What It’s All For: ‘Success’ at MAK 在MAK,「成功」是什麼？

Two summers ago our MAK faculty read the book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck, and since then some of the precepts espoused in that text have seeped into our school’s language. The premise of the book, which can be seen visually here, is that we should have a growth mindset rather than a fixed one. We should see failures as opportunities for improvement rather than monuments to our inadequacies. We should see effort as the best route to success. We should be inspired by others’ successes rather than let them make us feel dumb or unaccomplished. Many of these elements clearly resonate with what I’ve written in this space.

兩年前的夏天，MAK的老師們讀了一本書，書名是「心態—成功的新心理學」，作者是卡蘿杜威克（Carol Dweck）。從那時起，在書中某些常提起的金句名言就成了我們的校園語言。這本書是以我們應該具有成長型思維模式，而不是固定行思維模式做為前提論述（按這裡可以直接看）。我們應該將失敗視為進步的機會，而非不足之處的紀念碑；我們應該將努力看做通往成功的最佳途徑；我們應該將他人的成功做為我們的砥礪，而不是讓我們覺得自己很笨或是沒有成就。這當中有許多要素與我今天要寫的內容有共鳴之處。

But in our staff discussions on the book, one criticism of the text kept emerging. As seen in the title, the ultimate aim of having a growth mindset is success. True accomplishment. Steve Jobs, for example, had a growth mindset, and look at Apple. And those who have a fixed mindset may have found wealth for a time, but after a while it all came crashing down, Blockbuster style, if they weren’t willing to change and grow. What our staff kept pointing out, however, was that our goal at Morrison isn’t about the money or the fame. In fact, paradoxically, the idea that ‘having a growth mindset is how you can really be successful’ is in a way a fixed concept. It’s just a different means to the same end.

但是老師們在討論這本書時，不斷地拋出對於文章內容的意見與看法。誠如標題所示，擁有成長型思維模式的最終目標是成功—真正的成就。舉例來說，史蒂夫賈伯斯擁有成長型的思維模式，並看看蘋果公司。那些擁有固定型思維模式的人們，可能已經一度發現財富或是新的契機，但是過了不久之後，就全部虧空，甚至錯失先機。以百視達為例，如果他們不願意轉變與成長，他們就無法繼續在市場上生存。然而，在馬禮遜學校，老師們不斷提出的質疑是，我們的目標並不在於金錢或名聲。可是矛盾的是，「擁有成長型思維模式，你就可以真正獲得成功」這樣的想法，事實上就是一種固定的思維。這只是以不同的方式達到相同的目的而已。

The fact that a number of our staff jumped all over this problem is in my mind a testament to our approach as a Christian school. Sure, having a growth mindset and being innovative will help our students have the tools to compete in future workplaces. I cited this as a major reason for valuing collaborative work in my last entry. It’s marketable!

有一些老師很關心這個問題，這件事在我心裡，我認為這是證明我們是一間基督教學校的方法。不可否認地，擁有成長型思維模式以及創新可以成為我們的學生在未來職場上的工具。我把這視為評估上一篇文章中團隊合作的主因。這是可行的！

But that end product is not what it’s all for. Our hope at Morrison (our vision) is that our students might be able to have a dynamic impact on the world for Christ. The tools for having a ‘dynamic impact’ are many of the same tools espoused by Carol Dweck. Having a growth mindset is incredibly valuable in leadership and in bringing about change. Being a creative and innovative thinker is how one can have a true impact. But true ‘change’ and ‘impact’ aren’t often about money or fame. We hope those values are about something much deeper than that.

但是，我們要的最終結果卻不是這些。在馬禮遜，我們的希望（願景）是學生可以因為耶穌基督的緣故，而對這世界產生強大的影響。能夠產生強大影響力的方法中，也有很多是Carol Dweck認同的。在領導力中，擁有成長型思維模式具有不可思議的價值，並能帶來改變。 一個具創造力與創新思維的人，如何才能帶來真正的影響力？而真正的「改變」與「影響」卻無關乎金錢與名聲。我們希望馬禮遜的價值觀能遠比金錢或名聲的影響更深遠。

To take it even further, it’s really rather what we do along the way – our process if you will – that counts the most. The means is the end in this way. If we do things right and with the right motives, that’s where we can find truest success. I will celebrate the accomplishments of a graduate who ingeniously ministers to and meets the needs of the poor before the graduate who goes into law just for the money. And I will celebrate the graduate who uses her gifts in medicine to creatively help the suffering, or the graduate who humbly pours into the spiritual lives of first graders, before I celebrate the one who makes a great living in real estate because it’s the best way to find financial security. And what’s best of all – what God looks at; the crowning achievement regardless of outcome – is the character that gets them there. Don’t get me wrong. Having a great career is not a bad thing at all, and our students are very well equipped for one. But my prayer is that our graduates don’t lose sight of the point of it all. As they make use of their considerable gifts and the tools they’ve been given, I pray that they do so creatively and innovatively and fearlessly, yes, but also meaningfully.

更進一步地說，實際上，假若你願意嘗試以我們的思考模式來思考一下「過程」這件事，你會了解，我們「正在做的事情」，也就是過程，是最重要的事情。「過程」就是全部。如果我們以正確的動機做對的事，我們就能得到最真實的成功。因為這是致富最好的方法，所以我會表揚一個能有技巧地救濟窮人並符合他的需求的畢業生，而不是為了「錢」途進法學院的學生；我會在讚美一個可以在真實狀態中營造美好生活的人之前，先表揚一個能在善用在醫學上的恩賜，有創造性地幫助有病痛的人，或是能謙卑地投入一年級學生的精神生活的畢業生。上帝看重的是那使他們達到那種狀態的性格。這是至高無上的成就，是所有事情中最棒的。請不要誤解我的意思，得到一份很棒的工作一點都不是件壞事，我們的學生也都是為了得到好的工作，而受到良好的教育訓練。而我的禱告是我們的畢業生不要忘記這樣的價值觀。因為他們確信他們得到了重要的恩賜以及工具，故此我禱告他們可以有創意地、創新地、無懼地，同時也是有意義地做每件事情。