Effort 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.

Just 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.

In 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.

What can I learn from this? What will I do next time I'm in this situation?

I 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.'

What did you try hard at today?

Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.