Fixed vs Growth Mindset
On this page 5 headings
Start here A top-ranker joins IIT Madras and suddenly feels like “a little fish lost in a big ocean”. Everyone seems smarter. She hides in her comfort zone and tells herself, “My brain has reached its limit.” Years later, she teaches this course. What changed? Her mindset.
This week is taught by four faculty members together: Prof. Kartic Vaidyanathan, Prof. Prasanna G, Lt Col Jayakumar and Prof. Sivakumar M S.
“It is not the number of years you have spent in life, but how much life you have given to those years.” — Prof. Sivakumar
What is a growth mindset?
The idea comes from the psychologist Carol Dweck. She studied what makes people perform at their best.
People who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies and input from others) have a growth mindset. People who believe their talents are fixed (inborn gifts) have a fixed mindset. (Based on Dweck’s article “What Having a ‘Growth Mindset’ Actually Means”, Harvard Business Review.)
People with a growth mindset achieve more. They worry less about looking smart and put more energy into learning. In companies with a growth mindset, employees feel more empowered and committed, and there is more support for teamwork and new ideas.
Fixed vs growth: five differences
| Situation | ✗ Fixed mindset | ✓ Growth mindset |
|---|---|---|
| Challenges | Avoids them | Embraces them |
| Setbacks | Gives up early | Keeps going |
| Effort | Sees it as useless | Sees it as the path to mastery |
| Criticism | Ignores useful feedback; takes it personally | Learns from it |
| Others’ success | Feels threatened or jealous | Finds lessons and inspiration in it |
Three personal stories
Lecture example — Prof. Kartic: “I had to be the best in everything” Early in life, he avoided challenges, gave up easily, and wanted to look smart. He took criticism as an attack on himself, not on his work, so it made him angry and frustrated. He couldn’t stand others doing better. This took a toll on his mental and physical health. With mentors and self-reflection, he changed:
- Performance is about the process, not just results.
- Learn from setbacks.
- Success is the path to mastery, not winning every time.
- Criticism is about the task, not the person.
- Get inspired by others’ success, not threatened.
Lecture example — Prof. Prasanna: the “brain freeze” After a top rank, she came to IIT Madras and felt clueless and out of place. She built a comfort zone, avoided challenges, and told herself, “If I can’t do it right the first time, I can’t do it at all”, and “Engineering is not for me.” One day she realised that staying in her comfort zone, ruled by fears and excuses, had given her nothing. That was her “moment of truth”. She saw that her happiness was her responsibility and that she had the power of choice. She started exploring, experimenting and making mistakes. She turned stumbling blocks into stepping stones and used words of power and positivity.
Lecture example — Lt Col Jayakumar: the goal post In an outbound training (OBT) activity, students were told to run around a goal post, “keeping it to your right”. Some went the wrong way and blocked others. Lesson: at work, follow the standard process (process compliance) even before you fully understand it. Asking “why” is good too. Later, you can suggest changes to improve the process.
Words change your mindset
Prof. Sivakumar noticed that small word changes shift thinking:
| Instead of… | Say… | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| “Let’s divide the 10 people into two teams.” | “Let’s group them into two teams.” | Grouping brings people together; dividing splits them. |
| “What is your course load next semester?” | “I am offering a course next semester.” | “Offering” feels like giving, not a burden. |
| Being jealous of someone’s success | Appreciating their success | To appreciate means to increase the value of something. When you appreciate others, you learn how they succeeded, and you grow too. |
In one line: A growth mindset believes ability can be developed through effort, strategy and feedback, while a fixed mindset believes ability is fixed. Exam words: growth mindset, fixed mindset, Carol Dweck, embrace challenges, path to mastery, learn from criticism, inspiration from others’ success, comfort zone, power of choice, process compliance, words of power.