Growth mindset - making time to grow
A while back, a fellow spousal caregiver friend sent me a link to Matthew McConaughey's inspirational video on the growth mindset. Growth mindset is not a new concept to me. As a teacher to students with dyslexia, I often speak of having a growth mindset and overcoming the obstacles set before them by their genetic weakness in reading.
However, I had never quite heard it in this way - making time in your life to do the things that are going to help you grow. In other words, getting rid of the things that are holding you back, like spending time with the wrong people, or being constantly glued to your phone. And going for the things you never seemed to have the time for before.
I actually tried to do those things for a while, and I made a great deal of practice, then I fell back into my old habits. The truth is, I started this post a long time ago, and never finished it. Because I didn't really know where to go with it. I wasn't really practicing this. Not with fidelity anyway. How could I possibly tell people how powerful a growth mindset was if I wasn't doing it.
But then I realized I was. I was reading more, I was researching things more. I was working on my property more. I was signing up for conferences I thought would help me in my career. I was taking steps to grow. Yes, I was still on my phone more than I should have been, and still am. But, I was using it to communicate with more like-minded people. Ones who truly resonated with me and who became good friends. Some of these people taught me things I had never realized. They opened my eyes up to other ways of life. They taught me about things happening in other countries that our news outlets don't show. I learned about cultures other than my own from people across the world who had similar interests as mine. So, yes, I was growing, by interacting with these people in the only way possible, through messenger on my phone.
But, I also started taking my husband's advice and reading things I wouldn't normally read. Highly complex ancient spiritual texts that I would have never considered had I ignored him. I admit, I don't really understand them, not yet, but that's ok, it's just a start.
In working on my property this year, I got to spend more time just enjoying it. In years past, we were always in such a hurry to "get it done" before the season ended. But this year, though we were on a time limit with the tractor, I got to spend a lot more time just resonating with nature. I re-remembered my strong connection to nature that I had forgotten and remembered numerous times over the years. That alone helped me grow a lot. Just spending time outside, listening to whatever nature had to say. Sometimes, it was the choir of the grasshoppers. Sometimes, it was the birds that chased each other. Sometimes it was just the quiet wind. Getting back to that and taking time to reconnect with nature was refreshing, cleansing, and helped me take time to contemplate myself and reflect on how far I've come, how much I've grown over the years. I have made a lot of changes, and yes, I know I need to make more, but I'm not just sitting here doing nothing, and I had to take time to realize that.
So maybe, just acknowledging the growth we've already made is a step in the right direction. But, yes, certainly take time to do the things that help you grow. And get rid of the things holding you back, or at least spend less time doing them. Yes, I know I have an unhealthy relationship with one particular game on my phone, and I need to walk away because that game is the primary reason I haven't been doing as much writing as I should. But, it's not the phone by itself, it's not the time I spend talking to people all over the world. It's the game that came with my phone. One step at a time, I will get there.
However, I had never quite heard it in this way - making time in your life to do the things that are going to help you grow. In other words, getting rid of the things that are holding you back, like spending time with the wrong people, or being constantly glued to your phone. And going for the things you never seemed to have the time for before.
I actually tried to do those things for a while, and I made a great deal of practice, then I fell back into my old habits. The truth is, I started this post a long time ago, and never finished it. Because I didn't really know where to go with it. I wasn't really practicing this. Not with fidelity anyway. How could I possibly tell people how powerful a growth mindset was if I wasn't doing it.
But then I realized I was. I was reading more, I was researching things more. I was working on my property more. I was signing up for conferences I thought would help me in my career. I was taking steps to grow. Yes, I was still on my phone more than I should have been, and still am. But, I was using it to communicate with more like-minded people. Ones who truly resonated with me and who became good friends. Some of these people taught me things I had never realized. They opened my eyes up to other ways of life. They taught me about things happening in other countries that our news outlets don't show. I learned about cultures other than my own from people across the world who had similar interests as mine. So, yes, I was growing, by interacting with these people in the only way possible, through messenger on my phone.
But, I also started taking my husband's advice and reading things I wouldn't normally read. Highly complex ancient spiritual texts that I would have never considered had I ignored him. I admit, I don't really understand them, not yet, but that's ok, it's just a start.
In working on my property this year, I got to spend more time just enjoying it. In years past, we were always in such a hurry to "get it done" before the season ended. But this year, though we were on a time limit with the tractor, I got to spend a lot more time just resonating with nature. I re-remembered my strong connection to nature that I had forgotten and remembered numerous times over the years. That alone helped me grow a lot. Just spending time outside, listening to whatever nature had to say. Sometimes, it was the choir of the grasshoppers. Sometimes, it was the birds that chased each other. Sometimes it was just the quiet wind. Getting back to that and taking time to reconnect with nature was refreshing, cleansing, and helped me take time to contemplate myself and reflect on how far I've come, how much I've grown over the years. I have made a lot of changes, and yes, I know I need to make more, but I'm not just sitting here doing nothing, and I had to take time to realize that.
So maybe, just acknowledging the growth we've already made is a step in the right direction. But, yes, certainly take time to do the things that help you grow. And get rid of the things holding you back, or at least spend less time doing them. Yes, I know I have an unhealthy relationship with one particular game on my phone, and I need to walk away because that game is the primary reason I haven't been doing as much writing as I should. But, it's not the phone by itself, it's not the time I spend talking to people all over the world. It's the game that came with my phone. One step at a time, I will get there.
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