Growth Mindset

Working with youth has made me particularly aware with the idea of possessing a Growth Mindset. I used to be much less of an optimist and forward thinker before I started working with young people. "No we can't do that," and "I don't think that will work," were common phrases in my vocabulary not too long ago, but now I am realize how detrimental those ideologies are towards my individual successes and the successes of the people and projects I care about. 

I used to think that the principles behind a Growth Mindset were corny and not achievable. I thought people those kind of people were dreamers in la-la-land, not grasping the context of their realities. However, it was not until I realized that my fixed mindset had a negative effect on my reality and my impact on the children who depend on me everyday that my behaviors were problematic. If I as an educator have a fixed mindset, how can any of my students learn and grow? 

That was my big light bulb moment. 

You cannot be a pessimist when kids look to you for guidance and support everyday. 

Now, thanks to my exposure with my students and all of the professional development I have been gifted, I challenge myself to say yes more and to embrace changing circumstances. George Bernard Shaw wisely said, "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." When I am faced with something new and different than what I am familiar with, I used to face change with resentment and frustration. Instead of being angry or stressed out about changes, I now try to face them head on and embrace them. 

I've learned that not accepting challenges is me being not confident in my skills and abilities to handle new things. I am smart, creative, and resourceful. Being aware of having a Growth Mindset has made me remember these qualities about myself and has instilled in me that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. It is often difficult to put mind over matter, but success depends on it. 

My learning goals this semester are to remind myself daily about the joy of learning and how it is okay to struggle and not understand things at first. This class format is new for me, but I decided to embrace it and play around with the different websites until I felt comfortable. I am confident that things will soon stop feeling sticky and uncertain, but I am currently OK with being a little thrown off. Years ago I would have dropped a course if it was different than anything I was used to or would spend the semester hating and resenting it. I've realized that this Fixed Mindset benefits nobody. 

I would definitely like to learn more about Growth Mindset this semester because it has been something that has been totally imperative to my recent successes. I also feel like someone probably cannot possess a Growth Mindset if they do not want to continue to learn about it!