And there you’ve managed to point out my problem. I haven’t been able to activate myself in nearly a year. In fact, whenever I make a specific goal, I seem to do the exact opposite. I must be a polarity responder. When I was doing really well, the speed and efficiency of results were almost scary, so they came to an…

Dick uses the word stubbornness, which has negative connotations, but it’s really a “fixed mindset”, according to Dr. Carol Dweck. Most people don’t even know they have a fixed mindset. I thought I was the epitome of learning and adaptation until the mindset was explained to me.

What you’re describing here as stubbornness is what Dr. Carol Dweck refers to as a “fixed mindset”, as opposed to a “growth mindset”. She discusses it in her book, appropriately titled “Mindset”. Her interview on the Art of Charm podcast is better than the book in some ways, because the host astutely observes that we…