“In a growth mindset, your flaws are just a to-do list of things to improve.” — Derek Sivers
Most of the time when we are growing up and growing physically, we don’t even feel it. You wake up a tiny bit taller. Your shoes might feel a little smaller. Your pants are suddenly too short… but that’s it. You don’t decide to grow - it happens naturally. Most signs of growth are things you cannot control, but there is one feature about you that’s entirely within your control: your mindset.
Every single one of us has the power to choose to have a growth mindset. It is the belief that your basic abilities, intelligence, and talents can be improved through hard work and persistence. That sounds pretty “CPDLF,” doesn’t it?
We know that your brain can grow and we know that your time in school is a long exercise in building that belief in yourself.
Growth mindset is as simple as changing your thinking from:
“I can’t do this!”
to
“I can’t do this YET.”
It’s okay to acknowledge your limitations right now. What’s not okay is to let those current limitations become a dead end. You must be gentle with yourself and understand that you are a work in progress. It takes time to get things right. Not giving up is what makes the difference.
CPDLF learners show growth mindset when they:
- Tackle new subjects
- Re-do an assignment they didn’t get right the first time
- Accept help from their learning coaches
- Ask clarifying questions
- Request feedback from teachers
- Turn that feedback into a to-do list for the next assignment
Challenging yourself is worth the effort. We believe in you and your abilities to grow. Stay curious and stay persistent because that hard work will pay off in the end.
Principal Yahner
Would you like to do more reading on growth mindset and the child psychologist who coined the term? Learn more about Carol Dweck here.