Fixed vs. Growth Mindset in the Practice Room
Dr. Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset, defines a fixed mindset this way: "Students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb."
Having a fixed mindset means constantly having to prove yourself and your smarts. Even having a great accomplishment doesn't prevent a fixed mindset person from always feeling the need to prove themselves. You made first chair All-State junior year? If you have a fixed mindset, that will be completely negated if you only get third chair your senior year.
A fixed mindset leads to avoiding any situation where you can be seen as not smart or gifted. Anyone with a fixed mindset will avoid playing anything in front of anyone that they won't sound great on.
Even working hard is discouraged by the fixed mindset. If you have to practice something a lot, it means you weren't gifted enough in the first place to do it easily. A fixed mindset student will see another student who has a great high register right out of the box (or so they think) and feel shame that they had to work on theirs.
Now contrast that with a growth mindset. Here's Dweck's definition: "Students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same, or anyone can be Einstein or Beethoven, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it."
Having a growth mindset leads to a number of things:
A Love of Challenges: All challenges are seen as opportunities to learn and grow. You will only ever grow when you are challenged, so those opportunities are sought out.
A Belief in Effort: Effort is seen as the catalyst for learning. The bottom line is that learning is most important, not the ability to do things immediately.
Resilience in the Face of Setbacks: Setbacks are seen as the natural cost of doing business.
Greater, More Creative Success: Working on things you cannot do leads to the most success in life—success that is unique to you because it doesn't just reward people following a pre-drawn map.
Your mindset affects literally every aspect of your life. Studies have shown that people who cultivate a growth mindset are happier in their careers, in their relationships as parents, literally everything.
The key to effective practicing is bringing a growth mindset with you into the practice room. It unlocks your true potential and enables you to get way more done in less time.
Two important things to keep in mind:
I’ve never met a single musician who has a growth mindset in the practice room that didn’t have to intentionally cultivate it over time—no one is born with one.
Anyone can change their mindset with the right tools.
