Teachers, how are we doing right now? How are you thinking right now? What is your Mindset right now?
“A man is literally what he thinks”. This might be a shocking statement, but everything is a state of mind “ Bruce Lee
The way we teach continues to be a challenge.
Teaching through the pandemic whilst working towards general curriculum goals has become the new normal.
The role of teachers is changing radically. “Schools and teachers will approach learning and teaching differently in a post-pandemic education system”. What these messages are saying is “yes”, the mindsets of teachers and students are continuing to change as a result of our recent experiences.. ‘Mindset’ has a significant impact on learning and teaching. Terms such as Growth or Global Mindset explain there is an optimum state of learning. Teachers who believe that talents and skills can grow have a growth mindset.
This approach to learning expands the mindset rather than causing a fixed perception.
Many teachers, students, parents and others in education agree with the ‘idea’ of growth mindset. But education may not support a student achieving a ‘growth mindset’.
Many people I meet have a mindset that is totally working against them. They know what they want, they’re constantly trying to pursue that goal, and commit to making a great effort to achieve it, but never succeed to reach it.
How do we find success by changing our mindset? What do you mean by mindset? Is it how we think, how we learn, how we make decisions, how we feel, why we do what we do?
As in the Bruce Lee quote, it is all those things “you are what you think.”
Take yourselves out of the classroom or the office for a bit and consider some common day-to-day beliefs that concern you. Spend some time daydreaming about this. Does it look like your new year’s resolution list? Are they beliefs like:
● It’s hard for me to lose weight.
● I’m not good with numbers.
● I’m not a natural athlete.
● I’m not creative.
● I’m a procrastinator.
● I’ll never be happy in my job.
● I’ll never be able to buy nice things.
What is something you notice about these belief statements? They all start with” I” or “me”. ‘Drum Roll please’…. ‘Aha moment’ is here…..Ok, all jokes aside. These beliefs will happen as ‘You are What You Think”. You live your life how you think your life. To change your life, to achieve what you want you need to change your mindset. You also need to change your ‘self-talk’ you unconsciously use in your daily tasks. This is called a ‘fixed mindset’ around these thoughts.
Those fixed mindsets will lead you to avoid experiences where you might feel like a failure. As a result, you don’t learn as much, you don’t try as hard (in those areas) and it’s harder to get better.
What can you do about this?
Relax, there is not one single reason why we struggle to achieve our goals or to break bad habits. To excel we must find our passions or purpose. More often than not, the biggest challenge is between your ears. Yes, your MIND – your MINDSET.
Your mind is incredibly powerful. Depending how you use it can be your friend or your foe - a double-edged sword.
Remember we all have stories that we write in our game of life. What are the beliefs you believe you have about yourself? The way you talk to yourself can either be the limiting factor holding you back, or the key to blossoming in your life goals. You can change your mindset toward what you want to achieve rather than what you don’t want. That is, often in our use of language in how we talk to others, our self-talk, how we think about things is in an ‘away from motivation’ rather than a ‘toward motivation’.
Step 1- commit to trying just one activity
Step 2- Think about things you want to change. Do you feel you have a negative or an away-mindset?
Step 3: Write what you don’t want, in words that motivate you away from what you want.
Step 4: Now create a statement that motivates you toward what you do want.
Example:
1. I am never able to afford to go on a holiday overseas. (away from motivation)
2. I am grateful and happy that I can confidently pay for my amazing holiday to Italy next April. (toward motivation).
Put this positive statement into your daily routine and you may be surprised what happens?
This is a very simple way that your mindset will alter your mood and your results. This is all by using ‘toward’ motivating and self-talk to move you closer toward achieving your goals. This is an example of a growth mindset.
You see, the unconscious mind doesn’t decide for you what will happen. ‘It’ only processes what you feed it day after day – your thoughts, doubts, celebrations, happiness, success .. or not! You decide. You do, based on your self-talk.
Craig Fullerton
Teacher, Education Leader, Coach and Author
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Want to chat? Contact me here on LinkedIn or email me:
ⓔ craig@craigfullerton.com.au
ⓦ https://www.craigfullerton.com.au/
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