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Mindset : The new psychology of success - Book Review


For old timers like me, John McEnroe is vivid in our memory…for his outbursts! That’s outrageous because , John McEnroe was supremely talented tennis player who could turn a game on its head any given day. In the 1984 French Open, McEnroe lost to Ivan Lendl after leading two sets to none…According to McEnroe, it was not his fault…An NBC cameraman had taken off his headset and a noise started coming from the side of the court ! So  Mr. McEnroe ,why did you not train to improve your ability to concentrate or emotional control ? According to Carol Dweck, the Stanford University psychologist , John McEnroe had a fixed mindset…that made him to believe that he was special, superior and entitled.

Then there is Michael Jordan…”Superman”..”God in person”…”Jesus in tennis shoes” …according to his fans. Jordan does not think that way…He knew how hard he had to work and develop his abilities. He was not inherently better than others …He had to struggle and grow. This was evident in the his struggle on the comeback season after his first retirement. He never complained about the backache or the tabloids or the cameraman on the basketball court for the loss in the semi-finals.Jordan simply felt that he was not good enough to win the NBA championship and had to train better. Jordan went back and trained aggressively that helped his team win the subsequent NBA championship. Michael Jordan had a Growth mindset…

Hope the above two examples provide you a vivid picture of what Carol Dweck explains in “Mindset: The Psychology of Success”. So it could be Sports, Business , Parenting , School or relationships.. Our mindset is going to define “What Success means?” and the related attainment of it.

Here is a brief comparison of characteristics that govern the two different Mindsets...

Fixed Mindset
Growth Mindset
Ability is an endowment
Ability can be grown
Success is to Win
Success is in indomitable effort
Failure is fatal
To Fail is to learn better
Failure is not my fault
Failure is when you start to blame others
Happiness is from results
Happiness is from process
No ability at start, Don’t work at it
Whatever ability at start, you can always improve with Effort


This book is about belief and it is refreshing…Check it out and I am sure you will have a new perspective in how you see the World after reading this book!

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