Books to Read to Develop a Growth Mindset

Over 30 years ago, Carol Dweck and her colleagues became interested in students’ attitudes about failure. There were able to observe that some students rebounded while other students seemed devastated by even the smallest setbacks. After studying the behavior of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.  

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” (Dweck, 2015) 

There are many ways to develop a growth mindset, one of them being by gaining knowledge. There are many books one can refer to, to learn more about growth mindset. Five of such books are listed below –  

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset–those who believe that abilities are fixed–are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset–those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment. 

Challenging Mindset: Why a Growth Mindset Makes a Difference in Learning – and What to Do When It Doesn’t 

This book answers key questions about Carol Dweck’s theory of Mindset – What is a ‘growth mindset’ and what difference can it make? Why are growth mindset interventions not working in schools (yet) and what can be done to change this? What is a ‘failure mindset’ and why is it more influential than an adult’s fixed or growth mindset? 

Drawing on their experiences of presenting alongside Carol Dweck on many occasions, James Nottingham and Bosse Larsson tackle head-on these questions with research-backed clarity, and share proven strategies for mindset success. Mindset doesn’t matter when things are easy; it is only when faced with challenges that working from a growth mindset influences learning. 

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game  

Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball. In a narrative full of fabulous characters and brilliant excursions into the unexpected, Michael Lewis follows the low-budget Oakland A’s, visionary general manager Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateur baseball theorists. They are all in search of new baseball knowledge—insights that will give the little guy who is willing to discard old wisdom the edge over big money. 

Who Will Cry When You Die?  

How can one achieve true happiness? Is it possible to live with joy, passion and purpose every day? It is, and this potent book with its powerful life lessons and profound wisdom e” can show you how. 

Here Robin Sharma, one of the world’s leading life teachers and bestselling authors, takes you on a journey towards a new way of living, allowing you to re-purpose your time to make every day meaningful. 

Offering simple solutions to life’s most frustrating challenges, this is a guide to rebalancing the conflicting forces in your life. 

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World–and Why Things Are Better Than You Think 

When asked simple questions about global trends—what percentage of the world’s population live in poverty; why the world’s population is increasing; how many girls finish school—we systematically get the answers wrong. So wrong that a chimpanzee choosing answers at random will consistently outguess teachers, journalists, Nobel laureates, and investment bankers. 
 
In Factfulness, Professor of International Health and global TED phenomenon Hans Rosling, together with his two long-time collaborators, Anna and Ola, offers a radical new explanation of why this happens. They reveal the ten instincts that distort our perspective—from our tendency to divide the world into two camps (usually some version of us and them) to the way we consume media (where fear rules) to how we perceive progress (believing that most things are getting worse). 
 
Our problem is that we don’t know what we don’t know, and even our guesses are informed by unconscious and predictable biases. 
 
It turns out that the world, for all its imperfections, is in a much better state than we might think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t real concerns. But when we worry about everything all the time instead of embracing a worldview based on facts, we can lose our ability to focus on the things that threaten us most. 

All in all, this is such a shortlist of books to explore the vast world of Growth Mindset. We hope these books prove to be helpful recommendations for you and their journey to attain a growth mindset.