There have been copious amounts of research as it pertains to fixed vs growth mindsets. The 1990's experienced a wave of support from researchers who surmised that providing children with limitless and oftentimes excessive praise would increase their self-esteem; which would consequently increase the likelihood they would perform better in school and eventually become successful adults. However, we have learned that constantly praising ourselves and others will not propel us to a life of happiness and ambition as was anticipated.
So what could be wrong with praising ourselves and others?
Well... it depends on how you are praising them and what you are praising them for. Praising our children and others is very important but the problem does not lie in the amount of praise we provide each other; it is what we praise each other for. Typically, parents love to brag about their children when they are proficient at a specific skill or are highly motivated; as they should. The bolstering that parents engage in serves two purposes: (1) the parent uses the opportunity to brag on their children; while subsequently portraying themselves indirectly as exceptional parents, and (2) they make the child feel good about themselves... in the short-term at least.
But let's look at, for instance, a parent who constantly praises their child's intelligence. They continuously tell them they are smart until it is ingrained into the child's head. You might be thinking "So what could be wrong with that"? It is important for people to view themselves as intelligent right? Yes and No.
When we assign positive labels to people without assigning more emphasis on the work that was involved to warrant that label, we are possibly thwarting that person's progress towards true growth because the focus now becomes more towards maintaining the label; rather than working and challenging yourself to reach new heights (fixed mindset vs growth mindset). Take for instance Ryan who has worked at his current job for 3 years. His employer has constantly praised him for being naturally gifted and the smartest employee the company has on their roster. Ryan's boss mentions to him that there is an opportunity for a promotion; however, the job duties are totally different and Ryan will have to learn how to run a whole new department. Someone who has been constantly praised for being smart and talented; rather than how hard they work, will more likely pass up the opportunity for the promotion than a person with the same qualifications who was constantly praised for how hard he or she has worked to be so talented. A person who is praised constantly for being smart will be more focused on maintaining that label and it will be harder for him to step out of his comfort zone to take on bigger challenges because that could threaten his "smart" label. This is an example of someone squandering an opportunity to grow because he is so focused on the fear of failure and being relegated to a lower status within the company structure.
Pay close attention to those around you and you can differentiate between someone with a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset. Someone with a fixed mindset tends to feel threatened by the success of others. When someone else gets praised or accomplishes their goals, the fixed-mindset person often feels jealous and compares themselves to that person. The person with a fixed mindset often ignores useful constructive criticism or negative feedback. They tend to blame the circumstances or their environment for their current shortcomings. They often view effort as a negative because they believe that being able to portray that they accomplish their goals using what they believe as "natural talent and abilities" is much more admirable than showing people that they worked hard to accomplish their goals. Individuals with fixed mindsets often give up easily when barriers or obstacles arise; as these speed bumps could threaten their reputation and could ultimately lead to their "label" being stripped from them.
As you can imagine, operating under a fixed mindset can significantly limit one's ability to step out and grow. These individuals usually will stay in their bubble when it comes to their hobbies, their careers, their parenting, and most other aspects of life.
A person with a growth mindset focuses more on the work (or the process) of accomplishing their goals. Instead of looking at someone who is getting praise and commendations as a negative, a person with a growth mindset will be inspired by that person. They might look to that person for mentorship or model their work ethic in order to grow to be as (or more) successful. When a growth-mindset person is criticized or given negative feedback, he or she looks at this feedback as valuable information in which they can use to help them improve their current abilities. The person with a growth mindset views obstacles and barriers as minor setbacks; as these setbacks are viewed as learning experiences and opportunities to grow.
Conclusion
The type of mindset we employ has a direct effect on who we are and who we will become. As you can imagine, a fixed mindset can keep you in an extremely limited and vulnerable state. It is important for counselors to model and teach their clients the difference between a fixed and growth mindset and also provide counseling services that emphasize the shift towards a growth mindset. Living with a growth mindset is necessary for individuals in counseling to truly accomplish their goals and to elicit sustainable change and growth.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9226985
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