I grew up with my parents instilling in me the belief that whatever I put my mind to I could achieve. That belief coupled with the high expectations my parents had has served me well. Along with believing in me they also supported me in my interests and pursuits in life. Looking back on my life so far I can see how much of a positive impact this has had and how my parents believing in me shaped my own belief in myself and my ability to succeed. What a powerful gift parents have to give their children!
Have you read the book "Mindset" by Carol S. Dweck? This book explores the idea of the "psychology of success" and how our own beliefs about ourselves will impact and guide where we go in life. While I'm not a fan of pigeon holing success or failure to any one circumstance, I do think this idea of what we believe about ourselves can be a powerful contributing factor to success. This has powerful implications for parents and for educators as we work with young people shaping what they believe about themselves and also helping them see the potential in themselves.
I've always wanted to break this idea down and dig deeper into some of the ideas in the book "Mindset" exploring the implications for parents and educators. Stay tuned for future posts exploring how we approach failure, how we can develop growth mindsets, how we can shift mindsets, and how we can use this information to impact our children and students.
Until then--do you have a story to share about how your parents or a significant adult in your life helped to positively impact your mindset and how that changed the direction of your life? Share it in the comments section!
Photo: cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Celestine Chua