Where do I START…. My GOSH, it’s like the wind just blew in a new version of me in the past week.
So here’s the thing…. hee hee…
The REVELATION for me, was that I have been entrapped by a FIXED MINDSET.
All my life, I’ve been told how talented I am, how smart I am, how gifted I am. I will go on to do great things, yada, yada, yada. And don’t get me wrong, this is some empowering messaging…. to some degree.
BUT… Because the praise was focused on my existing talent and abilities, I developed this BELIEF (yes, friends, a limiting BELIEF) that unless things come naturally to me, I will not be successful.
Sooooo…..
As I reflect back on my “accomplishments”, it has dawned on me, that I have only done things that have come easily to me, to some degree. Once the “elbow grease” had to come out, I often dismissed it as “I don’t have enough natural ability to make that a success.” So, I stopped trying.
Are ya with me?
Anytime things got difficult, I defaulted to, “Oh well, this is really too hard… maybe it’s not what I’m meant to do.”
Uhhh… WRONG!!!!
So, the opposite of a FIXED mindset, is a GROWTH mindset.
If you praise a child for their “smarts” and “talent”, the child will come to believe that UNLESS you have “smarts” and/or “talent”, you will not be successful.
HOWEVER….
If you praise a child for the EFFORT and HARD WORK they put into the project, that child will equate effort and hard work with success. They will rise to the challenge, rather than shy away from it.
Newsflash: not much difference between children and adults in this area.
How many of you are shying away from finishing that project, that painting, that novel, that article, that program, that business plan… I could go on… but you get the picture.
I bet my bottom dollar it’s a BUNCH of you!!!
We need to enjoy the PROCESS as opposed to the end result. The process is where LIFE exists!!! Big revelation not only for myself, but in my teaching, singing, and business as well!!
Get your “fix” fixed and start GROWING!!!
**For more great insights into the fixed vs. growth mindset, I recommend Carol S. Dweck’s book Mindset. If you are a parent, entrepreneur, teacher, or student, it will change the way you view success!
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