21A Reading Reflection No. 2

            I decided to read the book Mindset: The Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck.  This was a very interesting read which discussed the topic of how you view situations to be the main determining factor of the outcomes.  If you have the fixed mindset, achieving anything other than what you perceive as predetermined is very difficult.  On the other hand, if you have the growth mindset you are more likely to develop your traits and change as you experience new situations. Dweck went into detail as to how these mindsets affect different areas of your life, including sports, relationships, parenting, and your professional life. 

            This book connected with the topics from this course through the growth mindset. This course has encouraged me to think differently and look at challenges as opportunities for growth.  This is how the book describes a healthy style of growing and incorporating a mindset that will allow you to reach your full potential.  Reading Dweck’s book on how to properly develop as an individual and achieve success has given me the desire to follow this course more intently and really grasp the concepts that it is teaching me. This will allow me to grow as an individual and adapt to new situations. 

            An exercise I would design for this class based on the book Mindset: The Psychology of Success, would be to have two groups be given the same task, but different instructions and guidelines.  These guidelines would allow for either the entire group to participate and develop common ideas and goals, or only have the smartest people do the talking while those that did poor on the most recent cupcake have to remain quiet.  I would then compare ideas from both groups and the group in which everyone could share their thoughts would typically end up with the more creative idea. 

            Going in to this reading I was not very excited about the book itself. The genre of business and philosophy was not the most appealing to my eye.  However, I ended up gaining very valuable information. I gained knowledge on how to properly approach a situation with the right attitude in mind to make sure I optimize my growth.  The book opened up new perspectives for me in ways I did not imagine.  I am a big competitor and the mindset the book said to have during sports is very accurate if you want to win.  I will apply what I learned from this book to my mindset next time I participate in a sport and see if the approach gives me an advantage.