“What does the prefrontal cortex do? Gratification postponement, executive function, long term planning, and impulse control. Basically, it makes you do the harder thing”
Day 3 Morning Scorecard and Bite-Sized Goals Self-Reflection:
Growth vs Fixed Mindset:
Research has shown that believing you can improve actually increases your chances of improving. This optimistic view of your abilities is called a “growth mindset.” Carol Dweck, the researcher who coined the term, discovered this phenomenon when she studied how IQ scores change over time. Dweck determined that a person’s IQ score can go up, but only if the person believes it can go up. On the other side of the coin, if a person has a “fixed mindset” and believes IQ is cemented in place, their IQ score remained stationary over time. This amazing research was then applied to business, education, and sports with the same results. Indicating that those with a “growth mindset” succeed while those with a “fixed mindset” remain stagnated. Dweck hypothesizes that people who believe they can improve become more motivated, productive and work on developing their skillsets more often than those who believe in fixed traits. Overall, the takeaway message from these findings is that your beliefs truly have an effect on your outcomes.
FACT: People with a growth mindset outperform people with a fixed mindset, even if those with a fixed mindset have a higher IQ score, to begin with.
TAKEAWAY:. Having the belief that you can improve is more important to success than your intelligence level.
The Science of Discomfort:
It has become common practice in our culture to run from internal discomfort as if our lives depended on it. Often times our first reaction to agitation is to grab for the closest drink, processed food, or distraction providing smartphone. We forget that these “negative” internal states are important messages that shouldn’t be ignored, as pain in any form is what has kept us alive for thousands of generations. To prove this point, consider the condition called ‘congenital analgesia,’ where a person can literally not feel any physical pain. You could literally hit their hand with a hammer and they wouldn’t flinch. On the surface, this sounds like a neat party trick, but in reality, those afflicted with this illness rarely live past the age of thirty. This is because we need to feel pain to keep ourselves safe, as these symptoms help us to address injuries and avoid future mistakes. In this sense, physical pain and emotional pain are no different. Both of these states, internal discomfort and outward suffering, teach us important lessons about our environment, pointing out to us what needs to change and what needs to remain the same.
FACT: The number one predictor of having a successful life is the ability to “tolerate psychological discomfort,” even when compared to those with a high IQ or inherited wealth.
TAKEAWAY: The ability to accept internal turmoil, as part of the process, allows people to become resilient.
“One’s greatest challenge is to control oneself”