There is one thing which can be easily learnt in only five minutes, and it can have a great influence on your life and the lives of your children or students. It is called the "Growth Mindset" (成长型思维). It is simple, powerful, and confirmed by a lot of scientific1.
In a series of experiments, the Stanford researcher, Carol Dweck,2 students into two groups and gave them relatively 3 maths tests. The students all did 4 in the tests—half of them were praised for having a great gift, and half were praised for working hard.
After that, they were given harder maths tests. The ones who were praised for 5 performed better in the more difficult exams. They quickly 6what Dweck calls the "Growth Mindset". When they 7 more difficult problems, they think "hard work got me this far, so I just 8 to work a bit harder and I will work out the problems."
However, students who were praised for being clever acted 9. They might think "perhaps I'm not that clever after all, 10 I can't work out these harder problems." As a result, they would quickly 11and develop the bad habit of avoiding any difficult situation or avoiding learning something 12!
So, what can you do? If you are a parent or a 13, praise efforts rather than the innate (先天的) ability. And for yourself, you'd better owe (把……归功于) your own 14 to efforts rather than the innate ability. Believe that it is a 15 of your efforts rather than some innate gift. It is really that simple!
