The Number One Draft Choice
The last dilemma seemed hard, but, basically, it was solved by a phone call. Now
imagine you’re a promising quarterback. In fact, you’re the winner of the Heisman trophy,
college football’s highest award. You’re the top draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, the team
you’ve always dreamed of playing for. So what’s the dilemma?
The Second Dilemma. The pressure is overwhelming. You yearn for playing time in the
games, but every time they put you in a game to try you out, you turn anxious and lose your
focus. You were always cool under pressure, but this is the pros. Now all you see are giant guys
coming toward you—twelve hundred pounds of giant guys who want to take you apart. Giant
guys who move faster than you ever thought possible. You feel cornered elpless.
The Fixed-Mindset Reaction. You torture yourself with the idea that a quarterback is a
leader and you’re no leader. How could you ever inspire the confidence of your teammates when
you can’t get your act together to throw a good pass or scramble for a few yards? To make things
worse, the sportscasters keep asking, What happened to the boy wonder?
To minimize the humiliation you begin to keep to yourself and, to avoid the sportscasters,
you disappear into the locker room right after the game.
Whoa. Is this a recipe for success? What steps could you take to make things better?
Think about the resources at your disposal and how you could use them. But first, get your
mindset turned around.
The Growth-Mindset Step. In the growth mindset, you tell yourself that the switch to the
professionals is a huge step, one that takes a lot of adjustment and a lot of learning. There are
many things you couldn’t possibly know yet and that you’d better start finding out about.
You try to spend more time with the veteran quarterbacks, asking them questions and
watching tapes with them. Instead of hiding your insecurities, you talk about how different it is
from college. They, in turn, tell you that’s exactly how they felt. In fact, they share their
humiliating stories with you.
You ask them what they did to overcome the initial difficulties and they teach you their
mental and physical techniques. As you begin to feel more integrated into the team, you realize
you’re part of an organization that wants to help you grow, not judge and belittle you. Rather
than worrying that they overpaid for your talent, you begin to give them their money’s worth of
incredibly hard work and team spirit.
PEOPLE WHO DON’T WANT TO CHANGE
Entitlement: The World Owes You
Many people with the fixed mindset think the world needs to change, not them. They feel
entitled to something better—a better job, house, or spouse. The world should recognize their
special qualities and treat them accordingly. Let’s move to the next dilemma and imagine
yourself in this situation.
The Next Dilemma. “Here I am,” you think, “in this low-level job. It’s demeaning. With
my talent I shouldn’t have to work like this. I should be up there with the big boys, enjoying the
good life.” Your boss thinks you have a bad attitude. When she needs someone to take on more
responsibilities, she doesn’t turn to you. When it’s time to give out promotions, she doesn’t
include you.
The Fixed-Mindset Reaction. “She’s threatened by me,” you say bitterly. Your fixed
mindset is telling you that, because of who you are, you should automatically be thrust into the
upper levels of the business. In your mind, people should see your talents and reward you. When
they don’t, it’s not fair. Why should you change? You just want your due.
wang
(Wang)
#1