Growth Mindset

(Forward to Growth: Picture by Creative Commons)

Growth mindset is a perception I have had my entire life. I had never heard Carol Dweck, but I found her ideas very accurate to what I have been taught. From a very young age I faced challenges in an academic setting. In third grade I was tested for dyslexia and had all three underlying parts. I struggled with spelling, reading, and quick thinking. My mom and I would sit down after school for hours and work through my school work and through reading programs. I would come home in tears because I would fail my spelling test, my minute math quizzes, and my writing assignments. I remember my mom ripping up a failed spelling test when I was in first grade as she told me it did not define me. She always said "shake it off and step it up." Growth mindset was what got me to where I am today. I faced challenges every single day growing up and when I finally completed those challenges I was already in the mindset to take on the next. 

It was not until college that I actually believed I was intelligent. It was not until I had a 4.0 my sophomore year while majoring in Neuroscience that I realized I knew what I was doing. My mindset was in the right place. In elementary school I had to constantly be working and studying, but as I grew older, I never stopped coming home and studying. Dyslexia gave me an advantage. It has given me my work ethic, positivity, endurance, and my determination to achieve. With this said, both of my siblings have a growth mindset. My brother and sister are the polar opposite of me in a lot of ways. They would figure out three additional ways to solve a math problem while the teacher would still be explaining one way to the class. While the initial learning process came more natural to them, they never stopped learning. They challenged themselves every moment they could: in sports, in academics, and in life. Growing is not comfortable. Failure is frightening. Even so, in order to achieve you must: 

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!  

(Be Bold: Picture by Creative Commons)