While working as a speech-language pathologist, I learned many lessons from my clients, some directly taught and some that I implicitly learned through our interactions. One lesson in particular revolved around the idea of having a growth mindset. 

What is a growth mindset?

Growth mindset refers to the way of thinking that abilities and talents are learnable and can be developed through effort and persistence. Growth mindset is in contrast to fixed mindset, which is the belief that one’s abilities, talents, and intelligence are inherently stable traits that cannot be changed over time. The concepts of fixed and growth mindset were introduced by Dr. Carol Dweck, whose research on human motivation showed that children who demonstrate a growth mindset can better overcome academic challenges and achieve higher than those with a fixed mindset. 

I first learned about growth mindset while completing a clinical rotation at an elementary school, where techniques were implemented to foster a growth mindset in its students. The concept stuck with me, and I started to notice growth and fixed mindsets all around me. Many of my clients were remarkably motivated. They saw their current skills as only a starting point and persisted through therapy to improve their communication abilities, even during difficult times. Seeing their efforts and willingness to learn from their mistakes was inspiring and made me ponder my own mindset. 

From a fixed mindset to a growth mindset

In the past, without reflection, I am sure I would have believed that I had a growth mindset. I would put much effort into my endeavors and believed that effort alone would equal success. However, growth mindset is about more than just putting in the effort. When thinking a little deeper, I discovered there were times when I demonstrated a fixed mindset; sometimes, I did not acknowledge the role of learning and development but rather believed my abilities were stagnant when I hit a roadblock.

This was most apparent when I thought back to my time as a student at UCLA. During my first year, I struggled with an introductory C++ programming course despite putting tons of effort into my studies and attending every office hour offered. During office hours one day, a student showed up to meet the professor. He had finished the assigned project quickly and wanted to show off a separate personal project. I remember thinking, “Wow, these other students seem to get these concepts so much easier than I do.” I had not been exposed to any programming or computer science prior to starting the class, and it hadn’t occurred to me that other students—like the one who came for office hours—might have had experience with programming already. I recall saying, “I just can’t grasp it like others can.” Although I completed the class, I dropped the second course in the series the next quarter, citing, “My brain doesn’t seem to work that way.” I felt discouraged and lost my confidence despite my interest in computer science.

Years later, after seeing the power of a growth mindset firsthand through my clients, I realized I had let a fixed mindset get in the way of something I wanted to pursue. This was the start of my coding journey. While working as a speech-language pathologist, I began learning to code through The Odin Project (a self-paced, open-source curriculum) to create meaningful web applications. This time, I approached learning with a completely different mindset – that every challenge is an opportunity for growth rather than a barrier. This change in mindset allowed me to progress to where I am today. I now know that my brain does work that way; it just needed a little reframing.