Mindset: the New Psychology of Success

also subtitled: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential
by Carol Dweck, PhD
Hennepin County Library audiobook 8 discs
read by ??? I don't remember and the jacket doesn't list her name!
genre: non-fiction

I am still on the last disc, but need to get this back to the library. I requested this in June or July and just got it three weeks ago. There's still a long waiting list!

Interesting . . . I won't go back and re-listen to the first part of disc one, but I know the author is not the reader. I even made a note in my car. "Reader voices - Dweck yuk." She did her own intro and it was almost painful to listen to her! I was/am so glad that the professional reader did the rest of the book. I'm kind of surprised that her name isn't listed on the jacket!

I loved the first quarter of this! People who read it over the summer said it was dull and not worth the time to read. I was pleasantly surprised by the power of having a growth mindset vs. a fixed mind set (something I'm too often guilty of). There were times when I thought I should get this audiobook for my dad . . . would he "get" it? The characteristics of a classic fixed mindset - blaming, perfectionism, etc. . . . SO him! (And me, too often, I admit.)

I made a note on bullies vs. victims. I had a bit of a problem with this section. It seemed to me that Dweck overgeneralized. The examples that she gave about Columbine almost made it sound as though Klebold and Harris were taunted mercilessly and their tormentors were never reprimanded. That contradicts what I've read about the situation. I don't think of those two teens as "victims."

When she did the section on athletes, I thought "Enough!" She went on and on and on . . . it wasn't only a long section; it was repetitive. This was definitely overkill. I wonder if it's because she found it the most interesting, or she thought her readers would.

The section on teaching (this is the problem with not having a print copy - I don't remember the chapter titles and don't have time now to look them up) was mostly on parenting and coaching (more athletics!). There was a little on teachers like me, but not nearly as much as I'd have liked. I can take the basic ideas and try to foster the growth mindset (or actively teach my students about it) but she didn't do as much here as I'd have liked.

Some of her generalizations and extrapolations (especially in the section on relationships) were pretty wild. I know she's done a lot of research, but humans are complex (not just Bobby Knight being "complicated") and have many factors playing on their decisions and actions.

Overall, I'm really glad I "read" it. It made me realize how much of a fixed mindset I tend to have and how limiting that is.