But they had a strange and disturbing effect on me, and I had a hard time shaking off their verdict. This vulnerability afflicts many of the most able, high-achieving females.

Practice and training are also visible, and they produce visible results. You would think that this would dispel the myth of the natural.

Billie Jean King says it’s all about what you want to look back and say. I agree with her. You can look back and say, “I could have been . . . ,” polishing your unused endowments like trophies. Or you can look back and say, “I gave my all for the things I valued.” Think about what you want to look back and say. Then choose your mindset.

important achievements require a clear focus, all-out effort, and a bottomless trunk full of strategies. Plus allies in learning. This is what the growth mindset gives people, and that’s why it helps their abilities grow and bear fruit.

But first, let’s be clear. For a long time, it’s frightening to think of giving up the idea of

then you’re open to accurate information about your current abilities, even if it’s unflattering.

In the fixed mindset, however, the loss of one’s self to failure can be a permanent, haunting trauma.

People in a growth mindset don’t just seek challenge, they thrive on it.

This doesn’t happen to everybody, however. It mainly happens to people who are in a fixed mindset.