As a verb, to construct means to build or put together something large, such as a building, idea, or argument. As a noun, a construct is a complex idea or concept created by the mind.
From Latin *construere*, meaning "to pile up, build" (*con-* "together" + *struere* "to arrange, build"). It first referred to physical building and later to mental building.
Your beliefs about things like intelligence or success are mental constructs—carefully built, not naturally given. Once you see that, you realize you can remodel them just like a house.
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