Perseverance — Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Foundation in Excellence
As Airmen, we understand that "Excellence in All We Do" entails striving for continual self-improvement. But too often the way we think about our abilities may hold us back.
Two Mindsets
Two Mindsets Defined
Psychologists distinguish two mindsets regarding ability and other personal qualities:
- Fixed mindset — the belief that a person's intelligence and other personal qualities are mostly permanent; that you are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that
- Growth mindset — the belief in the capacity to fundamentally improve and significantly change the kind of person you are
Past Doesn't Define
Past Doesn't Define
Growth mindset entails a recognition that past mistakes or failures don't define who you are or who you can become.
Fixed Mindset Behaviors
Fixed Mindset Patterns
People with a fixed mindset are likely to:
- Give up easily when things get hard
- Constantly try to prove themselves (prove their intelligence, prove their natural talent)
- Believe not much can be done to change if they don't excel at first
- Be overly sensitive about being wrong or making mistakes because they think their (initial) failures reflect a lack of ability that can't be changed
- View exerting effort as evidence of inability
Growth Mindset Behaviors
Growth Mindset Patterns
People with a growth mindset are likely to:
- Persist when learning new things
- Persevere on even the most difficult tasks
- Put in effort and focus on improving
- Recognize challenges are needed in order to develop and grow
- NOT get defensive about mistakes, failure, or negative feedback
- NOT feel threatened by the success of others, because they don't view an initial lack of ability as permanent