Self-Compassion, Growth Mindset, and the Benefits of Failure

As Ellen DeGeneres once said, "It's failure that gives you the proper perspective on success. When you take risks, you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail. Both are equally important."

DeGeneres' anecdotal words of wisdom corroborate the April 2016 research findings by Carol Dweck and psychological scientist Kyla Haimovitz of Stanford University.In their study, "What Predicts Childrens Fixed and Growth Intelligence Mind-Sets? Not Their Parents Views of Intelligence but Their Parents Views of Failure," Haimovitz and Dweck report that children who are encouraged to view failure as an opportunity for growth faired much better than children who had parents who reinforced the notion that failure is always 'bad.' Read more here.