Grow your mindset #1

A young man worked as a runner in an advertising firm. One day he said to his manager, "I'm leaving. I'm going to be a drummer." The manager said, "I didn't know you played the drums." He replied, "I don't, but I'm going to." A few years later that young man played in a band with Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, and it was called Cream, and the young man's name was Ginger Baker. He became what he wanted to become before he knew he could do it. He had a goal. -Paul Arden 

Mindsets are beliefs. When you believe that you can cultivate your skills and qualities through the right amount of effort, learning and work, sustainable change is possible.

That is what a Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, coined as a "growth mindset" over 30 years ago. Research in neurology has shown that our brain is malleable and we can actually teach and learn a growth mindset.

Growth mindset can change your life. It changed Ginger Baker's life.

Psychology Today provides us with some tips and some suggestions are provided in “Growth Mindset” book.

I am interested in concrete ways, however, how to develop a growth mindset on a daily basis.

Once every few weeks I will share with you one tip that I believe will help you to grow your mindset.

#1 Thank your mind

One of the core processes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a cognitive diffusion. Your thoughts are not facts. We get hooked on them though and the challenge is to detach yourself from the voices coming from your head. Like the ones, for example, that tell you that you “cannot do something”.

Daily practice:

Step 1. When you have a thought that you cannot do something, ask yourself: is it a fact? Just recognising the moment of having it is a first step.

Step 2. “Thank you mind”. Say it to yourself. This will help you recognise your thought as a separate entity, since your thoughts are not you. You might also say out loud: “I am having a thought that I cannot do x YET”.

YET is crucial here. Since you recognise the possibility for growth.

For the bold ones: try saying your thought in a silly voice or sing it out loud to a tune ("Happy Birthday", "Rocky", whatever works for you). It is another defusion technique that will help you detach yourself from the thoughts that are holding you back.

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