‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’ by Carol Dweck

A few days ago, I completed reading an amazing book – ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’ by Carol Dweck. This book will provide you with enough reasons to introspect and improve upon your mindset.

The book and its arguments let me initiate a close observation on my own thoughts and subsequent actions & I realised in some areas, I am trapped with a fixed mindset. 

Dweck introduces two contrasting mindsets: fixed (abilities are innate) and growth (abilities can be developed). She cites classroom studies where children praised for intelligence avoided challenges, while those praised for effort embraced harder tasks and learned more. The underlined part is that appreciation should be pointed towards efforts only. 

The book shows how each mindset interprets success and failure: fixed sees failure as proof of limits; growth sees it as information and fuel for learning. Experiments with children solving puzzles demonstrate that kids with a growth approach persisted longer and improved faster.

Dweck dismantles the “natural talent” myth and highlights deliberate practice, feedback, and strategy as the engines of achievement. She profiles accomplished musicians and athletes who out-practiced supposedly more “talented” peers, underlining effort plus technique.

Sports stories make the idea vivid: Michael Jordan’s relentless work ethic and appetite for feedback illustrate a growth mindset in action. Dweck contrasts that with athletes who relied mainly on talent and fizzled out: naturally gifted stars who reached the top quickly but lacked the discipline to reinvent themselves when setbacks came, so injuries, complacency, or pressure ended promising careers.

She points to well‑known patterns—players who refuse coaching or dodge hard practice versus those who seek critique, change strategies, and keep learning. Coaches who praise effort and process produce athletes who embrace challenges, recover from defeats, and extend careers; coaches who praise innate ability create fragility, where losing becomes identity‑shattering rather than instructive.

In business, mindset shapes culture: growth-minded leaders encourage experimentation and learn from failures; fixed-minded bosses hide mistakes and protect egos. Case studies show growth cultures adapting faster and innovating more successfully.

Relationships reflect mindset too: people who assume compatibility is fixed give up early, while those who see growth work through problems. Dweck shares examples of couples who rebuilt their relationships by treating conflicts as opportunities to learn communication skills.

Parenting and praise matter: praising effort, strategies, and persistence builds resilience, while praising intelligence creates fragility. Classroom anecdotes show students praised for effort, taking on tougher tasks and showing genuine improvement.

Teachers and coaches who normalise struggle, set stretch goals, and model learning from errors lift student outcomes. Dweck gives examples of classrooms where shifting language and feedback methods raised engagement and achievement.

Leadership examples contrast two CEOs: one who hoarded credit and punished failure versus another who admitted mistakes and learned publicly. The latter fostered trust, risk-taking, and sustained performance across teams.

Dweck lays out practical steps to shift from fixed to growth: notice the fixed-mindset voice, reframe challenges as paths to growth, seek feedback, and adopt new self-talk. She offers scripts and interventions that helped students reattribute failure to strategy rather than ability.

Applied to parenting and personal habits, the mindset framework encourages modeling vulnerability, praising process, and teaching children to love learning. Stories include parents who transformed a child’s outcomes by switching from “You’re so smart” to “You worked hard on that.”

The book closes by reminding readers that growth is a continuous journey: setbacks will recur, but a growth mindset makes them manageable and meaningful. Dweck invites readers to celebrate progress, rethink limiting labels, and choose curiosity over comfort.

Parents, teachers, and coaches should read this book to understand that the filter of natural talent is not the right approach to nurture students. A growth mindset, along with hardworking is the best way forward.
Thanks, Carol Dweck, for writing this thought-provoking book.