Growth Mindset
The term Growth Mindset can be used within child development but also within adult development. It is about believing in yourself, making mistakes, taking risks and knowing that with practice you can become better at something than you were before.
In life there are many opportunities for us to try something new, especially for children. Their life is constantly throwing new experiences, knowledge and challenges their way. Sometimes we face these new opportunities with doubt, or once we try them we are hit with the "I can’t do this" thought.
With Growth Mindset it's all about how we accept and interpret these experiences. It is fine to at first doubt yourself and your abilities, our brain has a funny way of making our experiences and thoughts negative, but it is what we do next that changes everything.
We can think to ourselves “I CAN do this!" or "I will try my best!" We can teach others to also shift their mindset to a more positive perspective, understanding that, though challenges are hard, they give us amazing opportunities for growth.
Developing the right mindset is not something that will happen quickly, like most things that relate to Mindfulness, it takes time and practice to change your thought patterns. And your brain will probably still focus on the negative first, but with practice you can accept that negative thought and then move forward, focusing on all that you have achieved in the past that you didn’t think you would accomplish!
Validation is something that we use within our workshops and within our personal lives, with ourselves internally and externally with others. Validating a child, friend, co-worker or yourself has amazing benefits! Allow that person to be seen and heard, this will support their internal Growth Mindset and their confidence to try and try again! Simply saying "I am so proud of you for trying your best" can make all the difference.
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