For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.
Carol S. DweckJust because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training.
Carol S. DweckIn a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I'm going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here's a chance to grow.
Carol S. DweckTest scores and measures of achievement tell you where a student is, but they don't tell you where a student could end up.
Carol S. DweckMore and more research is suggesting that, far from being simply encoded in the genes, much of personality is a flexible and dynamic thing that changes over the life span and is shaped by experience.
Carol S. DweckWhat did you learn today? What mistake did you make that taught you something? What did you try hard at today?
Carol S. DweckDid I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort?” If so, he says, “You may be outscored but you will never lose.
Carol S. DweckYour failures and misfortunes don't threaten other people. . .It's your assets and your successes that are problems for people who derive their self-esteem from being superior.
Carol S. DweckFailure is information-we label it failure, but it's more like, 'This didn't work, I'm a problem solver, and I'll try something else.'
Carol S. DweckI believe ability can get you to the top,” says coach John Wooden, “but it takes character to keep you there.… It’s so easy to … begin thinking you can just ‘turn it on’ automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you’re there. When you read about an athlete or team that wins over and over and over, remind yourself, ‘More than ability, they have character.'
Carol S. DweckChoosing a partner is choosing a set of problems. There are no problem-free candidates.
Carol S. DweckEffort is one of those things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it.
Carol S. DweckThe passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it's not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset.
Carol S. DweckVowing, even intense vowing, is often useless. The next day comes and the next day goes. What works is making a vivid, concrete plan.
Carol S. DweckNo matter what your current ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.
Carol S. DweckThis point is . . . crucial,” writes Dweck. “In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail — or if you’re not the best — it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome.
Carol S. DweckPicture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
Carol S. DweckI don’t mind losing as long as I see improvement or I feel I’ve done as well as I possibly could.
Carol S. DweckSo what should we say when children complete a task—say, math problems—quickly and perfectly? Should we deny them the praise they have earned? Yes. When this happens, I say, “Whoops. I guess that was too easy. I apologize for wasting your time. Let’s do something you can really learn from!
Carol S. DweckWhy waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.
Carol S. DweckThe wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.
Carol S. DweckIf parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. That way, their children don’t have to be slaves of praise. They will have a lifelong way to build and repair their own confidence.
Carol S. DweckImportant achievements require a clear focus, all-out effort, and a bottomless trunk full of strategies. Plus allies in learning.
Carol S. DweckWhen you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world (the world of fixed traits) success is about proving you’re smart or talented. Validating yourself. In the other (the world of changing qualities) it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.
Carol S. DweckThe whole point of marriage is to encourage your partner's development and have them encourage yours.
Carol S. DweckPraising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.
Carol S. DweckThe best thing parents can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.
Carol S. DweckWe like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary.
Carol S. Dweck