Overcome a Fixed Mindset in Four Easy Steps
My husband took this picture in the Pecos Wilderness.
Over the summer, I enrolled in a Dissertation Coaching class which is part of my ICF coaching certification process. I am writing a blog series on issues that I faced as a doctoral student and the wonderful things I am gaining in my dissertation coaching class.
Fixed versus Growth Mindset – Part Two
A fixed mindset is a belief that can negatively influence your success in your doctoral journey.
My Personal Experience with a Fixed Mindset
During my journey to earn my PhD, I encountered things that triggered me into a fixed mindset. When facing hard deadlines the fixed mindset voice said, “What were you thinking? Who’s idea was it to get a PhD?” One summer I took two Stats courses back to back, and I heard the fixed mindset voice say, “People will tease me because I don’t understand statistics.” As one semester piled onto another and the finish line was nowhere to be seen, I heard that voice, “I should be finished by now.” When I received feedback on my chapters, I felt angry at my committee member who was giving me feedback, “It’s not my fault. Your program did not adequately prepare me to write at the dissertation level.”
Are your beliefs shaping how you approach the challenge of writing your dissertation?
A fixed mindset …
is the belief that one’s abilities and talents were carved in stone and predetermined at birth. Students with a fixed mindset view a challenge as too risky. If failure occurs that failure confirms that one did not have the talent or ability. Obstacles, setbacks or criticism, become proof that they didn’t have the abilities or inborn talents that they cherished.
On the other hand a growth mindset …
is the belief that ones’ skills and qualities could be cultivated through effort and perseverance. Students with a growth mindset believe that talents and abilities could be developed. Challenges are one way to do it. Setbacks and feedback weren’t about your abilities, they are information you could use to help yourself learn. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t such a thing as talent, temperament or that every one is the same, but it simply is the belief that everyone can develop their abilities through hard work, strategies and help from others.
My Personal Experience with Growth Mindset
With each obstacle, I faced along the doctoral journey, I had to reframe my thinking and purposefully think from a growth mindset. When my first research proposal was rejected, ” Let’s roll up our sleeves and get busy. What can I learn from this setback?” When I had to learn a new program on the computer, “I will take responsibility to learn how to use different tools.” When I didn’t get the sample size I wanted, “I will try another approach and submit a modification to the IRB.” When I had to analyze my data, “I am willing to learn what I don’t know.” When my edits had been rejected for the 5th time by my APA reader, “I will correct all and any edits in order to finish.
Test your own fixed versus growth mindset by clicking here.
Watch a video I made when I needed to ramp up my study strategies for my comprehensive exams.
The terms fixed versus growth mindset come from Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, who conducted decades of research on achievement and success. Read more about Carol Dweck’s research by clicking here.
Carol Dweck offers four steps to change your mindset from fixed to growth.
- Learn to hear that fixed mindset voice.
- Recognize that I have a choice.
- Talk back to that fixed mindset voice with a growth mindset voice.
- Take action based on the growth mindset voice.
Next in the series is The Inner Critic. Keep following my blog post!
Your own coach:
If you are considering whether to get your own coach to help you reach your academic goals, contact me for a free 30-minute consultation.