Why we quit easily and lack motivation.

Perhaps you’re “naturally academically gifted” or perhaps like me you have to work hard at school to achieve good results and even then “good results” may not be that great. Many students believe the reason they don’t get good results is because they are not smart. As a result they give up easily and lack motivation. Why bother working hard on a task if it is only going to end up making you feel disappointed or worse a failure.

What successful people have that most people don’t have. 

Successful people believe that failure is good! Yes, you read that right. Michael Jordon says, “I’ve failed over and over in my life and that is why I succeed”. Some people see failure as a guide, clue, message, and information about what to improve so they can achieve their goal (they have a growth mindset). On the other hand, people who quit easily at the slightest hint of difficulty believe that failure is a reflection of who they are (fixed mindset).

What are fixed and growth mindsets?

1. Fixed

Many students believe that intelligence is fixed, that each person has a certain amount and that’s it. This has been described as a fixed mindset. Students with this mindset worry about how much of this fixed intelligence they possess. A fixed mindset makes challenges threatening for students (because they believe that their fixed ability may not be up to the task) and it makes mistakes and failures upsetting (because they believe that such setbacks reflect badly on their level of fixed intelligence).

2. Growth Mindset.

Other students believe that intelligence is something that can be cultivated through effort and education. They don’t necessarily believe that everyone has the same abilities or that anyone can be as smart as Einstein, but they do believe that everyone can improve their abilities. And they understand that even Einstein wasn’t Einstein until he put in years of focused hard work. Students with this growth mindset believe that intelligence is a potential that can be developed through learning. As a result, confronting challenges, learning from mistakes, and persevering in the face of setbacks become ways of getting smarter.

Develop A Growth Mindset.

What you think, your self-talk, in other words what you say to yourself matters! Here are ten Growth Mindset statements.

You can learn more about this and other topics at www.studysamurai.com