This is Stevea Robbins. Welcome to the Get It Done Guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

It's back to school time. Europa's son Thomas, who we all think is a cyborg, though she's never

confirmed nor denied this, is preparing to return to high school for the year. Well, he's being

troublesome. That means lazy. Now, we think he can apply himself

more, and since we're grown-ups, we must be right. Europa says, well, he's just a teenager and we

shouldn't worry about it. But I'm not so sure. Parents can make a big difference when it comes

to how kids do in school. When it's time for homework, Thomas is right on it. And by it, I mean his smartphone,

playing games where he gets to take over huge kingdoms and build factories and hire peasants and

go to war. I guess like mother like son. What he isn't doing, however, is homework. When I point out

that his algebra is due tomorrow, he doesn't even look up. I'm smart. I don't have to prove it,

he mumbles. And therein

lies the problem. I've been reading about smart. Yeah, there's probably a genetic component to

certain aspects of intelligence. I mean, at the very least, people do have different thinking

styles, and different styles are going to be good for different tasks. But genetics is just

the beginning. Actual performance has

more to do with practice and risk-taking at hard work and effort, and all those things that we

would rather avoid in favor of taking over kingdoms on our smartphone. Psychologist Carol Dweck has

discovered that the language you use when praising someone can have a huge effect on their performance.

And it's paradoxical.

Whenever Thomas comes home with good homework scores,

Europa tells him,

Oh, you're so smart.

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