It is always better to praise people for their effort, not their talent.

The Laws of Human Nature, Soften People’s Resistance by Confirming Their Self-opinion

“It is always better to praise people for their effort, not their talent. When you extol people for their talent, there is a slight deprecation implied, as if they were simply lucky for being born with natural skill.”

When you praise people for their effort instead of their talent, you appeal to their sense of autonomy and self-respect. If you praise their talent alone, it implies they didn’t have to work for their success, that they were just lucky to be born with certain abilities. This can feel like a subtle insult because it diminishes the hard work and challenges they’ve overcome. By praising effort, you validate their hard work, which makes them feel understood, respected, and more likely to trust you.

When people feel that you recognize their struggle, they are more likely to be receptive to your influence, because you align with their self-perception, that they are in control of their success, not merely beneficiaries of good fortune.

People are egotistical.

Most don’t want to believe that their success comes from luck or talent alone, they want to feel they earned their accomplishments through hard work. If you feed their ego by recognizing their effort, you make them feel powerful and in control of their destiny. When they feel good about themselves in this way, they are more likely to trust you and be open to manipulation. By contrast, when you praise their talent, you diminish their efforts and make them insecure about whether they deserve their success, which could push them away.

Mindset- Carol Dweck

In the book, Mindset Author and Psychologist talks about the growth mindset. She explains about this concept for parenting and education.

“When children are praised for being "smart," they often fear challenges because they don’t want to risk being seen as “not smart” when they fail. However, when they are praised for working hard, they become more open to challenges because they see failure as part of the learning process, not a threat to their identity.”