You are Wrong- Ability is Not Always "Gifted"

WRITTEN BY- AAMNA BHALLA

(EDITED BY- ANANYA JULKA

Understanding the two mindsets

Long gone are the days when our abilities were considered to be fixed and unchangeable from birth. This archaic belief declares that some people are smart, while other aren’t. But recent psychological developments have proven otherwise. This school of thought can be found in concepts like Neuroplasticity and Growth mindset. The concept of “GROWTH MINDSET’ was first given by Carol S. Dweck in her book, “MINDSET’. She is a PhD and a researcher in social psychology.

The concept of mindset states that, while genetics may have an influence on our abilities, the former cannot work without the environment providing input.

Our mindset therefore, has a great influence on our behavior and the ways our abilities get expressed. In other words, our actions reflect our perspective of things. This is the reason why one really needs to know the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset.

What exactly comes under a fixed mindset? In a fixed mindset, a person usually believes that his basic capabilities, potential and talent is limited and cannot grow or improve. They believe the way their traits are, is enough for them in whatever they do. Their only aim in life becomes to not look dumb. As, a result, they are always insecure of their abilities and have this urgency of proving themselves over and over. They have a morbid fear of failure and are prone to being super-sensitive. This effects their ability to bear setbacks in relationships and career.

On the other hand, growth mindset is all about scope for improvement. People with growth mindset strongly believe they nothing is perfect and they can constantly learn something to bring out the best in any situation. They are persistent. They obviously do not believe in the fact that everybody can become Einstein, but undoubtedly anyone can become better by working hard, striving continuously for improvement. This is the mindset that doesn’t fear a challenge and people with this mindset hold the belief that their true potential is widely untapped.

A fixed mindset will not just hamper your growth,but having a growth mindset helps you improve phenomenally. It will always help you find inspiration from any situation or person and not make one feel threatened, as in the case of fixed mindset. People with a growth mindset thrive on the thrill of getting challenged.

We all can have limiting beliefs in any field. What is your mindset? Retrospect and if it is fixed, maybe it's time to change things for the better....

Remember that people who start out the smartest don’t always end the smartest!