Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
By Carol S. Dweck
— An inquiry into the power of our beliefs, both
conscious and unconscious, and how changing even the
simplest of them can have profound impact on nearly
every aspect of our lives.
 Fixed mindset - assumes that our character,
intelligence, and creative ability are static
givens which we can’t change in any
meaningful way, and success is the affirmation
of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of
how those givens measure up against an
equally fixed standard; striving for success and
avoiding failure at all costs become a way of
maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.
 Growth mindset - thrives on challenge and
sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence
but as a heartening springboard for growth and
for stretching our existing abilities.
SELF-EFFICACY
 Perceived self-efficacy is concerned with
people’s beliefs in their ability to influence
events that affect their lives.
 This core belief is the foundation of human
motivation, performance accomplishments,
and emotional well-being (Bandura, 1997,
2006).
 Unless people believe they can produce desired
effects by their actions, they have little
incentive to undertake activities or to persevere
in the face of difficulties.
Efficacy-Activated Processes
Cognitive Processes
 Those who have a high sense of efficacy
visualize success scenarios that provide positive
guides for performance.
 Those who judge themselves as inefficacious
are more inclined to visualize failure scenarios
that undermine performance by dwelling on
personal deficiencies and on how things will go
wrong.
Motivational Processes
 In cognitive motivation, people motivate
themselves and guide their actions
anticipatorily through the exercise of
forethought.
 They form beliefs about what they can do, they
anticipate likely outcomes of prospective
actions, and they set goals for themselves and
plan courses of action designed to realize
valued futures.
Affective Processes
People’s beliefs in their coping capabilities also play a
pivotal role in the self-regulation of emotional states
(Bandura, 1997).
1) One route is through unfulfilled aspiration.
People who impose on themselves standards of
self-worth that they judge they cannot attain
drive themselves to bouts of depression.
2) A second efficacy route to depression is
through a low sense of social efficacy to
develop social relationships that bring
satisfaction to one’s life and cushion the
adverse effects of chronic stressors.
3) The third route to depression is through
thought control efficacy. People live in a
psychic environment largely of their own
making. Much human depression is cognitively
generated by dejecting ruminative thought.
Selection Processes
 People tend to avoid activities and situations
they believe exceed their coping capabilities,
but they readily undertake challenging
activities and pick social environments they
judge themselves capable of handling.
 People with a low sense of efficacy in a given
domain of functioning shy away from difficult
tasks, which they tend to perceive as personal
threats.
 People who have a strong sense of efficacy, by
contrast, approach difficult tasks as challenges
to be mastered rather than as threats to be
avoided.
10 Steps to Successful Goal Setting Key Principles of Goal Setting

1. Belief 1. Commitment
2. Visualize what you want.
3. Get it down! Commitment refers to the degree to which an
4. Purpose individual is attached to the goal and their
5. Commit determination to reach it – even when faced with
6. Stay focused obstacles.
7. Plan of action 2. Clarity
8. No Time Like the Present
9. Accountability Set clear, precise and unambiguous goals that are
10. Review implicit and can be measured. When a goal is clear in
11. your mind, you have an improved understanding of the
task at hand. You know exactly what is required and the
What is Goal Setting and How to Do it well resulting success is a further source of motivation.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a 3. Challenging
plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon
which we must vigorously act. There is no other route Goals must be challenging yet attainable. If we know a
to success.” goal is challenging yet believes it is within our abilities
to accomplish, we are more likely to be motivated to
- Pablo Picasso complete a task (Zimmerman et al., 1992).

What is Goal Setting?
Goal setting is the process by which we achieve these
goals.
“Every person’s life depends on the process of choosing
goals to pursue; if you remain passive you are not going
to thrive as a human being.”
-John Locke, 2019
Why do some people perform better on tasks than
others?
According to Ryan (1970), if individuals are equal in
ability and knowledge, then the cause must be
motivational.
4. Task Complexity
The timescale for such goals should be realistic.
Allowing sufficient time to work toward a goal allows
opportunities to reassess the goal complexity, whilst
reviewing and improving performance. Even the most
motivated of people can become disillusioned if the
task’s complexity is too great for their skills.
5. Feedback
If performance falls below the standard required to
achieve a goal, feedback allows us to reflect upon our
ability and set new, more attainable, goals. When such
feedback is delayed, we cannot evaluate the
effectiveness of our strategies promptly, leading to a
potential reduction in the rate of progress
(Zimmerman, 2008).

Why is Goal Setting Important?
Goal setting involves planning for the future. Thinking
positively about the future bolsters our ability to create
goals and consider the actions required to achieve
them.
An Explanation of How (and Why) Goal Setting
Works
 Goals energize performance through the
motivation to expend the required effort in line
with the difficulty of the task.
  Goals motivate people to persist in activities are often the measure by which individuals judge their
over time. worth.
 Goals direct people’s attention to relevant
behaviors and away from behaviors which are
irrelevant or detrimental to the achievement of D. Approach vs. Avoidance
the task.
When setting goals, individuals may aspire to attain
What Skills Does it Require? competence or strive to avoid incompetence; we are
driven either by a desire for success or a fear of failure
 Planning
(Lewin, Dembo, Festinger, & Sears, 1944).
 Self-Motivation
 Time Management
 Flexibility
 Self-regulation 3 Helpful Categories for Setting Healthy Goals
 Commitment and Focus
1) Time Goals
2) Focus Goals
Different Areas Related to Goal Setting 3) Topic-Based Goals

A. Performance and Mastery

 Mastery goals encourage attempts to try and to
improve. It promotes involvement through self-
evaluation and ongoing improvement.
 Performance goals orient individuals to prove.
It may create feelings of anxiety and interrupt
task performance
This suggests that mastery goals may provide a more
positive effect on motivation and, in turn, goal
achievement (Nichols, 1984).
An Outline for Personal Goal Setting
Personal goal setting is a personal endeavor, only you
know what you want to achieve.
A. Set three goals
By limiting the number of goals you initially set
there is less chance that you will become overwhelmed
by the tasks ahead.
B. Focus on short term goals

Setting short term goals such as “I will learn to

B. Prosociality
The pursuit of social goals can help organize, direct,
and empower individuals to achieve more fully. For
example, the desire to achieve goals for the sake of the
group is a well-known phenomenon, and it forms the
basis for much of the success of cooperative learning
(Hertiz-Lazarowitz et al 1992).
make pancakes by next week” enables more frequent
opportunities to review and acknowledge the
achievement of goals.
C. Make your goals positive
Failure to achieve a positive goal is viewed as an
indication that while we may have failed at least we are
still on the right path.

 “I want to stop eating so much junk food”

C. Self-Worth  “I want to feel healthy and will change my diet
in order to do so”
Individuals are widely considered to be as worthy as
their ability to achieve. The fear of failure within this
context can impact the attainment of goals. The grades
students achieve and successes within the workplace
3 Descriptions of Goal Setting in Practice

1) Psychological Health

Goal setting is a robust method of support for positive

mental health (Rose & Smith, 2018).

Achieving goals in any aspect of life can boost self-

esteem and self-efficacy, leading to improvements in
confidence and well-being.

 “I want to be happier”
 “I will do one thing every day that makes me
happy”.

2) Relationships

Canevello & Crocker (2011) suggested that goals

contribute to the cycles of responsiveness between
people and improve relationship quality.

 “I will make sure I am home from work every

night before the children go to bed”
 “I will make sure I am home from work 2 days a
week so that I can see the children before
bedtime”.

3) Financial

Money, or lack thereof, can massively influence our

mental health and well-being (Mind, 2016). Whatever
you’re financial goal, small positive steps to taking
control of your finances can make a big impact.

 “I want to save money”

 “I will save $500 in the next 8 weeks”