Carol S. Dweck

“When entire companies embrace a growth mindset, their employees report feeling far more empowered and committed; they also receive far greater organizational support for collaboration and innovation.”

“Our message to parents is to focus on the process the child engages in, such as trying hard or focusing on the task - what specific things they're doing rather than, 'You're so smart. You're so good at this.' Although it's never too late to change, what you do early matters.”

“Children love this idea that their brain is like a muscle that gets stronger as they use it.”

“Everyone is a mixture of fixed and growth mindsets. You could have a predominant growth mindset in an area, but there can still be things that trigger you into a fixed mindset trait.”

“Everybody who's been successful has gotten lots of help and input from many, many people.”

“Do you think it is possible to increase your intellectual ability? For decades, I have studied the power of this belief to become reality and watched as the concept of maintaining a 'growth mindset' has taken root in education and parenting circles.”

“I grew up in an environment that promoted a very fixed mindset. It was an era that worshipped IQ and thought that your IQ was the most important thing in determining your future. My sixth-grade teacher even seated us around the room in IQ order.”

“Some students start thinking of their intelligence as something fixed, as carved in stone. They worry about, 'Do I have enough? Don't I have enough?'”

“Praise your child explicitly for how capable they are of learning rather than telling them how smart they are.”

“We're not saying people don't need fuel for strenuous work; they just don't need it constantly. People have many more resources at hand than they might think.”

“When someone endorses a fixed mindset, it can limit them, even if they're successful at the moment, because if they start struggling and tumbling, they can lose their confidence, but also, they may not create a growth mindset environment for others.”

“All of these people had character. None of them thought they were special people, born with the right to win. They were people who worked hard, who learned how to keep their focus under pressure, and who stretched beyond their ordinary abilities when they had to.”

“The loudest voices both in the U.S. and abroad often are those that preach hatred and exclusion. But hatred and exclusion will not bring employment.”

“Unproductive effort is never a good thing.”

“I have seen schools across the country working long and hard to embed a commitment to the unlimited development of every student into their cultures. The result, in terms of motivated learners and test scores, often is spectacular.”

“People often confuse a growth mindset with being flexible or open-minded or with having a positive outlook - qualities they believe they've simply always had. My colleagues and I call this a false growth mindset.”

“I was very invested in being smart and thought to be smart was more important than accomplishing anything in life.”

“I've always been interested, since graduate school, in why some children wilt and shrink back from challenges and give up in the face of obstacles, while others avidly seek challenges and become even more invested in the face of obstacles. So this has been my primary question for over 40 years.”

“When we praise children for their intelligence, we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart; don't risk making mistakes.”

“Think about being a teenager and feeling like school is just about taking tests you may or may not be interested in, after which someone will judge whether or not you're smart. No one's going to be inspired by that.”