Dear Student,
Welcome to The Law School Playbook! I’m Halle Hara, a professor of academic success and personal skills coach to law students and attorneys. I’m glad you’re here! Today, we are going to talk about mindset.
When students come to me feeling stressed and defeated, sometimes wondering if they can continue on in law school, we discuss their mindset and how much it matters. Stanford Professor and Psychologist Carol Dweck explains that there are two types of mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Students with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence and abilities are immovable—they are something they have or don’t have and they will stay the same over time. These students generally operate from a place of self-preservation: they try to avoid difficult situations and are reluctant to try new things because they believe that their alleged deficiencies will be exposed. In contrast, students with a growth mindset believe that their intelligence and abilities are movable and can be improved through diligent work and practice.
Let’s look at some examples of things that students with fixed or growth mindsets might say.
On the topic of multiple choice:
a student with a fixed mindset might say → I’m terrible at multiple choice. I have always been bad it. It hurt my performance in undergrad too.
a student with a growth mindset might say → Multiple choice has been challenging for me.
On class notes:
a student with a fixed mindset might say → I’m bad at taking notes.
a student with a growth mindset might say → I need to improve my notetaking.
On research:
a student with a fixed mindset might say → I’m not a technological person so I’m not good at research.
a student with a growth mindset might say → I haven’t yet mastered how to use Westlaw.
You may dismiss this as semantics, but the extent to which you are willing to believe that you can change ultimately impacts your performance. But the good news is that being aware of your mindset gives you a choice to be deliberate about what you choose to believe.
In my research, I often come across the concept of neuroplasticity, which concerns the brain’s ability to change throughout the human life span. Neuroplasticity impacts my coaching greatly because it is backed by research showing that neural pathways change as a result of our experiences. So if you think back to the episode discussing how our reading brains have changed as a result of technology (which diminishes deep reading), then you can see neuroplasticity in action. The bottom line on neuroplasticity is that: we can change at any time in our lives; we can improve; we can develop new skills. The idea of fixed intelligence or capabilities is a myth.
But even if we are aware of our ability to change on a logical level, we sometimes struggle to alter our deeply-rooted thoughts on a subconscious level. Carol Dweck gives the following advice for shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset:
Step 1: Become aware of your fixed mindset “voice.” She explains that this voice might raise questions like:
“Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.”
“What if you fail?”
“People will laugh at you for thinking you had talent.”
“If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”
If you get a disappointing result from your actions, the voice may say:
“This would have been a snap if you really had talent.”
“It’s not too late to back out.”
You may find yourself angry with a person giving you feedback based on your belief that they are categorizing you as incapable.
Step 2: Consider mindset as a choice.
Carol Dweck explains that how you deal with challenges, setbacks, and criticism is a choice. You can view them as a sign that you’re deficient, lacking in talent or you can recognize them as a sign that you need to revisit your strategies and effort to grow your abilities.
Step 3: Answer the fixed mindset with a growth mindset.
Carol Dweck encourages you to answer the fixed mindset with a growth mindset. For example:
When the fixed mindset says “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.”
Have your growth mindset answer, “I’m not sure I can do it now, but I think I can learn to with time and effort.”
Step 4: Put a growth mindset in action.
Hear both voices, and act on the growth mindset to see the results it produces for you.
The authors of Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges, which we’ll discuss in a later episode, drew me to a series of questions posed in Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness. To rid yourself of negative beliefs, ask:
What evidence is there for this belief?
Is there a less destructive way to look at it?
What are the implications of this belief?
Am I catastrophizing the potential negative impact of the situation?
Am I over-generalizing, falsely assuming that this particular situation has broad implications?
How useful is my pessimistic approach to this problem?
I encourage students that what seems to come easily to others may indeed be a struggle for those people as well. I’ll close this episode with the famous Michael Jordan quote, which never ceases to inspire me:
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
If would you like to read this episode, get suggestions for further reading, or to request individual coaching with me, please visit my website at www.lawschoolplaybook.com.
As always, do your best, and I’ll be rooting for you!
References and Further Reading
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2007).
Carol S. Dweck, Developing a Growth Mindset, YouTube (Oct 9, 2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ.
Carol S. Dweck, Mindset Online https://mindsetonline.com/changeyourmindset/firststeps/index.html (accessed June 28, 2019).
Martin E.P. Seligman, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life (Reprint ed. 2006).
Steven M. Southwick & Dennis S. Charney, Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges 55 (2018).
Eric Zorn, Without Failure, Jordan Would Be False Idol, Chicago Tribune (May 19, 1997). https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-05-19-9705190096-story.html.