A person may have an idea about himself that will prevent him from doing good work. He may have the idea that he is not capable of it. A child may think he is stupid because he does not understand how to make the most of his mental faculties or he may accept another person’s mistaken estimate of his ability. Older people may be handicapped by the mistaken belief that they are incapable of learning anything new because of their age.
A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless. He won’t go at a job without the confidence necessary for success. He is therefore likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence.Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. When he was a small boy, he got off to a poor start in arithmetic. His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they w
A. A child may accept another person’s underestimate of his ability.
B. He may think that he is too young to make the most of his mental faculties.
C. A person may have the idea that he is incapable of doing good work.
D. Some old people don’t believe that they are capable of learning anything new.
|
Occupation |
Male |
Female |
|
Teaching |
5% |
45% |
|
Managers |
40% |
15% |
|
Business |
