If you feel like everything that happens to you is beyond your control, that there is nothing you can do to set yourself up for success, and not even try, you don't have the mindset of a successful person.

First, let's define some Psychology concepts:

• Attribution theory: how you attribute success and failures
  • internal (ability and effort) and external (task difficulty and luck) causes which may be more or less stable or controllable
  • good: attribute failures to controllable factors (lack of effort)
  • bad: attribute failures to stable, uncontrollable factors (lack of ability)
• Motivation - Three Needs Theory: Each person is motivated by power, affiliation, or achievement
• Achievement-goal theory: people do things for ego or to complete a task
• Self-Determination Theory: People need autonomy, competence, and relatedness to be intrinsically motivated
  • intrinsic motivation = something inside of you driving you, you choose to do it without external forces
  • autonomy = feeling like you're making your own decision
  • competence = feeling capable of making successful outcomes for yourself
  • relatedness = how satisfied you are with your place in society.
• self-efficacy theory: people who are successful believe they will succeed at things

A successful person, according to Dr. Ana:

• attributes failure to controllable, internal, unstable factors
  • "I failed this test because I did not work hard enough-which I can change by studying harder/smarter next time"
• attributes success to controllable, internal, stable factors
  • "I got this job because I grinded leetcode for 3 months and worked really hard to get it"
• Wants to achieve their goals rather than achieve power or approval
• doesn't focus on other people's journeys
• Feels intrinsically motivated to reach goals because they have a high degree of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
• believe they can succeed