I firmly believe that you can do anything you set your mind to. Now maybe not at the speed or distance or quantity of previous days or of other people, but there are super goals to attain with effort and determination. In fact, often it is not the goal that presents the greatest challenge, but rather the mindset – positive versus negative or growth versus fixed.
The latter comes from many researchers including Dr. Carol Dweck. Dr. Dweck worked primarily with children studying the methods implemented to tackle difficult puzzles, games, questions, or situations. Finding that children overall are in a growth mindset, she encourages everyone to reflect on how each of us encounters obstacles and how we concentrate on achievement or instead turn and run.
Junior high students and I talked in depth about mindset and many determined themselves to be eager to face some challenges but when the “going gets tough” they found it easier to deflect, ignore, or retreat without action.
While younger kids seem to handle ridicule and roadblocks more easily, older ones fear not measuring up or keeping up or admitting that acceptance by peers outweighed risk-taking steps.
Many of the students also focused on the term “fixed”, explaining why they should take no chances on something new when they could be “fixed” by avoiding it. Defining the two terms – growth as advancement through adjustment and fearless outlook as opposed to fixed as in stuck in a rut with little forward movement helped inspire some to move forward.
For adults, a growth mindset may prove even tougher. Trying new endeavors, from attempting a new sport, taking up a musical instrument, learning a foreign language, suggesting improvements on-the-job, or many other innovative behaviors can feel exciting or become defeating depending on the reception by others and their willingness to listen, request further details, or lead cheers of support.
And it is reasonable to hesitate in some instances as bravery must be mustered to dig deep and face the obstructions that might arise. The phrase “nothing ventured nothing gained” comes to mind, however, I have found that frequently when I venture some nod in agreement while also shaking their heads in disbelief (or disapproval). When this happens, I might back up and readdress my plan; I might plunge ahead anyway; I might withdraw and sulk. Most likely I’ll set the rebuffs as my swim or jog thought concentration of the day as I work out possible methods for success.
Psychologists urge us to extend brain power by utilizing its magnificence in novel ways. Struggling with a new project moves the mind into disequilibrium – the jumble of thoughts, ideas, and insights that may create the angst of anticipation. In what may appear to be a mess our minds sort, adjust, untangle, and resolve helping us rediscover equilibrium, the peace and tranquility of a job well done. Although this self-satisfaction feels rewarding, to the experimental, engaging mind the gratification of accomplishment dissipates as “what if” works to replace it. After all, to grow we must change; to change we must try new things in new ways; to expand mental capacity we must race toward disequilibrium if we hope to expand mental acuity.
A book club is one way to study mindset, especially when each member selects a book thus forcing attendees to read about subjects that may be out of their regular reading routine. If someone only reads mysteries, they might find non-fiction uninteresting; if another chooses only romance novels a book about war tactics may prove disappointing. The reader that reads, reflects, digests, and then asks spot-on questions regardless of genre is your growth mindset. The best words the person who picked a questionable book, questionable in the sense that it lies outside of some readers’ comfort zones, can hear include, “I would have never picked this book, but I am so happy to be introduced to such an amazing/frightening/enlightening subject.”
I prefer non-fiction and often these emphasize tough situations: war, excruciating risks, appalling historical events, and other hot topics that widen my point-of-view while also disturbing my internal serenity. Good, you think, she’s entering disequilibrium and rightly so. The problem that occurs from this involves that I cannot change the past and exiting unbalance may require time; the solution, of course, I improve the future by lending a hand, offering assistance, or in some instances, simply sitting quietly by.
PS: Webster’s Dictionary states sentences ending in prepositions are OK – whew!