Growth Mindset: Multiple Intelligences

Growth Mindset: Multiple Intelligences 

(Multiple Intelligences cartoon by Marek Bennet)

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     This was a familiar idea concerning growth mindset for me because I am in a personalities course this semester and have found a new passion for personality psychology as a possible career path. I have taken the test for multiple intelligences a number of times and know where my strengths and weaknesses lie within this typing system. It is a system I feel like really helps me face a number of problems as well explains some of my natural tendencies. 

    My highest intelligences are musical, linguistics and kinesthetics, which is expected if you knew me well. What is exciting and helpful about knowing my strengths in these types of intelligences is that I can better go about my problems with a good plan. Like in studying, I know that I learn best in short time periods (because I cannot be stagnant for long) or at least in an environments where I can move around. I also know that rhymes or free associations help me memorize things better as well as group discussions where I can deep dive into subjects. 

    All of these strengths help me focus my work in the semester not just for academics but in how to spend my time and what will recharge me the most. Like listening to music and painting or reading or watching tv shows from other countries to get a sense of the language are all great ways from me to let go of mass amounts of stress. This was a great way to explore way to grow and better utilize my knowledge on multiple intelligences. 

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Growth Mindset

Growth Mindset

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(Quote graphic of David Dockterman
via David W. Lowell at Twitter)

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Even though I was familiar with the concept of growth mindset, I don't think I have ever heard of Carol Dweck before this assignment. I had originally learned about growth mindset in my high school AP psych class.

When it comes to school work, my stance on the spectrum is based on how interested in the subject I am. If I am even just fairly interested in the subject I am in complete growth mindset because I just want to soak up all the information I can so that transfers into any work I am actually graded on. On the other hand, if its a class or a subject I cannot be even slightly interested in, I am very much fixed mindset because I do not think of it as a learning journey but more of a pass or fail obstacle. 

In almost every other aspect, in my life I tend to be catered to the growth mindset side. Granted there are instances where I retreat into fixed mindset if I come across something that might be new to me but I feel as though I should be instantly good at. For example, because I work out and have danced all my life any physical activity comes to me easy enough so when I don't immediately catch on I have a tendency to sit in a fixed mindset for a bit. 

I've realized that I am a really curious person, almost to a fault. Because I want to stick my hand in so many pots I tend overwhelm myself. I don't really have a problem seeing things through, as in I can start things and still see them through. It is more like I put everything at the same priority level so I get overwhelm when I don't complete them in the time frame I wanted. 

Therefore I don't really have a lot of difficulties when it comes to learning new things. Other than when those new things are of absolutely no interest to me, which very few things can be. 

I would be interested in it but more in the sense of how it affects other people, just because that's how I learn best. If I approach it like a case study I learn better and can apply to myself once I feel like I fully understand.

I am really excited about my Personality and Human Relations class. Every session we've had so far has produced some pretty interesting class discussions and I am curious to see what I learn about myself through this class.