Week 1 Growth Mindset

One of my best friends since high school is currently majoring in Education. Since she learned about the growth mindset idea when we were sophomores shes been trying to convince me that it is something that I should try embracing. I am usually pretty hard on myself when I get something wrong or when things don't play out in the way I expect them to. I'm not good with change and I'm very critical of myself. After a total breakdown my junior year that lasted for several months I decided to give in and start trying out things that would help me build more of a growth mindset. I started taking change as something that was teaching me to get through different situations. I let every new situation be a teaching moment whether it was good or bad. I started giving my self criticism and instead of thinking that I was a failure for not being able to do certain things, I would sit and think of ways that I could either do better next time or think if there was a better more efficient way I could be using my skills. Just because someone else is good at one thing and I'm not doesn't mean that I am a failure, it means that I can't do what they can do yet. If I want to be able to do the same thing bad enough then I know that I can work to reach that goal. It may take me longer, it may be harder for me, I may fail many more times before I actually reach my goal, but the destination will be the same. And if I take each of my mistakes and failures and turn them into learning experiences, then I may come out in the end with more knowledge than someone who didn't put as much effort into the goal. Using these thought processes has helped me so much in being able to deal with everyday life. I didn't so much run on being praised from others and I did on being able to feel like I could praise myself. When I went through my breakdown I felt like I couldn't do anything right and that I was a failure in every aspect of my life. When I finally looked up the growth mindset it really turned my whole point of view around and I am almost always able to change how I see things. It allowed me to take difficult or stressful situations and turn them into puzzles rather than a giant looming storm that I felt was going to eat me up whole. I can't always maintain a growth mindset, it is something I constantly have to work on, but it has made me a much happier and much healthier person.

I really like this image for the growth mindset idea because in order for you to feel like and be a champion in your own right you have to be able to grow from your wins and loses so that you can grow above those that seek to crush your goals and dreams.

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