But youre probably pretty spectacular in some way, and definitely good enough in most areas of life.

If ever there were a time to stop beating yourself up for being human, it is now.

While such positive traits are not evenly distributed, they are not necessarily out of reach for those who are not natural high achievers.

A growth mindset, as conceived by psychologist Carol Dweck and colleagues, is the belief that a persons capacities and talents can be improved over time.

Proponents of the theory contend that adopting a growth mindset, and rejecting a fixed mindset, can make students and others more likely to succeed.

But does it work Many studies have aimed to assess whether mindset interventions deliver measurable improvements in student achievement, and the results are mixed: Some researchers report positive results while others find little or no evidence that such interventions make a difference, and critique the earlier studies that established the concept.

In one of the largest experiments, which focused on ninth graders in the U.S., students were given a relatively brief intervention (less than an hour, in total) in which they learned about mindsets and how behaviors such as putting in effort and changing ones strategy could be helpful.

For lower-achieving students, the researchers reported, the intervention was followed by an average gain of 0.10 GPA points.

The good news Neurolinguistic programming, improv, and psychotherapy all agree: There are no mistakes.

That may not help you right now, but it is something to hold on to.

The Growth Mindset Pdf