Your’s been a very refreshing and inspiring blog to read this new year. It’s a thought-provoking piece of abiding relevance. Your take on the writer’s mindset undergoing change and growth is commendable and highly appreciated.

I am also inspired by your words in the following lines:

“As writers, we have to encourage a growth-mindset. You simply cannot sail through with no challenge to your ego or your ability. This is a great good thing.”

Indeed, through some difficult, writer’s block times, such growth mindset deeply helped me finish my upcoming book: American Galaxy: http://www.redroom.com/blog/ugonna/american-galaxy

Interestingly too, Professor Dweck’s works have been helpful to me personally. I have read some of Carol S. Dweck’s empirical papers and theoretical articles; and especially her 2005 published book edited with Professor Andrew J. Elliot: “The handbook of competence and motivation.”

Thank you so much for caring enough to share your growth mindset article. I am very grateful. With Angie, Leo and Charlie plus your extended family, have a wonderful and abundant harvest new year 2009 in GOD’s loving care. Keep well, and cheers!

With very good wishes:

Ugonna
http://uwachuku.googlepages.com
+
http://www.redroom.com/member/ugonna

Yes, I see the point about original sin. Though I wouldn’t say a growth mindset would require that perfection or salvation is achievable, just that improvement is possible and that the tools of that improvement are within a person’s control or action. In that way you might be able to shoehorn the religious comparison…

Gretchen

@Kimberley–Thanks; glad it helped. Happy New Year!

Very few things that have the power to engage us over long periods are easy. Otherwise we’d lose interest. (And we may lose interest for other reasons as well.)

I don’t know if the following comparison fits, I’ve been driving a lot and listening to many audiobooks but this popped into my head based on one of the books I listened to. The “fixed” perspective is like the Puritan view of salvation; it is pre-determined and your life on earth at most may reveal which way god has already pegged for you. Changing your path is not possible.

The “growth” mindset is more like Catholicism (or Anglicanism in the case of the book I listened to) where salvation was not pre-ordained. It’s important for people to keep striving to achieve salvation. And there are ways to atone for mistakes in the eyes of god in order to continue towards the goal.

I may be full of shit here. My mom is Catholic and my dad’s family is the stereotype of repressed new england-y Puritanism/Protestantism. And this fits based on what I know but I do not practice either religion and am not a theological scholar.

Gretchen

I tend to learn very easily more or less, but writing is something that I find very hard to do, and do well. So I have avoided it for most of my life, even though I adore it. Crave it. Need it!

Thanks for such an inspiring post, and here’s to a growth mindset in the New Year!

Kimberely

http://www.unbearablewriteness.blogspot.com