Do you think you could never be smarter than you already now? That you will always suck at math? Or that you could never be capable of learning to draw? Or are you a “perfectionist? This book might be for you.

This book addresses how mindsets affect our every day life. From an early age, our society and praise from others teaches many of us that in order to be “smart” or good at something, we must be perfect. This is the fixed mindset and can often leave us feeling like a failure when we don’t meet others or our standards. This book addresses how the fixed mindset and the growth mindset differ and how mindset affects our schooling, hobbies, work, relationships, and more on a daily basis.


Things I loved about Mindset:
The subject matter.
I am so passionate about this topic as it has truly changed my way of being. I always thought I was incapable of many things and would give up so easily, frustrated by my less than perfect results. This book highlighted for me that my perfectionism is a result of the fixed mindset. Many of the stories helped me identify how this mindset came to be, as a result of childhood experiences and society’s saying and stereotypes. I am looking forward to using some of the tips to encourage myself to grow rather than be perfect. I am also excited to have the tools to encourage growth in the children that I interact with so that they can learn to value growth over being perfect.

Things I would change about Mindset:
More applicable information.
The stories provided were greatly informative of where the mindset comes from and how it displays itself in various elements of life. Stories are also an entertaining tool for conveying information. However, I wish there was more advice for how to apply the information throughout the book. The last chapter is set up as a workshop with more applicable advice but it is a small portion of the book and felt dense so I will have to revisit it to really absorb the material.

Cohesive layout.
This book covered so many areas of life as well as the different mindsets. I felt a little discombobulated as we switched topics from school to sports back to school and school sports. A lot of the information seemed to connect in many ways and I struggled from context switching. I do wish I understood the chapters layout, though that can be the downside of audio format as well.

Less of…
Less stories- the point is clear and many of the stories felt a little too much, like a sermon more than a lesson.
Less repetition- like the above. I do think repetition helps people learn but it can also be frustrating.
Less about the author- I understand the value of personal experience but often times personal experience is more valuable to the person who experienced it. I enjoyed more of the stories from the close outside perspective. Meaning, the stories from the parents, teachers, and students or people themselves. Not the stories about the author and not the stories about a famous figure who might display features of growth mindset but no one can truly be sure if you aren’t close enough to that person.

All comments about execution aside, the lesson this book holds is very valuable. While I continue to search for a book that addresses this idea with less on the flaws listed, I would still highly recommend this book to anyone who:
- wants to grow in a hobby, a job, relationship, or any other area in which they feel stuck
- teachers, coaches, or mentors anyone, especially children
- wants to grow