---
title: "1 Lack Ability Quotes By Megan McArdle"
description: "1 Lack Ability quotes by Megan McArdle. Plus more from Megan McArdle and more Lack Ability sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/megan-mcardle-26163_doing-things_if-they-re-forced-into-a-challenge-they_337444.png"
---

> [“If they’re forced into a challenge they don’t feel prepared for, they may even engage in what psychologists call “self-handicapping”: deliberately doing things that will hamper their performance in order to give themselves an excuse for not doing well. Self-handicapping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/if-they-re-forced-into-a-challenge-they-don-t-feel-prepared-for-they/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/714/megan-mcardle-26163_doing-things_if-they-re-forced-into-a-challenge-they_337444.png)

## More by Megan McArdle

> [It is a vast, and pervasive, cognitive mistake to assume that people who agree with you (or disagree) do so on the same criteria…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/it-is-a-vast-and-pervasive-cognitive-mistake-to-assume-that-people/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“Dweck encourages parents and teachers to praise children for their effort, rather than their intelligence, talent, or looks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/dweck-encourages-parents-and-teachers-to-praise-children-for-their/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“If they’re forced into a challenge they don’t feel prepared for, they may even engage in what psychologists call “self-handicapping”: deliberately doing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/if-they-re-forced-into-a-challenge-they-don-t-feel-prepared-for-they/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [We have made it impossible for children to fall very far—and in so doing, we have robbed them of the joys of climbing high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/we-have-made-it-impossible-for-children-to-fall-very-far-and-in-so/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [The up side of down: why failing well is the key to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/the-up-side-of-down-why-failing-well-is-the-key-to-success/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“Most of all, learning to fail well means overcoming our natural instincts to blame someone—maybe ourselves—whenever something goes wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/most-of-all-learning-to-fail-well-means-overcoming-our-natural/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [Over the years, I developed a theory about why writers are such procrastinators: We were too good in English class. This sounds crazy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/over-the-years-i-developed-a-theory-about-why-writers-are-such/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“The alternative to villains who have done something wrong is a universe where bad things sometimes happen to people who don’t deserve them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/the-alternative-to-villains-who-have-done-something-wrong-is-a/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“...simple things, but each error made the other ones more dangerous, like sticks of kindling to a roaring fire”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/simple-things-but-each-error-made-the-other-ones-more-dangerous-like/)

[megan mcardle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“object is to take lots of small, manageable risks, because that, he says, is the only way to figure out what really works.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/object-is-to-take-lots-of-small-manageable-risks-because-that-he-says/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [If we wanted a program to help the majority of the population, we'd offer loan guarantees to help poor people get access to reliable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/if-we-wanted-a-program-to-help-the-majority-of-the-population-we-d/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“If they’re forced into a challenge they don’t feel prepared for, they may even engage in what psychologists call “self-handicapping”: deliberately doing things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/if-they-re-forced-into-a-challenge-they-don-t-feel-prepared-for-they-2/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“the people who dislike challenges think that talent is a fixed thing that you’re either born with or not. The people who relish them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/the-people-who-dislike-challenges-think-that-talent-is-a-fixed-thing/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“Like most people, I couldn't let go of the money we'd wasted. That's why so many people eat awful meals, watch horrible movies, read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/like-most-people-i-couldn-t-let-go-of-the-money-we-d-wasted-that-s/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

> [“Writers who don’t produce copy—or leave it so long that they couldn’t possibly produce something good—are giving themselves the perfect excuse for not succeeding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcardle/writers-who-don-t-produce-copy-or-leave-it-so-long-that-they-couldn-t/)

[Megan McArdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcardle/)

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                        "text": "“If they’re forced into a challenge they don’t feel prepared for, they may even engage in what psychologists call “self-handicapping”: deliberately doing things that will hamper their performance in order to give themselves an excuse for not doing well. Self-handicapping can be fairly spectacular: in one study, men deliberately chose performance-inhibiting drugs when facing a task they didn’t expect to do well on.7 “Instead of studying,” writes the psychologist Edward Hirt, “a student goes to a movie the night before an exam. If he performs poorly, he can attribute his failure to a lack of studying rather than to a lack of ability or intelligence. On the other hand, if he does well on the exam, he may conclude that he has exceptional ability, because he was able to perform well without studying.”8 Writers who don’t produce copy—or leave it so long that they couldn’t possibly produce something good—are giving themselves the perfect excuse for not succeeding. “Work finally begins,” says Alain de Botton, “when the fear of doing nothing exceeds the fear of doing it badly.” For people with an extremely fixed mind-set, that tipping point quite often never happens. They fear nothing so much as finding out that they never had what it takes.”",
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