Influence in Little Prodigies

What is the major influence that turns children into little prodigies? Mind-blowing research in Neurology points us in a new direction.

Is it amount of practice? Is it in-born talent? Is it high-income parents – or other privileged access to resources?

No, no, no.

The driving factor that influences a child to be a prodigy is his self-perception. Now, before you race off to propose more self-esteem building exercises, know that self-perception is not the same thing as self-esteem.

Self esteem is concerned with how you feel about yourself. Do you feel capable? Do you feel pretty? Those kinds of questions are the ones associated with self-esteem.

In what may seem like a minor difference self-perception is about WHO you are. How you identify yourself as a whole person.

Are you an athlete, an academic or an actor? That is self-perception.

The students who did best are not simply the ones who practice the most, despite many theories. New work in neurology and psychology have determined a far better determinant of success: self-perception.

Students who see themselves as a musician before they even pick up an instrument are far more likely to develop into musical talents than those students who see themselves as “playing an instrument” even if the students who only see themselves as playing an instrument practice for more than twice as long. See the actual data outcome: Causing Cognition – Getting Great.

How will this change the way we approach training ourselves and our students for greatness?