21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

1)      What was the general theme or argument of the book?

·         For this reading assignment, I decided to read Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. I thought this book would be really interesting considering I’ve been battling myself a lot with my mindset. The moral of the story is that one can change their mindset. In addition, one’s mindset is not limited to personality or traits, but all aspects of one’s life i.e. professionally, sports, family/parenting. As mentioned in the book, many people argued that most people can’t change. If they were born smart, they will be smart—if they are born stupid… you get the point. Carol does a great job in this book at enabling her readers to change their mindset by conditioning and changing one’s perspectives or even the slightest belief in order to more toward the growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset.

2)      How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

·         This book helped me a lot because there were times I was extremely stressed, and I just wanted to give up on the course. In all reality, the course isn’t hard, but my mindset isn’t always up to par. In addition, there’s a quote that resonated with me in the book that said, “Nothing ventured, nothing lost,” and truth be told, I used to always say that. When my friends advise me to start networking more, I always convinced myself it wasn’t necessary. My response would always be, “I’m doing just fine without it,” not realizing that I was stunting my own growth. Now that I’m in this course which requires me to network, interact, and conduct research I can honestly say I feel more productive and in touch with my surroundings.

3)      3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

·         My exercise would involve similar exercises in the book. For example, it would involve asking a series of questions that would determine which type of mindset you have; fixed or growth. Then, I would add activities that would allow people to select alternative responses to their original response to help them view a different mindset. So, if an individual has a fixed mindset and I asked, “Why do you believe you failed your test?” they would most likely respond, “Because the professor doesn’t like me…” An individual with a growth mindset will most likely admit they failed because they didn’t study hard enough. But, the individual with a fixed mindset will only have the option to select a more positive response to stimulate their mind.

4)      4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

·         My ‘aha’ moment was basically the ‘aha’ moment in the book, and that is realizing that everyone can change their mindset, given they are willing. Truthfully, I’ve always known this to be true for myself, but there would always be that doubt in the back of my mind, like, why am I even trying? But, this book really does help you realize that you only ever truly fail once you give up. Moreover, what set this book apart from my expectations was how real and relatable it was. I’ve always tried to read motivational or inspirational books, and it just never really did anything for me. This book is more like, hey, this is how you are and its okay for now, but I’m going to help you fix it without making you feel like you are inferior or incapable. Honestly, I felt like I had a moment of enlightenment after reading this book. I’m starting to think I needed this book more than it needed me for this assignment!