Do you believe that intelligence is a fixed or malleable trait? It turns out that what you think about intelligence can effect your own intelligence. Jennifer Mangels (a neuroscientist) ran a test on 2 groups of students that have their own concept of intelligence. Those who thinks that you only have a certain amount of  intelligence and you can't change it subscribed to the entity theory of intelligence. The other group sided with the incremental theory of intelligence where they believe intelligence is malleable.

They took a test and were given the answers for the error they made. Both groups of student were just as confident about their ability.

Something amazing happened when they were given a second chance on the test to correct their errors. Those who think that intelligence is malleable was able to perform better. They responded better to errors and seem to be able to learn better from mistakes.

The students that believed intelligence is fixed seems to be more uptight about failures. Since intelligence is fixed, why is there a need to improve?

If you think you are only born with a certain amount of intelligence, it's time to change that mindset. Studies show that we are born believing that intelligence is malleable. All you need to do is think that you can get smarter in order to be smarter. It's that easy.