{"id":6214,"date":"2020-01-10T14:27:24","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:27:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=6214"},"modified":"2022-03-18T15:43:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T19:43:03","slug":"potential-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/potential-to-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Potential to Grow Matters\u2014Do You Have the Right Mindset?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you believe you have the potential to grow? If you do, you likely have a growth mindset<\/a>. If you believe that your intelligence and abilities are fixed, you likely have a fixed mindset<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll cover Carol Dweck’s growth and fixed mindsets and why the belief in your own potential to grow is one of the most powerful mindsets you can have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Potential to Grow<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One reason people with a fixed mindset feel they have to be perfect is that they see every test or evaluation as a permanent<\/em> measure of their ability<\/strong>. This demonstrates that they don’t believe in their potential to grow.
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For example, in a study of fifth graders, researchers told them that a certain test could measure their ability. Although the researchers provided no other information about the test, the fixed-mindset students concluded that it could not only measure how smart they were, but it could also measure how smart they\u2019d be as adults, essentially defining them forever. Growth-minded students didn\u2019t believe a test could measure how smart they were, nor did they believe it could predict how smart they\u2019d be in the future because their intelligence was always growing. They believe in their potential to grow.
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Fixed-mindset educators do in fact believe you can measure someone\u2019s ability and determine their potential. But those who\u2019ve tried to do that have been wrong repeatedly. Examples of people who were told they lacked potential include Charles Darwin, Marcel Proust, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Lucille Ball, and Jackson Pollock.
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By definition, you can\u2019t predict potential, if it\u2019s understood as the capacity to develop over time with effort and training. It\u2019s impossible to be certain of how far anyone can go with effort and training.<\/strong> For example, many of artist Paul Cezanne\u2019s early paintings were terrible. He needed time and effort to develop. You need effort and patience for your potential to grow.
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The potential to grow may be a more important indicator for future achievement than current success:<\/p>\n\n\n\n