Unlocking Your Potential: A Growth Mindset Journey

Write down your own definitions of a fixed and growth mindset based on Jade's introduction. How does the addition of 'yet' change your perspective?

“The fixed mindset assumes that your character, your creative abilities and your intelligence are static.”

Consider a Skillshare course on battling perfectionism and self-sabotaging behaviors. Understand how these behaviors relate to a fixed mindset.

“One course i took recently was by emma gannon i don't know if you know her but she's an amazing author and podcaster her course was all about battling perfectionism and self-sabotaging behaviors which can impact your creative work”

Identify three areas where you hold fixed mindset beliefs. For example, "I'm just not good at..." Reframe these with 'yet'.

“have you ever heard people say oh i'm just naturally not good at maths”

Reflect on moments where you felt the need to prove your intelligence or skills. How did this impact your willingness to take risks or learn new things?

“when you believe that your ability is fixed you feel the need to have it assessed in some way to validate your fixed ability”

Identify one challenge you've been avoiding and reframe it with the word 'yet'. Create a plan to tackle this challenge, breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps.

“the growth mindset thrives on being challenged and failure isn't evidence of not being intelligent failure is this springboard for growth”

Reflect on a recent failure and identify what you can learn from it. Focus on specific actions you can take to improve in the future.

“failure isn't evidence of not being intelligent failure is this springboard for growth because if you believe that you're not there yet and you're just constantly still growing and you're not you don't have a fixed ability you have a constantly evolving ability then failure is just where you can say okay cool i tried what part of this made it go wrong perfect i'll dive into that i'll learn from it it's not saying i'm stupid it's just saying how can i learn from this and then get better”

Actively seek out opportunities to learn and grow from mistakes. Share your learnings with a friend or colleague to reinforce the learning process (social influence).

“every time you're honest you're actually becoming more intelligent because you are actively learning and growing from mistakes you're becoming more competent because you're tackling an area that actually needs work”

Reflect on how you can approach challenging subjects or exams with a growth mindset. What specific techniques can you use to manage stress and build resilience?

“I would do this sometimes in my a level exams i would come to a question in a chemistry paper so stressed right the time is going it's an exam and it's a tough bloody question and in that moment your brain wants to say oh my god jade you haven't revised this enough you're no hope you just can't do it but the word yet you can't do it yet is what kept me trying and sometimes half the battle isn't even intelligence or knowledge it's resilience”

Consider how a growth mindset can help you engage in difficult conversations and learn about complex social issues. Engage in a conversation about a difficult social issue and be mindful of your initial impulse. What biases might you be bringing to the conversation?

“even now on youtube or operating through life it's very easy to fall back into a fixed mindset for example i think oh my god i should never talk about issues i'm not well versed in online for example issues like racism i will always make mistakes i will never be able to say things perfectly and if i stopped there this fixed mindset thing would make me never grow and never learn and never improve my knowledge on any of these social issues or the way that i think about the world because the growth mindset in me says cool it's terrifying but i'm gonna learn through talking about it and through getting your opinions and to having to alter my own opinion and do more research”

Reflect on how a growth mindset can foster better communication and understanding in your relationships. Focus on active listening and empathy to build stronger connections.

“if everyone adopted this growth mindset towards life and academics and social issues and relationships everything the world would be such a better place we'd be less defensive of our knowledge we'd be more forgiving we'd be more likely to truly learn and to be honest with where we're at because we wouldn't have this fear of needing to prove that we're smart to other people”

Set a goal that seems just outside your reach and approach it with a growth mindset. Share your goal with a friend or mentor for accountability and support (social support).

Spend five minutes each day practicing gratitude for the things you've learned. This will help with emotional regulation by building optimism.

Find a person to regularly check in with to make sure you are living in alignment with the program's principles