Daily Reading: Mindset

My Daily Reading

Today, I learned about the truth of ability and accomplishment. It takes a significant amount of time and effort to develop one’s skills. Many successful figures, like Darwin, dedicated years of work and numerous discussions to achieve success. In this chapter, I also discovered the key ingredients in achievement: consistency and perseverance through hardships.

The real lesson is about maintaining a growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed mindset. I used to doubt my abilities after setbacks, making it difficult to bounce back and stay on track. Reflecting on my time at UCLA for pre-med education, I recall facing challenges and getting bad grades in biochemistry and biology. With a fixed mindset, I believed a career in medicine or pharmacy was not for me.

Now, I realize that my mindset can change along with my abilities. Looking back, if I had persevered through those challenges, I could have pursued a career as a medical doctor or pharmacist. The fear of failure tends to make those with a fixed mindset panic and doubt themselves, while those with a growth mindset mobilize their efforts for learning.

The author also touched on the low-effort syndrome, where individuals with a fixed mindset try to achieve their goals with minimal effort to protect their egos. In contrast, those with a growth mindset embrace continuous learning, trying new ideas, and finding new ways to solve problems. That’s my takeaway from this reading session.

Vocabulary of the day

• erode
  • Over time, wind and water can erode mountains and shape the landscape.
• lumps
  • She found lumps in the flour while baking a cake.
• plunge
  • She decided to take a plunge into the cold water during the hot summer day.
• callous
  • cold-hearted, cruel
  • His callous remarks hurt her feelings, making her upset.
• vividly
  • in an intensively deep or bright manner
  • The colors of the sunset were vividly painted across the sky.
• reclusive
  • isolated, introverted
  • The author lived a reclusive life, rarely venturing outside of his secluded cabin in the woods.
• preliminary
  • initial, introductory, early, opening
  • They conducted preliminary research before starting the main project.
• benign
  • kind, friendly, warm, good-natured
  • not harmful in effect
  • The doctor assured her that the tumor was benign, easing her worries about a serious health condition.
• malign
  • evil in nature or effect
  • harmful, bad
  • The rumors about her were completely malign, spreading false and harmful information.
• precocious
  • clever, advance, mature
  • The precocious child started reading before entering kindergarten.