Jan.14/2021 Growth Mindset Workshop Questions
Jan 14 Written By Emily Cole
Notes from a workshop on growth mindset and your goals. To get familiar with Growth Mindset search Carol Dweck and Mindset, you can look up images to see Growth vs. Fixed Mindset charts, get overviews of the book, listen to her talks, or get a copy of the book yourself!
Here are the Questions we went through in the workshop.
Think of a very clear example you have in your life of experiencing the Fixed Mindset, and an example from your life of Growth Mindset. They can be from 5 minutes ago or when you were 5, the important part is that the experience is so clear that you can connect to the feeling of being in each mindset. Jot some notes if it is helpful.
Now consider a stretch goal that you have (meaning it must be challenging or growing in someway). This can be tangible like a skill you want to master, an amount of money you want to make, etc; or it can be a mindset you want to adopt, a view on life, and way of interacting socially.
Picture yourself having achieved that goal, really feel it out and embody it, feel what it would be like to be that person.
Now notice what hesitancies come up when you think of being that person. You are now mining for areas or obstacles where you have some element of Fixed Mindset, some Limiting Beliefs or doubt that you can actually achieve the goal you are after. The feeling of Fixed Mindset that you connected to in step 1 may be helpful.
Once you have that area of Fixed mindset or limiting belief, and you feel very connected to it, ask: “in what way has this belief been serving me? How has this kept me safe or protected me from harm?” Brain storm all the ways that it has kept you safe in different ways.
Ask yourself “Do I still need that protection?”
If “yes” comes up: Great! You now know why you are being limited, and you can now work within this frame work and perhaps this will call for a shift of approach toward your goal.
If “no” comes up: Great! You can thank this belief sincerely for it’s service, thank it for protecting you for so long. Now you can dismiss it. Allow it to go and serve someone or something else that may be in need of this protection! Maybe you would like to conduct a ceremony, find an object that represents this belief and let it go. (eg. a rock if it felt heavy that you can throw into the river, or clothes, books, or trinkets that you would like to donate). Perhaps you would like to spend some time in silence and create an image of this belief, give it a persona and create a scene where you have a conversation thanking it and saying goodbye.
Now, reconnect with your goal and your Growth Mindset feeling. Are the two able to sit side by side? If more hesitation is coming up, try to repeat the process. Try applying growth mindset and see what you are learning from this experience of connecting to your goal and questioning it.
As you get more and more connected to the goal, what action can you take? What is your first next step forward?
