9 Fixed Mindset VS Growth Mindset Real-World Examples

When I was in elementary school, I had a friend who played the violin–which was so cool because she was the only one who could do it. 

Similarly, we had one girl in our grade who was a standout gymnast and one who did horseback riding competitions on the weekends. And of course we had that smart girl.

These girls were born with unique talents that the rest of us didn’t have.

Or, so I thought.

I guess I assumed they just always knew they were born with some quality or characteristic that allowed them to do things that not everyone else did–or at least as well as they did it.

All three girls dropped their respective hobbies prior to going into high school, but I always thought of each of them as being someone born with an ability that I simply did not innately have.

My mindset about my skills and talents (or, lack thereof) was fixed. 

We’ve discussed fixed and growth mindsets before, but let’s do a quick recap. Stanford University researcher Carol Dweck argues that everyone has one of two mindsets: a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. 

People with a fixed mindset believe that their most valuable personal characteristics (such as personality, talents, and skills) are largely set in stone and cannot be changed. This limiting mindset leads to a constant need to protect their ego, avoid failure, and justify their sense of self.

However, those with a growth mindset believe they can develop any personal quality or ability by putting in the effort and being persistent. This mindset leads to a love for learning, a passion for personal development, and a sense of confidence and resiliency when faced with challenges.

People with a growth mindset believe they can cultivate their skills with time and practice, so they can often be found putting extra work in to achieve a higher success rate. 

Which of these mindsets do you think is better if you want to hold yourself back in life? Which one do you think is more suitable for those who want to break out of the everyday norm and exceed even their expectations?

In this article, we will examine nine scenarios viewed by someone with a growth mindset and by someone with a fixed mindset. By applying these mindsets to these specific situations, you will quickly see the benefits of living with a growth mindset.

Before we proceed, if you prefer to watch instead of read, check out the video version of this article:

Let’s get started. 

1. Intelligence

Carol Dweck’s research is largely based on intelligence. This spawned from a childhood experience in which she had a teacher who seated everyone in the class according to their most recent IQ test scores.

This meant that the students with the highest IQ had the first seats in the class, and the rest followed behind in descending order. 

Dweck recalls that this was as damaging for those at the top as it was for those at the bottom, as students were defined by their test scores–and those at the top (including herself) were always concerned about making a mistake and losing their spot.

Dweck finished the year wondering why her teacher believed so firmly that intelligence was a fixed trait while Dweck thought it could be cultivated. 

Dweck found in her subsequent research that people's personal views on where intelligence comes from have a huge impact on their motivation to learn.

People with a fixed mindset—those who believe they’re either born with intelligence or they’re not—are largely focused on how smart they are. They prefer to stick to tasks that they’re familiar with so they can avoid potentially making a mistake.

On the other hand, people with a growth mindset see intelligence as something that can be gained with experience, so they want to keep challenging themselves with new tasks to improve upon their current abilities–even if it takes time, effort, and trial and error.

Examples of fixed mindsets and growth mindsets regarding intelligence probably occur more frequently in everyday life than you realize.

But let’s look at a scenario where your boss approaches you with a new project that involves a new type of software that you’ve never heard of before. What are your first thoughts?

2. Feedback

Remember that those with a fixed mindset prefer to stick to tasks they know to avoid the potential to make a mistake.

This also means that they aren’t often eager to open themselves up to other people’s opinions about their work because when people with a fixed mindset are criticized, they view it as a reflection of their character and are likely to become defensive.

Conversely, people with a growth mindset welcome feedback because they see it as an opportunity to learn and improve themselves.

In fact, they will seek feedback to identify any room for improvement, gap in knowledge, or absence of a skill because people with a growth mindset don’t see these things as being set in stone; they see them as being workable.

With a growth mindset, you want to hear any and all points of view about your work because it could lead to a “lightbulb” moment when you can make personal progress in some way. 

For example, you go into a team meeting for a project that you’ve been working on, and one of your teammates comments that your portion of the project needs some work—it’s too short and doesn’t blend in well with everyone else’s efforts. 

Let’s look at how you may respond to this, depending on your mindset.

3. Failure

People with a fixed mindset allow themselves to be defined by failure. Because they think that people are either naturally good at things or will never be good at those things, they give up if they hit a roadblock. Why waste time trying to do something you will never be able to do?

Here’s an everyday example. Especially over the past few months with the coronavirus pandemic, many people have had to get a bit creative with their time, as vacations and social gatherings have been mainly cancelled.

This means that people are looking for new hobbies that can be done at home to pass the time.

Understandably, the number of people who have tried their hand at home cooking has gone way up since the start of this virus. And what types of recipes have especially surged in popularity over the past few months? Bread. 

If you’ve been wondering why flour has been scarce at the grocery store lately, it’s because the pandemic has brought people back to the basics by giving the gift of time and creating the need for at-home meals.

When coupled together, this has people all over the world making and feeding sourdough starters to bake their own bread—a finicky recipe that is often met with failure.

Sourdough starter is notorious for requiring trial and error, patience, and the ability to overcome challenges. If you’re among the many households who tried–and inevitably failed–your first attempt at making sourdough starter, you came out on the other side of that experience thinking one of two things:

4. Other People’s Success

Speaking of failure, let’s talk about other people’s success. Do you feel inspired to do the same when you see other people succeed? Or do you resentful because there is only so much room at the top?

Having a scarcity mentality regarding success breeds a cut-throat culture where people try to tear others down to get to the top.

People lose focus on their purpose in an attempt to ensure no one can surpass them. Instead of making efforts to continuously improve themselves, people with a fixed mindset are more concerned with comparing themselves to others.

Let’s say someone at work gained recognition for a recent project that, once implemented, improved the efficiency of a standard process in the office. This made everyone’s life a bit easier–even your own–and there’s been a lot of talk surrounding the “win” ever since. 

How are you feeling?

5. Change

If there is anything you can consistently count on in life, it’s that change will happen.

With technology innovations and changes in leadership, companies will evolve, processes will improve, and entire industries will transform. And yes, generally, people are resistant to change. But if you want to keep up with society, you’ve got to get on board with embracing it. 

And I think, at this point, people recognize that. Especially in 2020, people have seen that when it comes down to it, sometimes you don’t have a choice aside from rolling with the punches and adapting to new norms. 

But how do you react to change?

6. The Process

When you’re working on something, do you focus more on the process of doing it or on the outcome? 

If you’re focused on the process, it means you don’t let obstacles get in your way–instead, you find ways to work around them, you know to only worry about the things that are within your control, and you celebrate the small wins along the way.

People who have an intrinsic sense of motivation often focus on the process rather than exclusively the end goal because they enjoy what they do and realize that they add value to whatever they’re doing along the way.

They also recognize what the process can give back to them– the small lessons along the way, opportunities to try new methods of doing things and room for personal development. 

If you’re doing something with your life that encourages you to focus on the process because you benefit from doing so, you’ve likely found your niche–and you will want to continue to concentrate on developing your craft and improving yourself from wherever you were yesterday.

When thinking about the process of your everyday tasks…

7. Effort

If you’re like me, the amount of effort you put toward something represents your passion for the cause.

If you want to learn something or want to achieve a goal, you’re willing to give it your all and go above and beyond to get what you want.

Alternatively, if you feel just “meh” about an opportunity, you might put a bit of work into it, but you’re not going to make it a priority or set aside anything important in your life to make sure you focus on it. You might do “just enough” to get by.

For example, When I returned to school to get my graduate degree in social work, we had to take a research class, which made perfect sense because research is always conducted on human behavior and the like.

A big part of that research class involved conducting our own social justice research project and learning how to use a statistical software program.

While I was interested in social justice research in general, I was not interested in learning how to use this complicated software to interpret my data and perform statistical analysis.

I honestly gave up before even trying, and as soon as I knew just enough to pass the exam on how to use the program, I let all of the information fly out of my brain.

I had a fixed mindset when it came to learning this element of research, and I stuck to it. Because of that, I put very little effort into the process.

But it wasn’t only because learning about the software wasn’t my priority. I didn’t put any effort into it because I pre-determined that it was over my head when I heard the first mention of its impending intrusion into my life.

I let it defeat me without even attempting a fight, which is essentially as fixed as a mindset can get.

On the other hand, when it came to learning about human behavior and social justice topics, not only did I want to know what, I also wanted to know why and how and what if…

I was so engrossed in the learning process of topics that are (in hindsight) infinitely more complex than the statistics program that I was willing to put forth all of my effort and enjoyed doing so along the way.

When it comes to the effort you’re willing to put into something…

8. Confidence

If you believe you were born with as much talent, intelligence, and skill as you will ever have, you probably often feel like you need to prove yourself to others. Why? Because if there is a limit on these personal characteristics, you want to be able to demonstrate that you’re strong in each of them.

Any success you achieve affirms your inherent characteristics, and to maintain a sense of confidence, you have to avoid anyone who could potentially see you make a mistake. 

If you have a fixed mindset, you’re always trying to prove to other people (and to yourself) that whatever level of skill you have is enough. Otherwise, you will be seen as inadequate, and you can do nothing to change that.

However, with a growth mindset, your confidence comes from within. You don’t need any outside validation to help you feel like you’re enough because you’re well-aware of your value. You know your strengths and where you have room for improvement, and you see yourself as a constant work in progress. 

When thinking about your self-confidence…

9. Attitude Toward Learning

Carol Dweck said, “The belief that cherished qualities can be developed creates a passion for learning.”

Along with the belief that you can continuously learn comes an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. It comes with an attitude of purpose toward understanding and engaging with new and challenging information to transform your current self into someone more intelligent, stronger, and more versatile.

People with a growth mindset don’t like to see anyone’s potential go to waste–especially their own. So, they maintain a positive attitude toward developing themselves through learning and experiencing as much as possible.

Final Thoughts on these Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset Examples

The good thing about any mentality is that it isn’t a fixed trait. You can choose to adopt a growth mindset at any time, and after reading these examples of a fixed vs. a growth mindset, you can likely see the benefit of choosing the latter. 

If you're still unsure what mindset you have, check out these fixed vs. growth mindset quizzes.

Now, if you need some resources to help you further develop a growth mindset, here are some articles that might help:

• 15 Growth Mindset Statements to Recite Daily
• 7 Growth Mindset Activities and Exercises for Adults
• 33 Growth Mindset Examples to Change Your Beliefs
• 13 Growth Mindset Videos for Kids to Watch on YouTube
• 55 Growth Mindset Journal Prompts for Students and Adults

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals.