Effort is the path to mastery
Effort is the path to mastery: Understand that effort is a crucial part of the learning process. Value the journey of improvement rather than focusing solely on outcomes.
— from Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit) · Mindset by Dr. Carol S Dweck
In the book
The whole shift can be carried by one small word: "yet." You do not say "I can't do this." You say "I can't do this yet". Effort stops being a confession of weakness and becomes the very road to mastery. This is not soft encouragement; when researchers simply taught children that the brain is malleable and that people can change, those children showed measurably less depression and anxiety than a control group. […] The mindset first: you are not finished, your brain is still clay, and the only question is what you will shape it into next. Adopt the growth mindset on purpose. When you hear yourself say "I can't," add the word yet; treat effort as the road to mastery rather than proof you lack talent; read your failures as information about where to push, not verdicts on your worth; and actively seek out the negative feedback most people flee. Be a lifelong learner. Set aside time every single day for it, and never stop, because the day you stop is the day you die mentally; be your own great teacher; learn from the giants who came before you, and love the truth enough to admit when you are wrong. — Expanding Your Range (Growth/Change/Education/Learning/Habit)