Let’s go on a journey. Imagine you wake-up on a beautiful Saturday morning, and decide to go on a hike.
You pack up your gear and a couple of snacks as you head out on your adventure. When you arrive at your destination, you find yourself standing at the bottom of a mountain. Gazing up at the impossible challenge its height demands, you feel your soul sink down into the ground where you stand.
Just the idea of beginning this journey up the mountain is already exhausting your spirit, and you haven’t even started the climb. A voice inside your head starts talking. How will I make it to the top? Why should I even try? Who was I to think I could climb a mountain? As self-doubt takes over and you turn around and walk back to your car.
What Does the Mountain Mean?
Pals, the mountain is actually a metaphor for your goals. Research has shown that with the right mindset, our goals and the challenges they present are not impossible feats, but rather the rolling hills of life on our journey to success.
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
Fixed Mindset is the idea that if you try something and you aren’t successful, that you better give up because you can’t do it “now”
Growth Mindset is the idea that our failures are not as the end result, but rather a problem or challenge we haven’t been able to solve “yet”
I Want a Growth Mindset
Anyone can develop a Growth Mindset. Here are three tips on how to do so:
Pause, and Reframe Your Thoughts
The next time you hear yourself say “I can’t do this” and feel like you are on the verge of giving up, take a moment to pause and reframe your thoughts.
Challenge your fixed mindset by saying something like “I may not be able to do insert challenge here yet, but I am improving all the time”.
Would You Say it to Your Best Friend?
Think back to a challenging time when you gave up. Now, create a list of the things that the voice inside your head was saying to you at that moment. Maybe it sounded like:
- “You just aren’t a creative person”
- “You were never good at math anyways”
- “You are just not the exercising type”
When your list is complete, I want you to close your eyes imagine that you are saying these things to one of your clients, or your best friend, or your child. If you wouldn’t say it to them, then, why would you say them to yourself?
List the Benefits
Before you try something that may be difficult, think about all of the benefits the activity provides, even if you don’t find success immediately.
- Maybe you will make some friendships along the way?
- Maybe it will be a source of physical activity and exercise?
- Maybe it will just stimulate your brain in a way that will create new neural connections and allow you to grow?
Write your benefits down on a flash card and bring it with you. When you become overwhelmed, sneak a peek at your reason and watch the magic unfold.
Recreation Therapy and Growth Mindset
Learning about the importance of mindset has been one of my favorite Aha! Moments. As Recreation Therapists, we understand the improvement isn’t instantaneous. How many times have I been in the midst of an intervention with a client, only to hear the words “I can’t do this”. Helping our clients develop emotional cognitive flexibility takes time. By educating our clients on the importance of a Growth Mindsets, we are helping them develop one more tool on their way to recovery.
Check out one of my all-time favorite Ted Talks on The power of believing you can improve by Carol Dweck.
Bottom Line
- You can use your knowledge on Fixed and Growth Mindsets to improve your own life, one challenge at a time.
- You can encourage a Growth Mindset with the clients you serve and help them develop another tool for their toolbox.
We all know that the challenges in our lives aren’t always going to be easy. However, with a Growth Mindset, we can see the challenges are something we can work towards. To quote one of my favorite millennials of all time…
Article Resources
https://www.mindsetworks.com
https://citherapies.com/blog/empowering-a-growth-mindset/
https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/teaching-teens-growth-mindset
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