Developing a Productive “Mindset” by Farland

For today’s kick, I’m pulling a lot of material from an article that I just got from my son’s college. It summarizes the philosophy of Carol S. Dweck, Ph. D., as expressed in her new book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. So let me paraphrase, pulling some sentences from the article, changing others to suit my audience here:
‘There is a common myth in our society that those who achieve in life do so because of superior talent, intelligence, or other forms of giftedness. Scientific discoveries, technological innovations, and success in business or artistic endeavors can come almost automatically to those who “have it” (whatever “it” is). Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck refers to this way of thinking as a “fixed mindset” and suggests that for many students it is the cause of a great deal of anxiety and failure to learn. ‘For students with a fixed mindset about themselves, any setback is evidence that they don’t have “it,” that they are not cut out for the endeavor in which they are struggling, and this creates discouragement. (For example, if writers think that only “gifted” people succeed in their fields, and they struggle, then they presume that they must not be talented enough and often stop trying.) Since imperfection suggests permanent personal failure, they also hesitate to ask for help or look for new ways to succeed. ‘The other side of the coin is what Dweck refers to as the growth mindset. Artists with this perspective see achievement as a process of growing through persistent effort. They know their early works will be fraught with mistakes and may never be “perfect,” but, like an infant learning to walk, they are willing to learn from their mistakes and move forward. They see their writing as a process of continual improvement rather than an evaluation of their character or personal worth; so they are less distressed by setback or failure. They are also less embarrassed about sharing their mistakes or consulting with others in their efforts to improve.’ I like Dweck’s philosophy. It sums up something that I’ve believed for a long time. Too often as writers, we evaluate our work and fail to see our own talent. An author who has a gift for characterization doesn’t even notice it, but yearns to have a stronger poetic voice. Or perhaps a writer whose prose is naturally clean and evocative wishes for a more elaborate style. Or a novelist with a gift for profound philosophical insights wishes that he could write steamy romantic interludes. Whatever. You get the idea. But developing the ability to write is a process. We gain one skill upon another. Even the greatest among us don’t have all “gifts.” Some of Shakespeare’s work seems so beautiful and profound, it’s ethereal. But he wrote pages and pages of drivel to get to that point. Sometimes, he even manages to sink to the level of dreck. Ben Johnson, the greatest of his contemporaries, found Shakespeare’s writing to be almost incomprehensible to the common man, and felt that he needed to learn to rewrite. Johnson was right. But when Shakespeare hit his stride in a passage, no one was better. Every great painter—Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh—has a few epic works. Yet always the “old masters” have hundreds or thousands of pieces that don’t rise to the highest level, and are thus forgettable. Don’t let your own masterpieces go unwritten. Learn to unlock the writer inside. Consciously work at developing your own unique skill set. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.