The concept of growth mindset, developed by psychologist Carol Dweck, describes the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, hard work and learning from failure. Its opposite, a fixed mindset, assumes abilities are innate and unchangeable.
A fixed mindset interprets failure as evidence of inability ('I'm not a maths person'). A growth mindset interprets failure as information ('I haven't learned this yet'). The word 'yet' is Dweck's most important tool — it converts a ceiling into a frontier.
Dweck's research with school children showed that praising effort ('you worked really hard') produces better outcomes than praising intelligence ('you're so smart'). Effort praise encourages persistence through difficulty; intelligence praise leads children to avoid challenge to protect their self-image.
Building a growth mindset is itself a skill that requires practice. Noticing fixed-mindset thoughts ('I can't do this') and explicitly reframing them ('I can't do this yet — what do I need to learn?') is the starting technique.