what should we praise? The effort, the strategies, the doggedness and persistence, the grit people show, the resilience that they show in the face of obstacles, that bouncing back when things go wrong and knowing what to try next. So I think a huge part of promoting a growth mindset in the workplace is to convey those values of process, to give feedback, to reward people engaging in the process, and not just a successful outcome.”
Most people don’t want to deal with the accompanying embarrassment or shame that is often required to learn a new skill.
This is the time of year when many of us fall off our resolution-wagons. "Forget it," we say when the results aren't what we thought they'd be. "I don't know why I ever thought I could change in the first place." We set unreasonable goals, beat ourselves up when we fall short of them, and then use those shortcomings as proof that real change simply isn't possible. And by believing that, we make it so.
change is slow and subtle. It isn't about grand gestures or sweeping declarations. It's about the small things you do on a daily basis that eventually add up to something more -- and the beautiful thing about "a daily basis" is that a new one starts every day. You get to decide to start the process of change right now, even if the scale is smaller than what you had in mind. Smaller scales are better anyway; sudden, sweeping change never ends up being real. It's the painstaking, repetitive, meandering change that ends up sticking -- the kind that takes place in the grit and muscle of life's grind. That's the substance of long-term change.