Praise actions, not talent
When we praise people for their talents, we reinforce their view of themselves and their gifted abilities. In the end, they are less likely to challenge themselves to learn new things.
Hi all,
I recently read How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens. It's a book that deep dives into a set of principles on note-taking and writing. The book talks about Niklas Luhmann, a German sociologist and the process he used to write more than 70 books and 400 scholarly articles in his career. It is quite interesting, and you should take a look, but that's not specifically what I wanted to share with you today.
There's a passage in the book that stuck out to me:
Ironically, it is therefore often the highly gifted and talented students, who receive a lot of praise, who are more in danger of developing a fixed mindset and getting stuck. Having been praised for what they are (talented and gifted) rather than for what they do, they tend to focus on keeping this impression intact, rather than exposing themselves to new challenges and the possibility of learning from failure.
When we praise people for their talents, especially children, we reinforce their view of themselves and their gifted abilities. In the end, they are less likely to challenge themselves to learn new things outside of their innate talents.
Instead, we should praise actions. In other words, honour and praise what people do, not the talent or gifts they have or were born with.
Carol Dweck talks a lot about this topic. It's what she calls a Growth Mindset. If you're interested in finding out more about why this is so important, especially in the fast-paced world we live in, I invite you to read my latest post, Learn and Adapt or Risk Being Left Behind.
Do you light up at the challenge of building new skills and abilities, or do you think you have innate talents and do your best to stick to them?
Or put another way, which areas of your life might you already have a growth mindset, and where might you benefit from building one?
A few favourites this week
1. Article: Here is a great post that is easy to digest on Growth Mindset, Carol Dweck Revisits 'Growth Mindset'.
2. Book: If you're ready to experience a paradigm shift in your note-taking and writing process, I recommend reading this book, How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens.
Quote of the week
Love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort and keep on learning.
From Carol Dweck.
New post this week
Learn and Adapt or Risk Being Left Behind
If you've enjoyed reading these as much as I've enjoyed writing them, consider sharing it with your friends and family. I would greatly appreciate it
Have a great Sunday and a wonderful week.
Miguel,
Sparknotion – Think Differently.