Today, we're going to talk about the importance of cultivating growth mindsets as we step beyond the classroom. When I was teaching, I was committed to helping my students develop a growth mindset. I would encourage them to make mistakes, take risks, and step out of their comfort zones.
But looking back, I can tell that I talked about all of these things kind of flippantly. I would say things like making mistakes is how we learn, which is totally true, but I don't think I really acknowledged how hard it can be to really embrace mistakes and let go of perfection.
Before we get into exactly how adults can embrace a growth mindset, let's clarify exactly what a growth mindset is. This term comes from Dr. Carol Dweck, who first introduced the idea of a growth mindset after decades of research, which identified individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, learning and feedback as having a growth mindset.
I'm gonna say that again, because these three things are so important to hard work, learning and feedback is how we develop our talents. Dweck found that these people with their growth mindsets often achieve more than individuals with a more fixed mindset, who typically believe that their talents or gifts are something to be born with.
So basically, the key concept is that we can develop our talents and skills through feedback, learning and hard work. As teachers we know this right? We see it all the times with students, we support students this way. But the same is true for us.
And it's clear why we should all want to embrace a growth mindset. But when I decided to leave the classroom and find flexible work in education, I discovered this is easier said than done. I found myself in need of many of the growth mindset lessons I taught my students.
And after years of telling students that it was okay to make mistakes, I found myself realizing just how hard it can be to take that on. I wanted things to be perfect, and to land every job I applied for. But that was really unrealistic. I needed to put in the work, take risks, get feedback, and learn along the way.
So I committed myself to celebrating the risks I took rather than the outcomes. And this was a process, it's way easier to say this than to do it. And it's something I'm still working on. Really celebrating risks, celebrating taking those big steps forward and really getting outside of our comfort zones. That's what we can control. We can't really control the outcomes, but we can control what we put into it.
So I embrace progress over perfection, focusing on learning through action. And in really, it's still a work in progress. I often have to remind myself of the same messages I told my students so many years ago, that it's important to get outside of our comfort zones and try new things.
So are you ready to join me in cultivating a growth mindset so that you can achieve your dreams? Let's go over three key steps.
The first one is normalizing and embracing struggle. Trying new things is hard. And change generally happens when we step outside of our comfort zones, and do things that make us feel at least a little nervous. And instead of resisting these feelings, what if you embraced them?
Think about students learning a challenging skill, like learning how to read, it's normal for them to think that it's hard because it is. But as teachers, we support students to push through the struggle knowing that the payoff will be worth it.
Developing a growth mindset for us is no different. What if you took the same approach to your own life? When trying something new, try to take action as soon as possible. Instead of getting into your head about whether or not to take a step forward, just do the thing.
Don't over analyze it. Don't be stuck in this like decision fatigue moment, just do it. Even if it's imperfect, even if it's honestly not the quote unquote, right decision. Because through trying and struggling, you'll learn all sorts of things.
And when you feel like giving up, remind yourself that the only way out is through. We learn so much through these messy moments of struggle, and we honestly have to go through them in order to learn and progress.
So now that we've normalized and embrace struggle, it's time for step two, which is putting in the work. A growth mindset is based on the idea that your abilities can be cultivated through effort. This is awesome because it means that the more work you put in, the better your results will be.
And instead of lamenting experiences you might not have or skills you feel like you could improve, take action towards learning to do whatever you're motivated to find out more about; anything you don't know you can learn. Or if you have a skill you want to try to develop, just take a little step forward and move the needle.
To start, just choose one thing to work on. Think about what would be the most impactful thing to learn or skill to develop, then commit yourself to making progress one step forward at a time.
The third step is taking just right risks. And risk taking can feel more or less scary for all of us. But again, we can learn so much from taking risks. It's a key part of developing a growth mindset.
If you're interested in applying for a job, but find yourself hesitating, go for it anyway. Have you always dreamed of selling lesson plans, but just aren't sure if you can figure out the tech of selling online? Just try it, you'll figure it out by doing it. And you'll figure out the best questions to ask which honestly, we don't even know sometimes when we start things.
Even if these risks you take don't work out the way you expect them to, you will learn something from taking them, you have to take action to get clarity.
You'll notice that this third step was not just called taking risks, it was called taking just right risks. Just right risks are kind of scary, but not insanely terrifying. But they're also something that makes you a little bit nervous.
So a just right risk is not just applying for a job without a cover letter and pressing submit like that honestly, probably doesn't feel scary, right? That's not really a risk. But a just right risk might not be quitting your job tomorrow without a backup plan, you know, something that might blow up your life that might be too far out of your comfort zone.
A just right risk is something that makes you feel a little nervous. Maybe you're gonna reach out to a contact and share that you're interested in taking on curriculum projects, or whatever it is for you that makes you feel a little nervous and a little closer to what you want to achieve.
So again, these types of risks are not too extreme or too safe. Just right risk pushes you outside of your comfort zone and makes you feel just that little bit nervous. So think about what's one just right risks that you could take this week.
Find me on Instagram at @educatorforever and send me a message to let me know. I want to support you to step outside of your comfort zone, develop a growth mindset and take those risks.
