Reading Reflection No. 2
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The argument/theme of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is that people place limitations on themselves all the time. These limitations on how we think and live don’t allow us to live up to our full potential. The limitations are mostly mental and the key point the book tries to instruct is that we can change our mental limitations. It is our decision, or choice, to believe in what we believe. If we become aware of our actions and decide on a better mindset, or path to follow, we then have the power to change it. It is obviously very hard to change something so integral to our everyday routine but not impossible. This book tries to push every reader to live up to their full potential.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success connects with what we are being exposed to in ENT 3003 because entrepreneurship is all about creativity and perspective. To be a great entrepreneur means to be a dreamer, a creator, to see something that doesn’t exist but is missing all at the same time. The more constraints somebody has on their mind the harder it is to be an inventor. Just as being entrepreneurial requires brainstorming, Mindset pushes people, its readers, to think in new perspectives. Thinking out of the box is easier with a mind that doesn’t fight it but embraces it.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to create an exercise based on Mindset, it would begin with asking my students to list all the goals they currently have. I want them to begin with this so that I can, and they can, see where the boundaries are. Seeing if they’ve pushed them to the limit or maybe they want to play it safe. After they answer this, I would prompt them to look up a successful person in the field of whatever they listed their goal was. Keep in mind the goals were strictly professional. I want them to read about the most successful people in their field so they can become aware of how they made it and what it took. Reading about successful people can be one of the simplest ways to illustrate real ways people accomplished the impossible. The goal would be for people to have a more open mindset because of the exposure they get understanding the lives of the successful. Its one thing to tell students that it takes long hours of hard work to make the big bucks. Its another thing to have them read about the risk, stress, loss and work every successful person put into their jobs to get the return they got.
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?
A big surprise moment in the book was reading about the relationships portion of the book. Many people don’t put together how intimacy has an effect on success and the mind. Life and relationships outside of the office also matter when you’re in the office. When I read about how talking about differences with your partner leads to a healthier relationship I realized that this was true in the business world as well. Patience and restraint will always serve you well in terms of waiting for the perfect moment to strike a big decision.
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The argument/theme of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is that people place limitations on themselves all the time. These limitations on how we think and live don’t allow us to live up to our full potential. The limitations are mostly mental and the key point the book tries to instruct is that we can change our mental limitations. It is our decision, or choice, to believe in what we believe. If we become aware of our actions and decide on a better mindset, or path to follow, we then have the power to change it. It is obviously very hard to change something so integral to our everyday routine but not impossible. This book tries to push every reader to live up to their full potential.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success connects with what we are being exposed to in ENT 3003 because entrepreneurship is all about creativity and perspective. To be a great entrepreneur means to be a dreamer, a creator, to see something that doesn’t exist but is missing all at the same time. The more constraints somebody has on their mind the harder it is to be an inventor. Just as being entrepreneurial requires brainstorming, Mindset pushes people, its readers, to think in new perspectives. Thinking out of the box is easier with a mind that doesn’t fight it but embraces it.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to create an exercise based on Mindset, it would begin with asking my students to list all the goals they currently have. I want them to begin with this so that I can, and they can, see where the boundaries are. Seeing if they’ve pushed them to the limit or maybe they want to play it safe. After they answer this, I would prompt them to look up a successful person in the field of whatever they listed their goal was. Keep in mind the goals were strictly professional. I want them to read about the most successful people in their field so they can become aware of how they made it and what it took. Reading about successful people can be one of the simplest ways to illustrate real ways people accomplished the impossible. The goal would be for people to have a more open mindset because of the exposure they get understanding the lives of the successful. Its one thing to tell students that it takes long hours of hard work to make the big bucks. Its another thing to have them read about the risk, stress, loss and work every successful person put into their jobs to get the return they got.
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?
A big surprise moment in the book was reading about the relationships portion of the book. Many people don’t put together how intimacy has an effect on success and the mind. Life and relationships outside of the office also matter when you’re in the office. When I read about how talking about differences with your partner leads to a healthier relationship I realized that this was true in the business world as well. Patience and restraint will always serve you well in terms of waiting for the perfect moment to strike a big decision.
Monica, I really like your idea of having students do research on successful individuals in the world so they can understand the reality of the struggles they've been through to get to where they are now. A lot of people only see the end product and don't understand the behind the scenes and hardships they've overcome. I think exposing kids to that kind of aspect in life at an early age is good to develop their mentality and to realize sometimes the harsh reality of life.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Lam
Your reflection of the book is good. Mindset seems extremely important for entrepreneurship, and I really like the idea of the book. I think you’re post covers everything we needed for the assignment, and I don’t think there’s anything to really improve on. I’m interested in how well written you think the book was because it sounds interesting and helpful.
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