The Biggest Obstacle to Learning

What have you always struggled to learn?
Whether you’re a poor writer or can’t handle numbers, you’re no different to everyone else.
We’ve all experienced frustrations with learning.
If only more people knew that the first and most important step to solving these problems is surprisingly simple.
When we struggle to learn, we often put it down to a lack of innate ability.
At some point, we’ve all used explanations like the one I told myself at school when wrestling with a hard math problem – “I’m just not good with numbers.”
This perspective frames our capacity to learn as something outside of our control, when in reality it’s influenced heavily by our own beliefs.
If learning is a journey from a place of knowing less to one of knowing more, then trying to learn something when we don’t believe we can do it is like trying to drive with the handbrake on.
Unsurprisingly, the idea that we need believe we’re capable to succeed isn’t new and often appears in children’s stories and motivational quotes.
Consider Henry Ford’s old adage “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re probably right” or one of Muhammad Ali’s most cited quotes,“If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.”
But there’s more to these statements than great word-smithery.
In fact, the work of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck suggests that there is scientific substance to the idea that mindset matters – our belief systems directly affect our behaviour, which in turn affects our success in learning.

The Fixed and Growth Mindset

In 20 years of research with children and adults, Dweck placed learners into two categories:
Those with a fixed mindset, who believe their abilities are set in stone.
Those with a growth mindset, who believe their abilities can be developed.
Having a growth mindset doesn’t mean we have to believe that anyone can become the next Einstein, Mozart or Da Vinci.
We only have to acknowledge that our potential to learn is unbounded and that the power to increase our own abilities is within our control.
Approaching things from this perspective creates a real passion for learning, and makes us more likely to apply the grit we need to succeed.
We become less discouraged by failure and more attentive when we’re struggling.
We start to see difficulty as an opportunity to stretch ourselves rather than trying to avoid it.
All these characteristics not only make us more likely to learn new things but they raise our chances of reaching our goals in our careers and personal lives.

The Research on Mindset

Dweck and her colleagues have consistently produced results that prove the positive impact of a growth mindset on learning performance.
In one of her early experiments, outlined in her book, she ran a workshop for a 7th grade class at a New York City junior high school.
Half the students were given a presentation on memory and effective studying, while the other half were introduced to Dweck’s ideas and were told their intelligence largely depended on their own effort.
After the workshop both groups went back to their classrooms, with their teachers unaware of the difference between what they had been taught.
Remarkably, as the school year unfolded, the students from the second group developed a growth mindset and became higher achievers than the students from the first group, who retained a conventional fixed mindset.
Dweck’s team has replicated these results across different locations, age groups and subjects with notable degrees of success.

The Takeaway

Our mindset is fundamental. It’s more important than inherent ability in learning performance and has a huge impact on the other areas of our life such as our career and relationships.
All learning strategies, tools and techniques are almost useless if we don’t combine them with a strong, growth based learning mindset – the simple belief that the power to improve our learning abilities lies in our own hands.

Try This‍

1) Explore and Identify Your Limiting Beliefs
What are your most limiting views about your learning abilities? Write them down in detail and give examples from the past which justify these beliefs.
Be honest with yourself and try to think of all the times in the past when your own beliefs were the major barrier to your learning.
2) Cross Examine Yourself
Now cross-examine these limiting beliefs through the lens of a growth mindset, just as a prosecution lawyer would analyse a defence testimony.
Think of examples in the past where your effort led to progress and ask if those limiting beliefs stand up to the test now.
I’ll be surprised if any do, because the growth mindset encourages you to take responsibility for the results you get, rather than blaming external factors.
3) Practice the Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is something you need to practice consistently over time, like anything else.
If your limiting beliefs pop up again in your mind, remind yourself that your ability is under your control.
When you wake up in the morning, ask yourself these three questions:
What are the opportunities for learning and growth today?
When, where and how will I embark on my plan?
When, where and how will I act on my plan?
This exercise is recommended by Dweck herself and reviewing these ideas has been hugely useful in my own learning projects.
The truth is that you’ve already done some of the work by reading this post.
Apparently, the simple act of reading about the research can have a significant and measurable impact on your attitude and learning performance.
So if you’ve reached this far, you can thank me in the comments!

For Israel, these treaties did pacify the threat to its existence, yet arrogant as it is, Israel, has never been able to return the respect, especially in Jordan’s case. In retrospect, it seems that King Hussein, who had been sold the idea of a “final reconciliation of all the descendants of the children of Abraham”, was from the very onset, regretting his peace treaty, because the Israelis never for a day ceased to make life difficult for the Palestinians and the neighbourhood.

In 1997, in the aftermath of rioting over a tourist tunnel opened by Israel in Jerusalem and construction of settlements in East Jerusalem, the king had written an angry letter to Benjamin Netanyahu, elected prime minister since 1996, saying, “My distress is genuine and deep over the accumulating tragic actions which you have initiated… making peace — the worthiest objective of my life — appear more and more like a distant elusive mirage… ”

The king’s distress was called for, as he was the bearer of the Hashemite custodianship of the Al Quds, a sacred prerogative that legitimised the Hashemite rulership over Jordan, and an honour that brought them prestige and pride and which committed the king to the protection of all Palestinians. For this reason, Jordan has always hosted a large number of Palestinian refugees, who make about half of Jordan’s population today. And for the same reasons, Jordan had allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to function from its soil until 1971, and the Hamas leadership was stationed there till 1999.

The current spat between the two states, however, started with Trump’s Deal of the Century. The deal proposed annexing another 30% of the West Bank including the whole border with Jordan and also hinted a further plan of annexing the Jordan Valley. The plan also indicated that Jerusalem will be recognised as the “undivided capital” of Israel. Within hours of Trump’s release of the plan in January 2020, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi reiterated Jordan’s support for the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative as the only path to a just and lasting settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jordan understands the plan to be based on Israeli far-right vision that denies Palestinians an independent state in the West Bank and looks at Jordan as an alternative homeland for the Palestinians. With such a plan, not only would the Hashemites be done away with their custodianship, they would also be forced to absorb the whole Palestinian population in their country and would fall next in line for Israeli occupation who are already eyeing the Jordan Valley. So, King Abdullah warned Netanyahu in June that annexation would lead to a massive conflict and threatened cancellation of the 1994 Wadi Araba peace treaty with Israel.

Now, with Israel’s further diplomatic accomplishments of having the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco sign normalisation treaties with it under the Abraham Accords, Jordan has been left more apprehensive. Jordan was alarmed upon the possibility that Trump and Netanyahu would want to shift the custodianship on to someone more accommodative, even when it is improbable for any other Arab state to make such an awkward exchange.

Even before the normalisation was signed, in August 2020, when the US, UAE, and Israel released a joint statement saying “all Muslims who come in peace may visit and pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque, and Jerusalem’s other holy sites should remain open for peaceful worshippers of all faiths,” Jordan again took it as a call for a change in status quo. And in November 2020, the same fears were raised when Netanyahu tried to make new diplomatic efforts in the Arab world, when Jordan’s foreign ministry labeled the meet-up as an “attempt to alter the historical and legal status quo” and that the “Kingdom will continue its efforts to protect and care for the mosque.”

It is dismal to note how time has changed from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when the late king Faisal tearfully attested that “if all Arabs agreed to accept the existence of Israel and divide Palestine, we will never join them”. And now after decades of connivance, Israel is daring to change the status quo in the same Arab neighbourhood.

Last month, Israel disallowed the Jordanian Crown Prince’s planned visit to Al Aqsa. The next day, Jordan denied Netanyahu’s helicopter access to Jordanian airspace for his UAE visit. By the end of March, Netanyahu refused to approve the assigned supply of water to Jordan and come April, Jordan alleged Mossad to be behind the coup plot involving ex-crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein.

The question is: can Israel afford a psychosis with Jordan when the latter has been playing a placatory role within the Arabs? Jordan also serves as a buffer zone with Iraq and Iran, the two states that have had open enmity with Israel – specially now, when Iran, Iraq and Syria practically share a security alliance that has managed to oust US intervention, with the help of Turkey and Russia. If Jordan decides to join this other camp right now, it might embolden this new alliance to act aggressively against Israel.

Israel, with its tiny land, of about 400km long and 100km wide, and with a 15km width at its narrowest point, cannot afford to be oblivious to it vulnerability in the midst of an envious Arab neighbourhood. The only chance it had was to win the hearts of the Arabs with complacency and with accommodating the Palestinians to the fullest. But unfortunate as it is for Israel, it has always gone the opposite trajectory!

While you can use cryptocurrency to make purchases, most people treat it as a long-term investment. However, investing in cryptocurrency can be risky if you don’t know where to begin. These are the top 10 cryptocurrencies that are most worthy of investment in 2021.

Rating the Top Cryptocurrency Choices

Run a quick online search and you’ll find dozens of recommendations for how to invest in cryptocurrency. In choosing the top 10 picks, the following factors were considered.

Longevity

How long has the cryptocurrency been around? New cryptocurrencies aren’t immediately ruled out, but having historical data for comparison helps you see how a company has performed up until now.

Track Record

How has the company performed during its years in business? If you see stability in prices, that’s a good sign. If you notice that the cryptocurrency is gaining traction and becoming more valuable with time, that’s even better.

Good To Know

Past performance is not indicative of future performance. At any time things can change, and an investment may perform better or worse than it has in the past.

Technology

How does the platform compare to others in terms of usability and security? The first thing you want to look for is the speed at which transactions occur. The network should be able to handle transaction traffic with ease.

You also want to make sure your investment is secure. Most cryptocurrencies use blockchain technology, making all transactions transparent and easy to track. Blockchain technology doesn’t necessarily make it harder for hackers to steal your cryptocurrency. It does make it easier to track your investment so it can be recovered instead of being lost following fraud.

Adoption Rate

How many people are investing in the cryptocurrency you’re considering? When you see a high level of adoption, that means the cryptocurrency has better liquidity. Trading, selling or spending will be easier in the future.

Top 10 Cryptocurrency Investments in 2021

Cryptocurrency

Price as of March 29, 2021

Market Cap

Bitcoin

$57,566.38

$1.075 trillion

Ethereum

$1,811.82

$209.464 billion

Binance Coin

$273.38

$42.304 billion

Tether

$0.99

$40.632 billion

Cardano

$1.19

$38.188 billion

Polkadot

$33.74

$31.349 billion

Ripple

$0.56

$24.598 billion

Litecoin

$192.88

$13.038 billion

Chainlink

$28.06

$11.689 billion

Stellar

$0.41

$9.23 billion

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin has been around for the longest of any cryptocurrency. It’s easy to see why it’s the leader, with a price, market cap and volume that’s much higher than any other investment options. Even with thousands of other cryptocurrencies on the market, Bitcoin still represents 40% of the cryptocurrency market cap.

Many businesses already accept Bitcoin as payment, which makes this cryptocurrency a smart investment. Visa transacts with Bitcoin, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently invested $1.5 billion in it. Plus, the larger banks are beginning to incorporate Bitcoin transactions into their offerings, too.

Risks of Investing in Bitcoin

The value of Bitcoin tends to fluctuate a lot. You may see the price go up or down thousands of dollars during any month. If wild fluctuations like these make you nervous, you may want to avoid Bitcoin. Otherwise, as long as you keep in mind that cryptocurrency is a smart long-term investment, these fluctuations shouldn’t be too concerning.

Another reason to reconsider investing in Bitcoin is its price. With a single share costing more than $50,000, most people can’t afford to buy whole shares of the stock. For investors who want to avoid buying partial shares, this is a negative.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is different from Bitcoin because it isn’t only a cryptocurrency. It’s also a network that allows developers to create their own cryptocurrency utilizing the Ethereum network. While Ethereum is far behind Bitcoin in value, it’s also far ahead of the other competitors.

Even though it came out years after some other cryptocurrencies, it has far exceeded its place in the market because of its unique technology.

Risks of Investing in Ethereum

While Ethereum utilizes blockchain technology, it only has one “lane” for conducting transactions. This can lead to transactions taking longer to process when the network is overloaded.

A hack in 2016 led to more than $60 million Ether dollars lost because of a flaw in the Ethereum wallet. While the company has made strides in increasing its security, loopholes are always a risk with any cryptocurrency investment.

3. Binance Coin

Binance is one of the few cryptocurrencies to reach its peak after 2017. During that year, there was a bull market and the price of all cryptocurrencies rose on it, reaching a peak before plateauing and decreasing in value.

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Binance Coin continued a slow but consistent trend upward after 2017. Because of its performance, Binance Coin has proven to be one of the more stable investment options, posing fewer risks.

Risks of Investing in Binance Coin

What sets Binance Coin apart from its competitors is that it was created by a company instead of a group of tech developers. Although Binance Coin’s commitment to maintaining a strong blockchain has won over many skeptics, some investors remain leery of this cryptocurrency and its potential security issues.

4. Tether (USDT)

Tether is the most stable of all cryptocurrencies because it is tied to the U.S. dollar. For each unit of Tether, there is one dollar in the Federal Reserve Bank. This makes Tether great for investors who want to transact with their cryptocurrency .

Risks of Investing in Tether

Investors have raised questions over the actual reserve stock. There are doubts that there is truly a U.S. dollar in the reserve bank for each Tether unit. If this were ever disproven, the value of Tether’s stock could drop quickly.

5. Cardano

The Cardano network has a smaller footprint, which is appealing to investors for several reasons. It takes less energy to complete a transaction with Cardano than with a larger network like Bitcoin. This means transactions are faster and cheaper.

It claims to be more adaptable and more secure. Cardano consistently improves its development to stay ahead of hackers.

Risks of Investing in Cardano

Even with a better network, Cardano may not be able to compete with larger cryptocurrencies. Fewer adopters mean fewer developers. This isn’t appealing to most investors who want to see a high adoption rate. The platform has big plans, but there are doubts about whether it can live up to that potential.

Advice

Don’t be discouraged by fluctuations in the market. Your investment may lose money one day and make a profit the next. Instead of getting caught up in the day-to-day changes, look at the big picture.

6. Polkadot (DOT)

Polkadot was created by Ethereum leaders who broke away to form their own cryptocurrency with a better network. Instead of having a single “lane” to complete transactions in, Polkadot has several.

This cryptocurrency was designed to reward genuine investors and weed out people who are just trading on the stock market to make money fast. Investors who are engaged in the company also help to make decisions on things like:

• Network fees
• Network upgrades
• Establishing or removing parachains

Risks of Investing in Polkadot

Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, first introduced the cryptocurrency via a whitepaper in 2016. At the end of 2020, Polkadot began trading on the stock market. With such a short history, Polkadot doesn’t have a track record for comparison, making it a riskier investment for potential buyers.

7. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is the company that unveiled the XRP token and is enticing to investors because it sets itself apart from other cryptocurrencies by offering international transactions. With a bank, international money transfers can take up to 10 business days. With Ripple, the same transactions take mere seconds.

Plus, Ripple has contracts with big banks around the world. The more contracts it has, the more accessible the Ripple cryptocurrency is to adopters.

Risks of Investing in Ripple

Ripple showed promise in 2017 when its value jumped 36,000%. However, when you look at the fact that the percentage represented growing to a $2.40 stock value, it’s less impressive. As you’re researching cryptocurrencies, don’t be distracted by high percentages. Get down to the real numbers and see what the growth really means.

8. Litecoin

Originally established in 2011, Litecoin hit the market at the same time as Bitcoin. However, it didn’t take off in the same way. Litecoin boasts completing transactions four times faster than Bitcoin.

In 2017, it was the first cryptocurrency to complete a Lightning Network transaction. The transfer was completed in less than one second. If the company expands its use of Lightning Network for faster transactions, Litecoin’s value could increase dramatically.

Risks of Investing in Litecoin

Since Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies are tied closely to Bitcoin, their value will generally fluctuate along with Bitcoin. This means the value will go up and down just as Bitcoin does, although at a lesser rate. If you consider Bitcoin’s volatility a negative, Litecoin may not be a good choice for you.

9. Chainlink

Chainlink is unique as a cryptocurrency because it has an appealing price. While the shares are affordable to buy, they’re also priced high enough to not be considered penny stocks. This is appealing to investors because it has proven it can increase in value, and there is still a lot of room for growth.

It’s also available for trading on Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency apps. Being more accessible also makes Chainlink appealing to investors.

Risks of Investing in Chainlink

While it’s still above thousands of other cryptocurrencies, it has a lower volume and market cap than more appealing cryptocurrencies. That’s why Chainlink ranks so low on the top 10 list.

10. Stellar (XLM)

Stellar’s Lumens, also known as XLM, was established to serve a niche need within the world of cryptocurrency. It’s essentially the PayPal of cryptocurrency networks, serving as a bridge between banks and blockchain networks.

As a decentralized network, Stellar can convert any currency and trade it across channels. It makes these transactions cheaper and faster than they would be with a traditional bank.

Risks of Investing in Stellar (XLM)

Because Stellar (XLM) caters to a niche market, it will likely see other companies try to compete against it. If another cryptocurrency network creates a better platform and takes traffic from Stellar, it could affect the company’s stock value.

Advice

Don’t settle on any number of cryptocurrency investments without continuing to learn about the market. A new cryptocurrency network could easily climb the ranks and emerge as a leader above other platforms. As an investor, the smartest thing you can do is to stay abreast of market happenings.

Final Take

There’s no question about it: Cryptocurrencies are here to stay. The question becomes, where is the best place to invest your money in the market?

As you decide which cryptocurrency is the best investment for you, here are some other things to keep in mind:

• The speed at which transactions are completed
• The fees associated with transacting
• The ability to use your cryptocurrency for regular purchases and bank transfers

If you’re strictly looking to invest without transacting within the network, remember that cryptocurrency isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. Instead, you should consider it a long-term investment.