The Effort Myth: How to Give Your Child the Three Gifts of Motivation

Are you a well-meaning parent who tries to motivate your child by reassuring them that they just need to try harder? Do you believe that gritty effort is the key to their success? If so, you may believe in the false promises of the effort myth. Students often do try harder, and some make short-term improvements. However, focusing on effort may even make a student's problems worse. No one should have to suffer to be able to learn. Of course, effort is necessary for work to be done successfully. However, trying harder is not sufficient by itself. That's because it's not how hard you try that leads to success; it's how you try hard. Written by a learning specialist with decades of experience teaching and coaching thousands of students and parents like you, The Effort Myth: How to Give Your Child the Three Gifts of Motivation will guide you to: • Participate more effectively in the education of your children • Know when you need to step in and when you need to let your children figure it out themselves • Help in ways that will enable your children to grow in ability and Independence "With clarity, empathy, and humor, The Effort Myth takes complex, murky spaces in parenting a struggling adolescent and makes them clear, actionable, and relatable. As an experienced clinician in this field, I find this book is spot-on from a developmental and family systems perspective. As a parent, it really speaks to my heart." Lauren A. Killeen, Ph.D., Pediatric Neuropsychologist Founder/Director, Social Emotional Educational & Developmental Services (SEEDS) About the Author Sherri Fisher has taught thousands of clients how to successfully challenge the effort myth. She is the director of Learn & Flourish, an education coaching and consulting firm, where she develops personalized, research-based tools for struggling learners and families. Sherri earned her Master's degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.