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It's a mindset. You believe it, you become it :).
by llaxsll 16y ago
It's a mindset. You believe it, you become it :).
- Andrew_Quentin 16y agoHow awesome would that be if I could just believe that I am the King of England and so become it.
- BrandonM 16y agoIn his article, PG was describing personal qualities, as opposed to external qualities (with something of an exception in the case of the cofounder item). In the case of most personality traits, if you want that trait and actually try your best to exhibit it, then "you believe it, you become it," is pretty accurate. If you want to procrastinate less and right away you begin to finish things that you've been putting off, well then you've already won. But if you keep putting off the day when you'll stop procrastinating, well you can see where that's going. I think most people underestimate their ability to hack their own personalities.
- hugh3 16y agoI don't know, there's too much room for self-delusion. It's easier for an unimaginative person to convince themselves that they're imaginative than for an imaginative person to actually become imaginative. The illusion that you're King of England can't be maintained for long. The illusion that you're good-looking can be maintained for a little longer. The illusion that you're determined, imaginative and... naughty... can be maintained pretty easily.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- kyro 16y agoYou certainly can make that happen. Psychiatrists see this every day.
- hasenj 16y agoIt's happened a lot in history. Surprising I know, but it has happened.
- Revisor 16y agoThat's actually more true than it sounds. Just a week ago I read Self-Theories by Carol Dweck where she sums up the 30 years of her research. Summary: People who hold entity theory about their traits (ie they believe their traits - like intelligence, sociability etc - cannot change) are not able to change. People who hold the opposite incremental theory (they believe their traits can change) can and do change and they specifically seek out situations that help them grow (they don't fear failure and they like a challenge). Everyone can pretty easily switch between entity and incremental theory by as much as reading a news article. Of course the long-term belief is rooted in deeper values but fot that you'll have to read the book. It's definitely worth it. IMO one of the best books a startupper can read.
- realitygrill 16y agoI picked up Self-Theories after reading the excellent Mindset (which dealt with fixed vs growth mindsets). For an HNer, I would suggest you borrow Mindset but buy Self-Theories.
- Revisor 16y agoThank you for the tip on the Mindset. I enjoyed Self-Theories so much I will definitely pick this one up, even if just to reinforce the point she makes.