A fixed mindset is when we believe people's intelligence doesn't grow throughout their lives. When we adopt a fixed mindset, it leads to a desire to appear smart and therefore a tendency to: - Avoid challenges - Give up easily - See effort as fruitless or worse - Ignore useful negative feedback - Feel threatened by the success of others As a result, we may plateau early and achieve less than our full potential. It's better to adopt a [[Growth mindset]].