Why some people excel and others do not - Mindset, believe in your own potential

http://www.sergiutruta.com/2007/05/03/why-some-people-excel-and-others-don%e2%80%99t-mindset-believe-in-your-own-potential/

by sergiutruta • 19 years ago

1 3 19 years ago

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sergiutruta2• 19 years ago

why do you think some of us are good at what we do and others are not?

whacked_new• 19 years ago

I like the general attitude of your article, but I'm not too fond of the certainty of tone used regarding the fairly general and debated topic of "achievement." I have a great interest in that subject, but far too often the writings about it are written too casually and to some extent, carelessly.

Mindset and hard work are undeniably important factors. There has been an accumulation of studies dealing with this stuff, which is a good thing, but still not enough to be conclusive. Fairly recently, one such study surveyed two classes; in one class, students were told that intelligence is all genetic, and in the other, is changeable by effort. Over x years, the second class had an overally higher achievement score.

This is encouraging news, but usually the metrics involved are fairly specific and limited, the timeframe too short (2 years in highschool cannot predict much), this and that and more. Regardless, every step is a step. But research artcile or not, when you deal with this topic, you need to have grounds for your discussion.

All children are not smart. There are smart kids, dumb kids, and average kids. A kid who can read the NYTimes within 48 months of birth (Sho Yano) is no average kid. Self confidence is important, but you tread into chicken and egg territory: confidence is intertwined with external feedback. You can be confident because you think you are good. You can also be, because you know you are good. There is a drastic difference here: the latter needs a foundation for reasoning.

oops i wrote a bit too much... this is just an area im particularly interested in. but such an open ended question is probably not going to give you definite answers. anthony robbins probably has a lot to say, but half of what he writes is like pulled from the clouds... kinda fluffy and cool but all vapor and volumeless.

sergiutruta2• 19 years ago

yeap, I'm pretty interested into this subject also. I don't have any grounds in this field, it's just about personal experience in dealing with smart/dumb people. and it's not related only to being smart or not, it's related to everything, even sports. I've met people who've set their mind to be great at something and they succeeded.

I'm not talking about those exceptions who read or write when others can barely speak, I'm referring to the majority here. I don't agree with one of your points: intelligence is not changeable by effort, it's actually changeable by mindset and self confidence.

For example the number one guy in my university was also the guy working the most. but he was not brilliant, he was only really determined to be the best. thanks for your comments ;)

Why some people excel and others do not - Mindset, believe in your own potential

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