Feeling a bit bolted down from reaching your potential? Is your mindset fixed?
A fixed mindset means you believe intelligence, talent, and other qualities are innate and unchangeable.
A Growth mindset means you believe intelligence and talent can be developed with practice and effort.

You may recognize some of these characteristics of a FIXED MINDSET
Believe intelligence and talent are static.
Avoid challenges to avoid failure.
Ignore feedback from others.
Feel threatened by the success of others.
Hide flaws so as not to be judged by others.
* I see this as "SETTLING"... Never settle in a race, Never settle in life!
You may recognize some of these characteristics of a GROWTH MINDSET
You believe that achievements are down to effort, not just inherent talent.
You're willing to learn from your mistakes and find value in criticism.
You believe that your intelligence and ability can be developed.
You're willing to ask questions and admit when you don't know something.
WHY DO WE CARE?
Research has confirmed that developing a growth mindset offers you many benefits, including:
Feeling more comfortable taking personal risks and striving for more stretching goals
Higher levels of personal motivation
Enhanced brain development across wider ranges of tasks
Lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression
Improved work relationships
Higher levels of performance
So in order to release, set free, ignite our potentials, we must consider a growth mindset, but how do we develop this?
1. Schedule daily or weekly reflection. Some people prefer to find 10-15 mins at the end of each day, some people prefer to schedule 30 mins each Friday morning. Consider what will work best for you, then stick with it (though if you miss one or two sessions, go easy on yourself too!).
Reflect on some simple questions:
When did I have a closed mindset, and why?
When did I have an open mindset, and why?
What have I learnt about myself, as a result?
What will I do differently next time?
2. Use positive language. Take a look at these positive language examples.
Negative self-talk Positive thinking
I've never done it before...............It's an opportunity to learn something new.I
t's too complicated.........................I'll tackle it from a different angle.
I don't have the resources.............Necessity is the mother of invention.
I'm too lazy to get this done..........I wasn't able to fit it into my schedule, but I can re-examine some priorities.
There's no way it will work.............I can try to make it work.
It's too radical a change.................Let's take a chance.
The language we use reinforces our thinking, if you can get into the habit of using this positive language it will help you to cultivate a positive attitude (which is integral to a growth mindset!). It’s all about cultivating ‘learned optimism’.
3. Playful learning. Learn to draw, or juggle, or do Sudoku, or anything else that intrigues you! If there’s one of these activities that you’ve never done before, give it a go! Learning a 3-ball juggle takes anywhere between 20-60 mins for most people (search for a YouTube video as your guide). Learning to draw cartoon faces is fun (plenty of YouTube videos on that topic too!), and sudoku for beginners is a satisfying challenge to embrace.
Taking some time to answer these questions and execute can help!
How can I integrate these activities into my existing routines?
What will be the best time of day / week to adopt these activities?
What potential barriers will I need to overcome to build these activities into my routine?
Practicing these behaviors reinforces...
Believing that you can cultivate your skills, and putting in the work to do so
Focusing on learning, as an integral part of your daily routine
Recognizing that hard work leads to success, and persevering in the face of adversity
Asking for feedback, and learning and improving based on the feedback
Recognizing that as you change mistakes will occur, and learning from your mistakes
Ways to reach your full potential
Develop a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset.
Combine reflection and action. Action and reflection, combined, build momentum. (maybe it's not motivation you are lacking, maybe it's momentum?)
Focus on the big picture.
Time management and energy management
Develop SMART goals
Big Dreams and take BABY steps to fulfill your potential.
Don't reinvent the wheel.
Practice discipline. (yup practice makes permanent)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out our 1st Quarter Success stories!
* many of these athletes competed in multiple events...here are just a few of their successes! Not pictured: Matt Hoholek and Craig Ela.





-----------------------------------------------------------------