Stanford psychologist Carol S. Dweck has revolutionized our understanding of success and achievement with her groundbreaking research on the power of mindset. Her work distinguishes between a "fixed mindset," the belief that abilities are static, and a "growth mindset," the conviction that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.

On the Fundamental Difference Between Mindsets

  1. "The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life." [1][2]
  2. "In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you're not the best—it's all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they're doing regardless of the outcome." [1][3]
  3. "When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world (the world of fixed traits) success is about proving you're smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other (the world of changing qualities) it's about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself." [4]
  4. "Becoming is better than being." [1][5]
  5. "This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and help from others." [6]
  6. "People with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence and abilities are set in stone, and any mistake or failure is a threat to their entire personality and worth as a person." [7]
  7. "In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to reveal my weaknesses,' you say, 'Wow, here's a chance to grow.'" [2][4]
  8. "You can see how the belief that cherished qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning. Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?" [6]
  9. "The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset." [4][5]
  10. "Everyone is a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. You could have a predominant growth mindset in an area, but there can still be things that trigger you into a fixed mindset trait." [8]

On Effort, Challenge, and Failure

  1. "No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment." [1][4]
  2. "Effort is one of those things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it." [4][9]
  3. "In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you're not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn't need effort. In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented." [6][8]
  4. "Failure is information—we label it failure, but it's more like, 'This didn't work, I'm a problem solver, and I'll try something else.'" [9]
  5. "The most successful people are those who are good at plan B." [9]
  6. "We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don't like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary." [1][4]
  7. "Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort?” [4]
  8. "If you don't give anything, don't expect anything. Success is not coming to you, you must come to it." [1]
  9. "I don't mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I've done as well as I possibly could." [1][3]
  10. "Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going." [1][4]

On Praise and Parenting

  1. "If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning." [3][4]
  2. "Praising children's intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance." [10][11]
  3. "Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control. They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child's control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure." [8]
  4. "When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger." [9]
  5. "Students who are praised for intelligence become dependent on continued praise." [9]
  6. "The best thing parents can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don't have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence." [4]
  7. "What did you learn today? What mistake did you make that taught you something?" [4]
  8. "Don't judge. Teach. It's a learning process." [1][12]
  9. "Our mindset is often strongly influenced by the role models we had as children." [7]
  10. "Parents think they can hand children permanent confidence—like a gift—by praising their brains and talent. It doesn't work, and in fact has the opposite effect." [11]

On Learning and Achievement

  1. "The hallmark of successful people is that they are always stretching themselves to learn new things." [8]
  2. "Test scores and measures of achievement tell you where a student is, but they don't tell you where a student could end up." [4]
  3. "You don't know what your abilities are until you make a full commitment to developing them." [8]
  4. "Many growth-minded people didn't even plan to go to the top. They got there as a result of doing what they love." [1]
  5. "Focus on learning over achievement." [12]
  6. "It's not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest." [2]
  7. "Learning isn't supposed to be easy." [9]
  8. "Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training.” [5]
  9. "Speed and perfection are the enemy of difficult learning." [10]
  10. "There's a lot of intelligence out there being wasted by underestimating students' potential to develop." [10]

On Personal Growth and Relationships

  1. "Change can be tough, but I've never heard anyone say it wasn't worth it." [1][10]
  2. "The growth mindset says all of these things can be developed. All—you, your partner, and the relationship—are capable of growth and change." [1][10]
  3. "Choosing a partner is choosing a set of problems. There are no problem-free candidates." [1]
  4. "True self-confidence is 'the courage to be open—to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source.'" [3][11]
  5. "You're in charge of your mind. You can help it grow by using it in the right way." [4]
  6. "Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It's about seeing things in a new way." [3]
  7. "Do not idealize your relationships." [12]
  8. "Every day presents you with ways to grow and to help the people you care about grow." [1][10]
  9. "You have to work hardest for the things you love most." [3][4]
  10. "Think about what you want to look back and say. Then choose your mindset." [6]

Learn more:

  1. 55 Carol Dweck growth mindset vs. fixed mindset quotes - Close The Deal
  2. Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset Quotes - NinjAthlete - Ninja Athlete
  3. Quotes by Carol S. Dweck (Author of Mindset) - Goodreads
  4. TOP 25 QUOTES BY CAROL S. DWECK - A-Z Quotes
  5. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success book Quotes - Medium
  6. 29 Essential Quotes from Mindset: The New Psychology of Success - Tim Cavey
  7. 5 Key takeaways from Mindset by Carol Dweck - Deniero Bartolini
  8. Carol S. Dweck Quotes - BrainyQuote
  9. 50 Powerful Carol S. Dweck Quotes on Growth Mindset and Learning - Celebs and Places
  10. Quotes from Mindset by Carol Dweck - PCA Resource Zone
  11. Mindset Quotes by Carol S. Dweck - Goodreads
  12. 11 key takeaways from the growth mindset by Carol Dweck - ListGist