Decades of research by psychologist Carol Dweck
and colleagues have shown that we all have fixed
and growth mindsets about different aspects of our
lives (Dweck, 2006). A fixed mindset reflects a belief
in natural talent: one is either good at something or is
not. A growth mindset, on the other hand, is a belief
that one can get good at something through effort and
learning. The mindset we hold in any domain has a
great influence on how “gritty” we will be in pursuit of
accomplishment—whether we will take on challenges
in the first place, how much effort we will expend, and
whether we will persevere if we stumble. For example,
co-author David Dockterman has a growth mindset
about cooking: