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Do you enjoy learning by challenging yourself? Or do you avoid new challenges altogether due
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to fear of failure? Think carefully, because your answers on those questions might signal
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whether you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. As an INFJ male myself, always focused
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on personal development, I believe the growth mindset is very common among INFJs, since we
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tend to be curious, idealistic, and future-oriented. Although the two mindsets as academic psychological
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constructs have been well documented in years of solid scientific research, their formal
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definitions might not be as easily understood by those without that same academic background
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You better learn about the two mindsets, because one of them is currently operating and having a
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profound impact on your life, with or without your awareness. That's why I'm going to explain
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the growth mindset versus fixed mindset by an example almost every student can understand
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Dragon Ball Z 1. What is a fixed mindset? To get a good understanding of the difference between
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growth mindset versus fixed mindset, it is easier to start with explaining what a fixed mindset is
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Dr. Carol Dweck is the psychologist who discovered the existence of both growth mindset
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and fixed mindset through her scientific research on personality, achievement, and developmental
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psychology. Having a fixed mindset simply means that a person believes his or her qualities
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intelligence, skills, and character attributes are set in stone, Dweck 2017. But other children, for them it was tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset
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perspective, their core intelligence had been tested and devastated. A fixed mindset tends to be the default adopted mindset in society at large, and therefore
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perhaps more recognizable. Fixed mindset individuals believe everyone is born with a certain amount of intelligence and skill, and that you can do little to nothing to change that
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You're smart or you're not. You're either naturally good at a certain skill or you're
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not with little room for improvement. As a result, people with a fixed mindset go through
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life avoidant of challenges that might lead to failure. In one study, after a failure on a test
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they said they'd cheat next time instead of study more. In another study, they found someone who did
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worse than they did so they could feel better. And in many studies, we found they run from difficulty
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Their self-esteem depends on intelligence and competence, basic characteristics which they believe to be finite uncontrollable aspects. They fear failure of any sort because that would reflect
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back to them that they're insufficient, dumb, or incompetent. As they hold the belief that traits
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intelligence, and competence are fixed, failure would automatically mean they're inferior at their
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core forever as human beings. Because according to this belief, there would be nothing you could do
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to improve those traits. People with a fixed mindset protect their self-image. You can imagine
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that to fixed mindset individuals, failing a college exam, encountering someone who knows more
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than them, or even the normal struggle that comes with learning a new skill isn't an opportunity for
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growth to them, but a struggle for survival. What that survival entails is protecting their self-image
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by not looking or feeling deficient. People with a fixed mindset therefore obviously don't enjoy
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learning or taking on new challenges. They're constantly trying to prove themselves worthy
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only taking on things they are certain of that they can complete successfully
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But when those inevitable moments of failures in life happen, they're constantly trying to
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convince themselves and others of something else. Dweck 2017. Why? Again, because their self-image
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and self-esteem depend on it. It is not hard to picture that depression and anxiety are always
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lurking just around the corner when a challenge arises for people with a fixed mindset
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Now that you have a general understanding of what a fixed mindset is, let's take a look at
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a famous Dragon Ball Z character that showcases the fixed mindset perfectly
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Spoiler alert for anyone who didn't see the Dragon Ball Z series. 2. Fixed Mindset Dragon Ball Z. Example. Frieza the Alien Tyrant. No other Dragon Ball Z character
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portrays the manifestation of the fixed mindset better than the intergalactic tyrant Frieza
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Frieza is the second son of King Cold, an evil mutant alien with an extremely high power level
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millions. As such, the powerful mutant genes got passed on and Frieza was born with that same
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absurd power which made him the strongest being in his universe. With this insane power present
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from birth, Frieza never had to train or work for his might. His father King Cold who dominated
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their universe, saw potential in him from a young age and soon handed his control over to Frieza
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As he was the strongest being in his universe, Frieza abused his power by conquering planets
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and enslaving its inhabitants. Due to being notorious for his unprecedented strength and
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menacing personality, no race or planet under his evil reign dared to even think of overthrowing him
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The ones who tried were obliterated in an instant. He saw anyone as beneath him
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since no one could match his abilities. Due to possessing such power from birth
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the spoiled Frieza never faced a real challenge or failure and truly believed he was the mightiest
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because of his innate traits. Frieza's Fixed Mindset, A Closer Look Now do you see the fixed mindset in Frieza? He was born with a great amount of natural power
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and never had to train or work for this, believing he is the mightiest due to natural innate factors
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Later in the series he does train to get stronger, but his initial arrogance displays that he thought
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he was way beyond needing training. His fixed mindset also shows in his entitled and contemptuous
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demeanor, as he thinks anyone who is less powerful must be worthless, and therefore to
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be used as a means to an end. Frieza never encountered true challenges or failures
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Within the series he even says he never experienced physical pain besides from his parents
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as there wasn't another living being powerful enough to hurt him. All of this sets him up for an important event we'll discuss later on
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One of the planets he enslaved was the planet Vegeta, home of a warrior race named Saiyans
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This becomes significant further down the line. Having a growth mindset means that a person believes his or her basic qualities can be
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cultivated by effort, strategies, and help from others. Dweck, 2017. Although people can differ greatly in the amount of natural talent
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interests, temperaments and intelligence, growth mindset individuals believe that one can grow if they apply themselves by learning and getting experience. Dweck, 2017
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To them, the secret to success is consistent effort. Now, do they falsely believe that
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everyone can be the next Maya Angelou or Einstein just by trying hard? No. But they do however see
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their future potential in an optimistic way as they consider that full potential is unknowable
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unless you try. They believe anyone can at least grow beyond their starting point
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People with a growth mindset persevere through adversity. Growth mindset individuals actually
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enjoy learning and challenges because they know that they're getting better even if they fail
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Failure is not the end, but the beginning as it points out what you don't know or can't do yet
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As they tend to push forward even when encountering failures, they actually do
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get better at whatever skill they're honing by the amount of extra hours of experience they gain
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Where fixed mindset individuals would think of themselves as losers when failing an exam
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growth mindset individuals would say to themselves that they need to study harder for the exam next
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time. As they attribute success or failure to a controllable factor like effort, they tend to
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hold a more positive self-image and self-esteem even in the midst of failures as they believe and
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know by experience that they could overcome them by working harder. Now that you have a general
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understanding of what a growth mindset is, let's take a look at another famous Dragon Ball Z
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character that acts out the growth mindset to a tee. 4. Growth Mindset, Dragon Ball Z
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Example. Goku. The Super Saiyan. Goku and his race at large are the embodiment of the growth mindset
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Goku belongs to the alien warrior race named the Saiyans, whose home is planet Vegeta. Saiyans are a
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strong, aggressive, and prideful race, reminiscent of primitive barbaric tribes. Despite their lack
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of technological development, Saiyans have a special fighting ability to grow stronger from
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each battle they encounter, even when they lose. Together with their aggressive and combative
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nature, the Saiyans were a formidable warrior race. Frieza and his father recognized their potential
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early on. They conquered planet Vegeta and enslaved the Saiyan race to be used as special
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military pawns that would greatly improve Frieza's vile practice of conquering planets. Even though
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planet Vegeta was taken over by Frieza and his army, his reign did bring the Saiyans in contact
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with more advanced technology like spacecrafts. Frieza had a system in using the Saiyans for
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conquest. The Saiyans had an army which consisted only of elite Saiyans. Baby Saiyans were ranked
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elite or low class based on their power levels at birth. The elite Saiyans joined the army which
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was sent out to take over tough planets for Frieza. Low Class Saiyan, High Class Mindset
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Low class Saiyan babies were often sent out alone in a spacecraft to planets who were deemed weak
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so that even these low class Saiyan babies could conquer them. Goku was born on planet Vegeta under
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the reign of Frieza, but at birth categorized as low class and sent to Earth. As he loses his memory
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after an accident, he turns gentle and builds a life filled with friends on Earth. Despite being
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typed as low class from birth, Goku's character is defined by his unwavering optimism, ironclad
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perseverance, an insatiable hunger for challenge, and growing his fighting abilities. During the
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series, there are numerous dangerous alien fighters that threaten the Earth and all of its inhabitants
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Goku always faced these fighters in battle even though his chances of winning were slim
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By persevering, Goku managed to overcome even the most dire situations, and grew stronger from them
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He had a laser focus when it came to training and preparing himself for future obstacles
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and was determined to always push beyond his limits even enjoying it when times got hard
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Goku's Growth Mindset, A Closer Look Now do you see the growth mindset in Goku? From birth he was considered a low class Saiyan by his
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own people. He had perhaps a power level of just a couple hundred. They might have been right about
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this at the time, but it didn't stop Goku from growing stronger. Goku had to work hard. By
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training and facing challenges head on, he grew his fighting abilities over time. His growth mindset
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is apparent in his characteristic optimism and excitement when in a challenging situation
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For instance, when he fights Prince Vegeta on Earth and finds out that he might not be able
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to beat him, he smiles and tries even harder. His growth mindset also shows after beating the Saiyan
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Prince. Goku lies in the hospital recovering from battle but then hears there is a far more powerful
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foe, Frieza, out on planet Namek where his friends went to find the Namekian Dragon Balls. Goku
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immediately gets up out of bed and starts his training while in his spaceship traveling to
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Namek. On the ship, he pushes beyond his limits by training under 100 times the Earth's gravity
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and reaches an all time high in power in just 5 short days
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5. Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset Frieza vs Goku In the final events of the search for the Dragon
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Balls on planet Namek, Goku's progress is blatantly obvious as he now stands toe to toe in battle with
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the almighty Frieza to protect his friends. Although Frieza isn't using his maximum power yet
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Goku holds his own in battle. Now here is where the two different mindsets come in and determine
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the outcome of their battle. Frieza's arrogance made him not take Goku seriously. He amused
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himself by toying with Goku in the beginning as Frieza could have easily won if he fought
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maximum from the start. Goku on the other hand was seriously engaged and fighting phenomenally
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Goku's extremely high power level acquired through training did impress Frieza. Now that Frieza
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powered up to half of his maximum, it became painfully apparent that Goku was in fact outclassed
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all this time. Goku was now losing the battle rapidly, but he kept fighting and putting in the
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effort, regardless of it being impossible to win. Although powered up to half of his power
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the alien tyrant was still toying with Goku. Together with Goku's training, effort, his Saiyan
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ability to rapidly grow stronger in challenging battles, and his elite level battle experience
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against the almighty Frieza, Goku got pushed over the edge. A golden edge to be exact
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which made him reach the ultimate power of Saiyans. The Super Saiyan Transformation
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The Golden Transformation. Super Saiyan Goku. As Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan mid-battle
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his strength increased to unimaginable heights, and now was even stronger than Frieza. Goku was
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now beating Frieza for real. But since the alien emperor never experienced a true challenge in all
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of his life, his ego got shattered. For the first time Frieza was losing while fighting at his
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maximum power. Frieza couldn't handle that his lifelong presumed almighty unbeatable status was
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getting destroyed at the hands of what was deemed a low class Saiyan pawn. The battle continued for
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a while, but it was already lost. Frieza the alien tyrant now too distraught to fight properly
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got defeated by Super Saiyan Goku. You've challenged and lost to a fighter who is
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superior to you, and to make it worse, he's just a monkey, right
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Frieza always leaned on his natural given power, thinking he was invincible. Even though he was
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beyond powerful, his fixed mindset made him stagnant in his strength as he hadn't improved
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much, perhaps since birth. Who knows which heights he could have reached if he actually trained
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His inability to handle failure was in the end arguably his only true failure. As for Goku
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by his relentless effort to train and face challenges head on without giving up
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he grew beyond his limits and reached the ultimate Saiyan power and did the unimaginable
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defeat the almighty Frieza. 6. Where does a person get a growth mindset or fixed mindset
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After all of those examples, you might wonder where someone gets either a growth mindset or
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a fixed mindset. Well, these mindsets developed ever since we were children and were shaped by
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our parents, teachers or coaches, quality of praise, Dueck 2017. In other words, what did
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your parents praise in you as a child when you did something great? Did they praise your intelligence
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as a permanent trait or did they praise the amount of effort? Dueck states that there are
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many subtle and not so subtle ways in which parents can convey messages to their children
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about what they as parents value. Children are very sensitive and pick up those messages
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unconsciously. Therefore, it is very important to know what you believe as a parent and what
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you're communicating to your children. In her book, Mindset, changing the way you think to
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fulfill your potential, Carol Dueck dives deep into the origins of the two mindsets
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Their day and night difference in life outcomes and how you can cultivate a growth mindset even
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if you started out with a fixed mindset. I recommend that you read her amazing book
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Click on the link on the screen to buy her book on Amazon via my affiliate link
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Thanks to the amazing Dragon Ball Z example, we now know that carrying a growth mindset is far
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more conducive to success than a fixed mindset. I enjoyed making this video very much because I've
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been a Dragon Ball Z fan from an early age. The growth mindset portrayed by Goku always inspired
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me as a young INFJ teen to work hard and never give up, and I've carried this approach into my
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adult life. Whenever I had a tough exam or a challenge, I thought about Goku's training in
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the spaceship and how strong you can become if you keep working on yourself. This message had
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a profound impact on my perseverance, and I wouldn't be where I am today if I had given up
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during some of those tough times in my life. You can see this video as a tribute to the classic
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Dragon Ball Z series and the growth mindset. Now which mindset do you carry? Which mindset
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typically fits the INFJ? Leave your comments below