies, make sense, although I am always skeptical of any explanation of human behavior that reduces individuals to a few categories, in this case two. In fairness, Dweck does say that people can jump from one mindset to the other, as she herself admits to. However, theses like this one always leave me with a sense that complex human behavior has been oversimplified. For example, there were many other reasons why Enron failed, the mindsets of their top leadership being just one of them, while Dweck's use of Enron as a case study suggests that the growth mindset was the main contributor.
One other infraction: Dweck offers the following individuals as growth mindset models as reflected in their decisions and character: Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods. In hindsight, I think she would have preferred to choose other individuals - the first apparently lied to Congress, the second lied about his use of steroids and engaged in extra-marital affairs, the third also cheated on his wife. Oops.
Get more detail about Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
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