Artwork for podcast Poder aprender
#93 - The Growth Mindset for Life Transitions
Episode 935th May 2025 • Poder aprender • Walter Freiberg
00:00:00 00:17:17

Share Episode

Shownotes

Navigating major life changes can feel overwhelming. Adapting to new stages requires not just effort, but also a flexible mindset. Every transition carries an opportunity for growth and learning. How can we turn uncertain moments into launchpads? What role does curiosity play in times of change? How can we turn our transition story into a success story? These are some of the questions we explore in episode number 93 of "Poder aprender".

Adopting a growth mindset is essential during life transitions. Without this perspective, challenges can feel like threats, but with it, every obstacle becomes an opportunity to learn and evolve. In this episode, we discuss how this mindset shift was key in moving from solopreneur to entrepreneur and in facing other personal challenges.

Curiosity is another powerful tool during times of change. Instead of being paralyzed by uncertainty, we can choose to explore, ask questions, and open new possibilities. Through personal stories and coaching anecdotes, we see how curiosity can turn fear into fascination and how every interaction can become an opportunity for connection and learning.

Celebrating small wins is a strategy that helps maintain motivation and momentum in times of transition. Even if big achievements take time, recognizing daily progress—no matter how small—helps build confidence and consistency. In this episode, we explore how recording just one positive sentence a day can have a profound impact on self-esteem and the ability to keep going.

Finally, turning our transition story into a success story means reframing difficult experiences. Every change can be seen as a new beginning, an opportunity to show resilience and creativity. We share how some people have reinvented themselves in new countries, cultures, and environments, proving that it’s possible to recreate our passions and activities, no matter the context.

These are the topics of episode #93:

  • Growth mindset in life transitions
  • Curiosity to reframe uncertainty
  • Tracking small wins
  • Turning transitions into success stories

¡Sigan aprendiendo y acuérdense de practicar bien!

---------------------------------------------------------------

Sitio web: https://poderaprender.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/poder.aprender

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@poder-aprender

---------------------------------------------------------------

Sitio personal: https://walterfreiberg.com

Transcripts

1

::

"Poder aprender", el pódcast que te

ayuda a aprender idiomas, hobbies

2

::

y skills de manera más efectiva.

3

::

Acá hablamos sobre hábitos de

aprendizaje, práctica deliberada

4

::

y estrategias para aprender mejor.

5

::

Mi nombre es Walter Freiberg y

te invito a desarrollar tu poder

6

::

de aprender para alcanzar tus

metas personales y profesionales.

7

::

When life changes, most people freeze,

panic, or wait for things to settle.

8

::

But what if change is actually

the best time to grow?

9

::

Today, I'm sharing four

mindset shifts that turn life

10

::

transitions into launchpads.

11

::

This is what we're talking about in

episode number 93 of "Poder aprender".

12

::

I've coached people through major

life transitions: relocating to new

13

::

countries, switching careers, starting

a new business, and I faced my own.

14

::

What I've learned is simple: you

can't control the change and you can

15

::

control the mindset you bring to it.

16

::

In my early twenties, I went from being

an atheist and having no faith, no

17

::

spiritual practice at all, to having a

very strong spiritual context in my life.

18

::

This happened after participating

in a meditation retreat.

19

::

That was a Buddhist meditation retreat,

and when I finished that meditation

20

::

retreat, I suddenly was a Buddhist.

21

::

And I didn't expect that.

22

::

That didn't happen with the most

people, so... it is not just based

23

::

on the persuasion powers of the

people who were leading the retreats.

24

::

It was, in a sense, something more

in terms of being open and being

25

::

available to a transition, to a change.

26

::

Even though I didn't have an spiritual

context in my life and I didn't have a

27

::

path, I knew that spiritual growth could

be part of personal development and

28

::

it could be a part of personal growth.

29

::

I was open to that and I was curious.

30

::

And that's how it happened.

31

::

And I embraced that.

32

::

And since then, I now I have

a spiritual path and I have a

33

::

very strong spiritual context.

34

::

What I like the most about this is

that this change, not only increased

35

::

my faith and my sense of purpose,

it also taught me to embrace

36

::

the unknown in other life areas.

37

::

In this episode, I'll give you four

mindset tools to help you not just

38

::

survive, but grow through change.

39

::

Let's take a look at the first tool, and

the first thing I wanna say is growth

40

::

mindset is not an optional during a life

transition, it's something essential.

41

::

You could say that in normal life

growth mindset is helpful, and when

42

::

you are doing some sort of transition,

that it's absolutely essential.

43

::

That's so important.

44

::

Without embodying it, without

adopting this growth mindset, every

45

::

challenge feels like a threat.

46

::

And with the growth mindset,

every challenge feels more

47

::

like a chance to learn.

48

::

At one point in my author's career

when I was in the process of writing my

49

::

ebooks for Spanish learners, I thought it

would be a cool idea to have audiobooks.

50

::

I had written ebooks and paperbacks,

so they were available as books, and

51

::

there was a demand on audiobooks.

52

::

My readers wanted to have an

audio version great books.

53

::

And I knew this, and I created so

many ways of putting that off, and

54

::

I would tell myself I don't have the

money, I don't have the skills and

55

::

I don't have the talent to do this.

56

::

My frame of mind was that of a

solopreneur, a person who is very

57

::

proud of doing everything themself.

58

::

And up until that point, I had created

59

::

the covers of the books,

60

::

I had written the books myself.

61

::

I had done my own web design, email

marketing and I thought: if I'm

62

::

going to create or if audiobooks

are going to be available, I am the

63

::

one who has to do the audiobooks.

64

::

And my reasoning was: "I don't have

the money to invest in the equipment."

65

::

I was thinking, if I'm going to

record this professional audiobooks,

66

::

I need like the most expensive

microphones and I need, so much

67

::

equipment and a proper recording room.

68

::

Or maybe, I would need to rent

a place to record the audio

69

::

And I didn't have the training and I

thought: " I don't have the skills."

70

::

And this might sound funny as a... the

host of a skill-building podcast, right?

71

::

I have a podcast and it's

all about skill-building,

72

::

learning, personal development.

73

::

And here I'm telling I cannot

learn how to narrate audiobooks.

74

::

And the thing is that, I, it's not

that I thought I couldn't do that.

75

::

I was realistic and I thought,

this is going to take time.

76

::

I can learn this and

it's going to take time.

77

::

Here, the big transition was going

from a person who does everything on

78

::

their own to even considering getting

help and collaborating with others,

79

::

hiring people, leading a big project.

80

::

And, at the end, I decided to

open myself to that possibility.

81

::

Hiring voice talents, hiring audio

editors... and now I have audiobooks.

82

::

It was challenging, it was hard.

83

::

And, in the process, I found out that

leadership was not all about delegation

84

::

and finding who's gonna do something.

85

::

There was much more, there was more about

trust, letting go of being in control of

86

::

everything, or this pride of "I'm gonna do

everything. I'm the powerful solopreneur."

87

::

That meant to me the difference, the

transition between solopreneur to

88

::

entrepreneur.

89

::

A person who

90

::

is doing everything on their own to

someone who is able to collaborate

91

::

with others, who's able to hire people,

who's able to lead people in a project.

92

::

That was huge for me, and I

think this is very in line with

93

::

what I am sharing in this point.

94

::

A growth mindset keeps you adaptable,

keeps you hopeful, keeps you

95

::

moving forward when everything

around you feels uncertain.

96

::

When you are second guessing yourself.

97

::

At the end of the day, your outcome

will depend on your ability to learn

98

::

faster than your situation changes.

99

::

And that was my experience.

100

::

The second component in a growth

mindset through life transitions

101

::

is the role of curiosity.

102

::

Curiosity and how it helps us frame

uncertainty or reframe uncertainty.

103

::

Sometimes we see uncertainty

as something connected to fear.

104

::

Uncertainty creates fear, and

truth is, fear closes doors.

105

::

And what opens doors?

106

::

Curiosity.

107

::

And you can't be afraid and

curious at the same time.

108

::

It's like you have to pick one.

109

::

One of my coaching

clients is great at sales.

110

::

He actually leads a sales team

and he's living a bilingual life.

111

::

He was born in the United States, so his

native language is English, and he started

112

::

learning Spanish a few years ago, and now

he lives in a Spanish speaking country.

113

::

And even though he's fluent in

Spanish and he hasn't started

114

::

learning it a long time ago, there

are times where there's uncertainty,

115

::

there are moments of insecurity.

116

::

There are moments where

he's very self-conscious.

117

::

And I was curious: "is this present for

him when he's doing his sales calls?".

118

::

And I wasn't surprised to

hear that that's not the case.

119

::

When he's at work, when he's doing his

sales calls in English, he's very curious.

120

::

He's curious about the other person

and he wants to learn, he wants

121

::

to know about the other person.

122

::

He's very relaxed and he

noticed that he can apply that

123

::

to his Spanish conversations.

124

::

He's already great at communication.

125

::

He's a very good listener.

126

::

He's very empathetic, very

high in emotional intelligence.

127

::

And you know what?

128

::

All that is available to him in Spanish.

129

::

That's available to him

as well, in Spanish.

130

::

It was about connecting those two things.

131

::

He's fully utilizing that now.

132

::

He can remember: I'm a relaxed person.

133

::

I'm good at connecting with people.

134

::

I'm good at interacting with people.

135

::

I'm good at creating rapport with people,

and this is what I do for a living.

136

::

This is something I'm good at.

137

::

This is something I've been

practicing for years and years.

138

::

And I don't know how many calls, how

many sales calls he's being through.

139

::

So he has so many hours under his

belt, and that is in his blood

140

::

and that's part of who he is.

141

::

And that's something that he can use

when he is approaching strangers, when

142

::

he is starting conversations in Spanish.

143

::

When he's feeling unsure about his

skills, he can remember that there's

144

::

something he doesn't feel so unsure about.

145

::

There are all the soft skills and the

personal skills, the communicational

146

::

skills that he already mastered in a

first language, and he can transfer that

147

::

to the other languages that he learns.

148

::

What happens when you replace

'what if this goes wrong?' with,

149

::

'what could I learn here?'.

150

::

You are shifting from

paralysis to exploration.

151

::

What happens when you replace 'I'm not

good at having conversations in Spanish'

152

::

with, ' I'm great at connecting with

people in any language.' Curiosity can

153

::

be a strategy, and it's something that

can transform fear into fascination.

154

::

It can be very helpful to

reframe uncertainty into

155

::

opportunities, into new learnings.

156

::

When we are going through a big

life transition, sometimes we are

157

::

tracking big changes, big shifts,

and it can be hard to keep momentum.

158

::

What if you were to track the tiny wins?

159

::

Big transitions feel overwhelming,

and that's why most people quit.

160

::

The

161

::

secret is in the small

162

::

wins and stacking small wins.

163

::

That's what builds momentum.

164

::

One of my favorite stories with

this is practicing journaling,

165

::

writing just one sentence a day.

166

::

This is something I, I had

heard, I think that it was in

167

::

'Atomic Habits', by James Clear.

168

::

I think that was two years

ago, when I was getting back

169

::

to building a journaling habit.

170

::

And I also wanted to keep track of what I

was doing, what was occurring in my life.

171

::

And I think this is a good example,

because many times when we feel like

172

::

journaling is because part of us feels

that something important is going

173

::

on or there's something that's worth

committing to paper, like writing down.

174

::

And that's how I was feeling.

175

::

And my context for

176

::

journaling was 'The

Artist's Way.' And I thought

177

::

I would need to write pages and pages.

178

::

If it's not less than two or three

pages a day, it's not worth it.

179

::

I need to spend 20, 30

minutes a day minimum.

180

::

Otherwise it doesn't count.

181

::

What I decided to do is, I

told myself: 'you know what?

182

::

I'm going to do one sentence a

day, and I'm going to make it

183

::

about something that went well that

184

::

day.' A self-acknowledgment.

185

::

And it worked nicely.

186

::

For example, today I could write something

like: 'I recorded a podcast episode.'

187

::

Or I could say, I don't know: 'I ran

for 30 minutes', 'I went to the gym.'

188

::

It doesn't matter so much what the win is.

189

::

It's just a reminder of something

that is inspiring to us, something

190

::

that uplift us, and at the same time,

it's helpful in building a practice

191

::

of recognizing the good things

that are happening in our lives.

192

::

It's not that we are using

that one single sentence to

193

::

complain... that's not the idea.

194

::

The idea is to use something positive

and that's in the direction that... of

195

::

creating the life we want to create.

196

::

It might sound silly and like not

a big deal, and like... this is not

197

::

as powerful as writing for 20 or 30

minutes, and it builds self-confidence

198

::

and it builds self-esteem in

terms of what we can control.

199

::

For that reason, I think it's important

to track what you can control.

200

::

You can celebrate tiny steps.

201

::

And tiny steps today,.

202

::

the tiny wins today become

bigger and massive wins tomorrow.

203

::

Progress compounds over time.

204

::

If you keep tracking your

tiny wins, you'll stay in the

205

::

game long enough to win big.

206

::

And to continue winning.

207

::

Even if... these are small

wins, it doesn't matter.

208

::

They are still wins.

209

::

Even if it's just one

sentence, even if it's three

210

::

words or ten words or twenty words, it's

211

::

still a sentence.

212

::

And that's a complete thought.

213

::

That's what counts.

214

::

The fourth and last point in adopting

a growth mindset in life transitions

215

::

is about turning your transition

story into your next success story.

216

::

The thing is that

transitions don't define you.

217

::

It's how you are responding

to that transition.

218

::

In every difficult chapter in

your life, there's going to be

219

::

a seed of a next breakthrough,

something that you can do to evolve.

220

::

When I

221

::

moved to Uruguay in 2022,

222

::

I started appreciating how

people is able to quickly

223

::

start engaging in a new

country, start engaging with

224

::

the culture, with the people.

225

::

And that's something I started

seeing more when I left Argentina,

226

::

when I became an expat myself.

227

::

And I noticed that it's possible

to create a new life and to start

228

::

engaging with the culture even

before mastering the language.

229

::

You can tell yourself the story

that moving countries, especially,

230

::

going from Russia to Uruguay,

from the United States to Uruguay,

231

::

you can tell yourself the story that

this is a very difficult transition,

232

::

this is going to be very hard.

233

::

And you can also create these

stories in such a way that inspire

234

::

you and inspire other people.

235

::

One of the clients I work here in Uruguay,

he's an expat from Russia, and he

236

::

decided to spend time with his favorite

activities even before he was fully ready.

237

::

So he was learning Spanish,

he wasn't fluent, and he loved

238

::

cinema, and he loved bird watching.

239

::

After some time, he decided to

start recreating his favorite

240

::

hobbies in this new country.

241

::

Even though he was a bit clumsy and

uncomfortable, he created opportunities

242

::

to go to the cinema, to go to events

around arts, to find and to connect

243

::

with groups of other bird watchers,

to go on trips, to take photos.

244

::

To continue enjoying the activities and

the hobbies that he always liked, and

245

::

he was able to take all those activities

and recreate them in a new language.

246

::

He was able to recreate all of that

in a new language, in a new country.

247

::

Your story could inspire someone else.

248

::

And, more importantly, it

can inspire your future self.

249

::

You can tell yourself your own story

in such a way that it will create

250

::

even more possibility for yourself.

251

::

In this case, this person can tell

himself the story: 'I am able to recreate

252

::

my activities and my hobbies in any

country.' if I can do it once, I can do

253

::

it twice, and I can do it over and over.

254

::

This is something I can do.

255

::

What other things would

be available to him?

256

::

Your transition is not the end.

257

::

Actually, it's more of a plot

twist, and it's something that

258

::

sets you up for your next win.

259

::

If you're navigating a big life

change right now, lean into growth.

260

::

Stay curious, track your tiny

wins, and trust your story is

261

::

unfolding in the right direction.

262

::

Share this episode with

someone who needs it.

263

::

If you want extra resources and support

through your transition, visit my

264

::

personal site walterfreiberg.com and

sign up to my email newsletter.

265

::

Find a link in the notes of this episode.

266

::

Podés escuchar "Poder aprender"

en las principales plataformas

267

::

de pódcast y en YouTube.

268

::

También te invito a suscribirte al

newsletter semanal en poderaprender.com

269

::

para enterarte de los nuevos

episodios del pódcast y otras

270

::

novedades para aprender mejor.

271

::

En redes sociales podés buscar

este pódcast como "poder aprender".

272

::

Encontrá todos los

links en la descripción.

273

::

Y, si te gusta mucho, si te sirve el

contenido del pódcast, te invito a dejar

274

::

una reseña y una calificación de cinco

estrellas en Spotify o Apple Podcasts para

275

::

que estos episodios lleguen a más personas

y que más gente pueda aprender mejor.

276

::

Eso es todo por ahora.

277

::

Nos vemos en un próximo episodio.

278

::

Sigan aprendiendo y

acuérdense de practicar bien.

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube