# Praise effort to cultivate growth mindset
Praising for intelligence may stop learners from learning. This doesn’t mean that we should apply positive reinforcement to learners. We should instead praise for the learning effort to cultivate the Growth mindset.
# References
The Self-Driven Child (p. 109)
To encourage a growth mindset, Dwek recommends praising effort and the various strategies kids use to solve problems, rather than their built-in ability. Say things like, “Your curiosity is really fun for me to see” over “You’re so smart”; or “I’m really impressed with how hard you worked on that test” instead of “Fantastic grade!” In Dwek’s words, “ a focus on inner effort can help resolve helplessness and engender success.”3 A growth mindset is the MVP of the self-motivated child.