Saturday, July 22, 2017

2.5 Change Gonna Come

"She Felt Herself Changing" (1913) by Charles Robinson
According to Dweck, "The growth mindset doesn't mean that everything that can be changed should be changed. We all need to accept some of our imperfections, especially the ones that don't really harm our lives or the lives of others" (50).

If you are trying to cultivate a growth mindset by making changes in your life, how do you know what to change?
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7 comments:

  1. Brayden BattershellJuly 24, 2017 at 10:37 AM

    I think you know what to change by seeing what you give up on the easiest and by see what is beyond your comfort zone. If you are truly trying to change your life by changing your mindset, it would be best to see what changes would have the biggest impact on your life. Like Dweck says, changing mindsets in everything isn't necessary. By looking at what changes would cause the best effects in your life, you could see what is necessary or unnecessary to change. If someone is wanting to change his or her mindset towards academics, changing his or her mindset towards sports probably wouldn't do much to help his academics. A person knows what to change when they realize what is most important to them.

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    1. UnknownJuly 26, 2017 at 3:54 PM

      I agree with you, Brayden, on what you said about expanding our comfort zones. If we truly want to change our mindsets, we need to expand our horizons and explore the world. By staying in our bubbles and only doing activities we know we will succeed in, we will never grow as people.
      -Tyler Macon

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    2. Bailey SilkAugust 4, 2017 at 11:22 AM

      I really felt the need to reply to both Brayden and Tyler and just let you both know how eye opening your comments were. I was struggling on how to answer this question but Brayden's views really make a lot of sense! If you want to change your mindset it really makes sense to try and change what is easiest to give up on. Tyler makes a good point in saying in order to change our mindsets we should expand our horizons. Love these comments!

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  2. Lindsey WallaceJuly 31, 2017 at 2:12 PM

    I think you would know what change based on your values and your lifestyle, and it's unique to each individual. You don't have to excel at everything that you do. It's okay to be mediocre, especially in areas you aren't really concerned about. Like Brayden said, they have to realize first what is important to them and their needs.

    For example, I want to be able to cook incredibly well. I know that this is a much smaller scale than Dweck referred to throughout the book, but it is important to me because I value eating together as a family. But I think if Gordon Ramsey saw me cook, he'd tear me to shreds. I am one of the worst cooks, and my boyfriend loves to eat. He works all day, works outside all evening, and when he comes home, I want to be able to have dinner ready for him. That is how it's always been with my parents and my grandparents, and I want to be able to do the same with my family. It's a tradition that is important to me. That's something I know I will fail at, but I know I want to work towards so I can become the next Martha Stewart.
    I also suck at sports. I am just not athletic. I cannot run fast or very far for that matter. My boyfriend was on the football team all throughout high school and often plays with his family during reunions, just throwing the ball and chasing each other around an open field. I have learned to throw a spiral and run without being tagged. I'm content with those abilities and I have no desire to turn into the next big NFL star.

    Like I said, it is a much smaller scale, but I know what I want to work at and I think others would, too.

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    1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2017 at 9:15 PM

      I agree with you that it only makes sense to spend more time changing things that are important to you. If sports really don't matter to you, why would you spend your time trying to become more athletic? I also believe that the opinions of others could possibly affect the things that you want to change. As Dr. Dweck said, sometimes our imperfections can be harmful to others. If said imperfections are something that others are informing you of, then perhaps you should work on changing those as well.

      -Kaylee George

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    2. Abbie WinchesterAugust 9, 2017 at 11:04 AM

      I really liked your perspective Lindsey! I also loved your examples, it really helped me see what you were talking about! I totally agree, it is most beneficial to spend time and effort working on things that we really care about. I think it is also crucial to know how much time you have and what you have time to work on. I would love to be a good artist, be able to play an instrument, or be able to speak a different language; but right now, I do not have time to work on those things. I have more important things to worry about and work on before I can learn anything like that. This book has really helped me see that I can be good at other things, if I put the work in. Maybe I can work on those things, one day down the road.

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  3. Makala MillhollonAugust 13, 2017 at 9:13 PM

    You change what you personally see as flawed I believe. If someone suggests something and you can then see that you want to change it then you should. If I look in the mirror and am not happy with my appearance then that is a great motivator for me to work on it. If I make a B in a class that I thought I could’ve performed better in than that is something I can change. I will work harder in my next class that I take because I will be driven to reach my goal of an A. If you personally see value in growing in an area then it is worth it. If you see that you will never use the knowledge of knowing all the constellations then there is no point in learning them.
    -Makala Millhollon

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