We all have our own unique way of thinking, but when you generalize the mind it comes down to two types of mindsets. There is the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. I will be writing about the two mindsets and how the growth mindset helped me and continues to help me in life. I have overcome many obstacles because of this mindset and find it worth talking about.
A woman named Carol Dweck started studying the behaviors of kids and how they dealt with failure in school. She then came up with growth mindset and fixed mindset to explain the way people think and what they believe they are capable of knowing and learning. Carol Dweck basically says that when a child believes that they can get better they will put in the effort to do so and accomplish that goal, but when a child thinks they aren’t any better than their current intelligence they stop trying. This leads me to my personal experience with the two mindsets. Growing up my mom always pushed me to do things on my own and with every time I got frustrated thinking that I couldn’t do it begging her to just help me she refused. I used to get overwhelmed and give up. When I was in 7th grade I wanted to play lacrosse so bad. I went out and bought the stick, pads, mouth guard everything. My friends and I practiced a few times a week until it was time for try-outs. I tried out, 2 of my friends made the team and I didn’t. I remember thinking I wasn’t good enough and never would be, so I didn’t try out again. I at this time had what Carol Dweck would call a “Fixed mindset” which writer Maria Popova in the article “Fixed vs Growth: The two basic mindsets that shape our lives” states “ assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.” I later regretted not trying-out again, wondering what could have been if I didn’t let my own doubt hold me back. I had a few more experiences similar to this one, where I gave up too easily all because I didn’t think I could do it and nobody showed me how. This is when I started to realize that nobody was going to help me I needed to help myself and with telling myself that I couldn’t than it would never happen. I wanted to do what I always wished I could. This is when I developed the growth mindset. I started to see that no matter my size, gender, or any other quality “holding me back” that I could do it if I tried hard enough, or practiced long enough. It all started in high school, I became very competitive because of it. I hated when people doubted me saying I couldn’t because of such and such stereotype, or reason. I took it as a challenge and each time I pushed myself until I achieved that challenge. I never doubted myself and when I felt me start to I brushed that thought away. Reading about all the different reasons why children or even adults adopt this fixed mindset, stereotypes is a big one. There is something called a “stereotype threat”, which a article on the website “mindset works” states that “Stereotype threat is a situation in which people are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about themselves.”(page 1) Learning this made me happy that I didn’t listen to those stereotypes and kept an open mind, I believed in myself keeping that growth mindset. Studies show in the article “how can mindsets change” that when “ In a 2002 study, a group of African-American college students was encouraged to adopt a growth mindset and perceive intelligence as a malleable quality. The group receiving this intervention reported higher enjoyment of academic subjects, received higher grades, and engaged more with academic material than those in comparison groups”. (page 1) This being another example like mine of what you can achieve when not listening to stereotypes. I carried this mindset with me throughout high school pushing back any doubtful thoughts when coming faced with a challenge. This brings me too one of my greatest challenges that I never would have accomplished without the growth mindset. Coming into my junior year more than anything I wanted build muscle and be able to push myself past what I thought I was capable of. Not only that I wanted to be more active in the hopes of feeling less stressed all the time. I decided to join the gym, at this time I didn’t have a car nor did I live very close to the gym, so I walked. As if going to the gym and trying to achieve this goal wasn’t hard enough now I needed to find the mental strength to walk the two miles there everyday. Of course I did that was the easy part. When I first started at the gym I could only squat 70lb and dead lift 75lb. I kept telling myself I can do it, if she can I can or if he can I can. I had so many people who doubted me, or thought I would stop going. They must have had fixed mindsets because it seemed as though they didn’t believe they themselves could do it. By the middle of junior year I was squatting 130 and dead lifting 110. By senior year I noticed a huge difference in my body and muscle tone in my legs. By than I was able to squat 180 as my one set max and 140 as my deadlift. At this point in my life I had many friends asking me to take them to the gym with me. I have a friend who wants to have a certain figure,but she has a fixed mindset. When I try to push her to go bigger or try harder she always answers with “I can’t do it” and “I’m just not capable of that” At this time I didn’t know the term for what she was experiencing, but I understood how it felt because I myself was once the same way. I tried to encourage her and change the way she thought. I wanted her to believe in herself so she could get to where she wanted to be. In conclusion I thought maybe some people are just are born stuck in that mindset. Reading up on fixed mindsets now I see that you can change the way someone thinks. Many studies have been done and great results have come from them. One study was done on Fisk elementary school, this was a small school located in metro west suburbs of Boston with about 350 kids. The challenge was to change the way they taught and see if it would improve the children’s efforts and grades. “That first year, the focus was on changing teacher praise from performance-based to effort-based. Teachers practiced changing their language, and were supported by observations and feedback sessions from the principal” (page 1). By the second year “teacher-reported student growth and standardized test gains were powerful. Student growth percentile in math MCAS scores rose dramatically in 2013 and were maintained in 2014. Typical average growth in the state is 50 points, but in Fiske, student growth percentile was an average of 75.5 and the growth was maintained in 2014 across all fourth and fifth grade students” (page 1). This case study is just one of many that proves you can change the way you think and you can help others do the same. Knowing what I know now and reading these case studies it makes me want to encourage more people and try to help them move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. I plan to continue pushing my friend in hopes it will help her like it did me. To this present day I can squat 180 no problem and not sure what my one set max is. I have come a very long way and never would have gotten here if I didn’t believe in myself. Keeping this mindset pushed me further than I ever thought I could go in all aspects of my life. These are just some of the many ways obtaining the growth mindset has helped me.
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We all have our own unique way of thinking, but when you generalize the mind it comes down to two types of mindsets. There is the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. I will be writing about the two mindsets and how the growth mindset and how it helped me and continues to help me in life. I have overcome many obstacles because of this mindset and find it worth talking about.
A woman named Carol Dweck started studying the behaviors of kids and how they dealt with failure in school. She then came up with growth mindset and fixed mindset to explain the way people think and what they believe they are capable of knowing and learning. Carol Dweck basically says that when a child believes that they can get better they will put in the effort to do so and accomplish that goal, but when a child thinks they aren’t any better than their current intelligence they stop trying. This leads me to my personal experience with the two mindsets. Growing up my mom always pushed me to do things on my own and with every time I got frustrated thinking that I couldn’t do it begging her to just help me she refused. I used to get overwhelmed and give up. When I was in 7th grade I wanted to play lacrosse so bad. I went out and bought the stick, pads, mouth guard everything. My friends and I practiced a few times a week until it was time for try-outs. I tried out, 2 of my friends made the team and I didn’t. I remember thinking I wasn’t good enough and never would be, so I didn’t try out again. I at this time had what Carol Dweck would call a “Fixed mindset” which writer Maria Popova in the article “Fixed vs Growth: The two basic mindsets that shape our lives” states “ assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled.” I later regretted not trying-out again, wondering what could have been if I didn’t let my own doubt hold me back. I had a few more experiences similar to this one, where I gave up too easily all because I didn’t think I could do it and nobody showed me how. This is when I started to realize that nobody was going to help me I needed to help myself and with telling myself that I couldn’t than it would never happen. I wanted to do what I always wished I could. This is when I developed the growth mindset. I started to see that no matter my size, gender, or any other quality “holding me back” that I could do it if I tried hard enough, or practiced long enough. It all started in high school, I became very competitive because of it. I hated when people doubted me saying I couldn’t because of such and such stereotype, or reason. I took it as a challenge and each time I pushed myself until I achieved that challenge. I never doubted myself and when I felt me start to I brushed that thought away. Reading about all the different reasons why children or even adults adopt this fixed mindset, stereotypes is a big one. There is something called a “stereotype threat”, which a article on the website “mindset works” states that “Stereotype threat is a situation in which people are at risk of confirming a negative stereotype about themselves.”(page 1) Learning this made me happy that I didn’t listen to those stereotypes and kept an open mind, I believed in myself keeping that growth mindset. Studies show in the article “how can mindsets change” that when “ In a 2002 study, a group of African-American college students was encouraged to adopt a growth mindset and perceive intelligence as a malleable quality. The group receiving this intervention reported higher enjoyment of academic subjects, received higher grades, and engaged more with academic material than those in comparison groups”. (page 1) This being another example like mine of what you can achieve when not listening to stereotypes. I carried this mindset with me throughout life pushing back any doubtful thoughts when coming faced with a challenge. I held her in my arms one time and one time only. I remember staring at her for as long as I could, attempting to imprint her face in my memory. Those blue eyes, that thin blonde hair sorta like mine when I was little. I wondered if she would have fine hair like me growing up or long thick and curly like my dad. The tears just streaming down my cheeks, dipping onto that common thin white blanket all the newborns get, you know the one with the blue and pink stripe. I just kept repeating the words I love you over and over hoping she would remember them. I don't think I ever cried more than I did that day. Having to say goodbye to my sister, knowing this is the first and last day I will ever see her,
it was something I didn't understand, something I couldn’t accept. Growing up, I lived with my mom my dad and my four sisters. At this time, I was ten years old. My sisters and I fought a lot being that there was so many girls in the house. I shared a room with two of my sisters, Courtney and Melissa. My two oldest sisters shared another room. My mom is one of those people who wants to help everybody. She was always taking in friends who needed to get back on their feet. She could not turn away from a sick, or stray animal. She must have thought we were an animal shelter. Always nursing kittens and puppies back to health. She would give her last dollar to someone in need. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we always managed to get by. One day when I was coming in from playing outside, I noticed my moms stomach was getting big. I asked her why her belly was so round and she told me I was gonna be a big sister. I got so excited that I started jumping up and down smiling. Being so close in age with my other sisters I never got to feel like a big sister. For as long as I can remember I wanted a little sister to teach and care for. Finding out that my mom was pregnant had to be the greatest news I have ever received. I could tell by her face that she wasn’t very happy. My mom then began to explain to me that she didn’t plan for this to happen. She told me that we couldn’t keep her, she couldn’t live with us. At this time I was only ten years old. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t have her. I had four other sisters, what is wrong with one more. She tried to make me understand that we just could not afford to raise another child at this time. She wanted her to have a better life. The next few months I watched her belly grow. I didn’t think about what was gonna happen when she was born. I just wanted to meet her and see if she looked like me. I pushed knowing she wouldn’t stay with us out of my mind. I spent my days excited to came home from school and rubbed her belly while trying to feel a kick. I pretended I knew what she would be like and how she would love to read like me. She would be blonde of course, all of us girls were except for krysta she was my mom’s little ginger. I imagined she would have long hair like my dad and sisters. I hoped she would be a lefty like my mom and I because left handed is just better let’s be honest. I wanted to know her so bad. Another sister another member to our crazy family. I spent my days with a head full of thoughts like these. My childhood was filled with a lot of let’s say cloudy days, but these few months this gift my mom was carrying it was a light. I had something to look forward to and be excited about. A happy thought to fall asleep with. The pregnancy made my dad a little nicer to my mom, they fought a little less and my sisters and I smiled more. we all seem to have come together over the baby. One night at dinner my mom sat us all down. I then found out who my baby sister was going to live with. My mom was giving her to a distant old friend. Her friend could not have children, after years of trying she decided to adopt. My mom thought who else better then someone she knows and trust. My moms friend agreed to an open adoption. This meaning that we would receive pictures every year and letters letting us know how she is doing. The woman and my mom agreed that we would meet her when she turned 16, old enough to understand. I did not want to wait that long but what choice did I have. As hard as it must have been for her, this was her best option. My sisters and I at the time didn’t say much on how we felt about it because what could we really say, nothing was gonna change it. The day finally came, my mom went into labor. I remembered getting called to the office and I knew before I even got there what it was about. I felt myself get so excited. I was picked up from school and got to the hospital after she gave birth. The whole time walking to her room, I was so anxious I got more and more nervous as I approached the room. When i got to the room, everybody was already there. I saw my mom laying in the bed. My dad hovering over her, my sisters and a few other family members. I pulled my hands in my sleeves. I was wearing a long sleeved red collared shirt, the ends of my sleeves were wet from me nervously chewing on them during the car ride. I walked up to the bed and looked at my little sister and could not stop smiling. My mom asked if I wanted to hold her. She placed her in my arms and in that moment tears just started streaming down my face. I didn’t wanna let her go and at this time I was too young to understand. We stayed with her for a few days until it was time to give her to her new home. The last day was the hardest for us all. I know my mom took it the hardest. I have never seen her cry so much in my entire life. For the first four years we got pictures and received letters telling us how she is doing. She is a spitting image of me and my younger sister when we were little. Every time I saw the photos of her I had to hold back tears. Something about seeing her face the spitting image of each and every one of us in her, I just couldn’t process it. Year after year seeing her get so big imagining what she experienced in that year, what her voice sounds like, what are her first words. It was almost frusterating to know she’s out there, I have a sister and can’t even talk to her. Does she even know she has 5 sisters in this world and the greatest grandma of all time. She has a dad who would give his last dollar to make sure she was okay and her mom is the most caring selfless human being I have ever met. She has an entire family and has no clue we exsist. She can’t share our insiders, or understand crazy aunt kitty. She never experienced our annual mountain trips. She doesn’t even know that she has a niece and a nephew. There was just so many things I wanted to tell her, so many questions with no answers. After the fourth year we stopped getting pictures and hearing from her. Her adopted mother said she thinks meeting her right now would be confusing for her. Her name is Kira and she is eleven right now. We are supposed to meet her in a few years, when she is older. Looking back on it now, I understand why mom did what she did. I still talk about her from time to time and wonder what she is like. I wonder what personality traits she got from our mom and dad. I wonder if she knows she is adopted, or if her adopted mom will ever tell her she has five sisters out there. I still think about her everyday hoping to meet her all over again. I am happy and fine with life but everytime I try to talk about her I feel that lump in my throat and tears swelling up. She has this affect on me that never went away. I love her, even though I don’t even know her I have this yearning to see her, to hear her voice. I just want to talk to her and tell her i’m sorry she didn’t grow up with us. I want her to know we love her and think about her everyday, we wanted her everyday. I am choosing to write about animals as my students choice for a number of reasons. First and for most the way people treat animals and the things they do to them is beyond disgusting. From slaughter houses, to farms, petting zoo and even at homes animals are being mistreated and even tortured. Many are convinced that animals don't feel pain, or they are less than us there for their pain isn't seen as important. Animals of all kinds need to be treated better. They say there are laws on abusing animals yet it never seems to be taken seriously. Minimum action is taken and the law its self is contradicted in these slaughter houses where they keep animals. Animals feel pain, they love and they cry.
We have all seen this, know this. Some just like to pretend its not true so they can continue with the abuse without guilt. I am just tired of seeing and hearing such simple things about how somebody's kid was pushed or barely hurt and how tramatizing it must be for them, how no child should have to go through that. Yet there are puppies and baby cows being taken away from their mothers, left to die and abused. A society of hypocrites that contradict everything they say. Something needs to change, there needs to be new and enforced laws for all animals. For my student choice I am choosing to write about happiness and what it actually takes to achieve it. I find that so many people consider happiness to be money, vacations, a beautiful body, expensive clothes and basically everything you see on social media. People will spend the majority of their youth chasing this false reality. Doing everything they believe will get them that life they see in that viral photo. Not realizing until it is too late that most of those beautiful people in those photos with lots of money are misirable. To achieve happiness you have to do what you want, your way. Don't spend every day of your life trying to live up to some one else, look like someone else, or even live like someone else. The thing is some people can't even help it. We grow up being told whats normal what is appropriate for our gender, what will make our parents proud and what will dissapoint them. We at a very young age are taught that certain dreams are stupid because that isn't something you should feel proud to be. If your not a doctor a lawyer or some other high ranked professional than you didn't live life right. We as people need to do what makes us happy. Follow our own dreams not those of your parent's. To me goals are those people who work everyday with a smile on their face, no fancy car or paid vacation, but they wake up everyday excited to do what they love and live life to the fullest enjoying the simple things. Now don't get me wrong I am not saying being a doctor a lawyer, or any other career like wise is wrong. If you want to save lives or put away bad people, if that is what truly brings you joy than go ahead and do so. Work hard and do what you have to do to reach that dream. All I am saying is don't do it for the wrong reasons. This subject is something I am passionate about because I've seen it my entire life growing up. Stop letting everyone else tell you how to live your life. Be your own goals, the only right way for you is your way. Be truly happy being you.
In this blog post I am going to be writing about Chef's table Francis Mallmann and our Composition. I am going to be answering a few questions about how the two relate to each other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ8Htm4jAGc Katelyn Riley
English 100 Assignment #3: Film-Based Argument Due: Draft #1 posted to blog by 11:59 on 3/23 Exaggerated Sterotypes In the film, Survivor, screenwriter Philip Shelby writes about Kate Abbott’s struggles with saving America from terrorist attack. Abbott is a security service agent who learns of a plot where a sniper will shoot a gas bomb in Times Square in an attempt to kill innocent civilians. Throughout the movie Kate learns that despite appearances or history anybody can betray you. Americans should not use the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist threats to be more suspicious of Muslim people because those suspicions are grounded in unrealistic stereotypes. You see after the 9/11 attack people started seeing the religion of islam as bad, blaming the entire religion yet not considering the fact that these were just a small group compared to the religion as a whole. In reality the Islam practice is a very peaceful religion. In an article called “The true peaceful face of Islam” author Karen Armstrong states that, “The very word Islam, which means "surrender," is related to the Arabic salam, or peace.” The article also mentions that there are over 1.2 billion muslims in the world. Now that fact alone should tell you something. If the Islamic practice was truly one of violence and hate there would be far more attacks and many more threats on America. You see this is clearly not the case. Another statement from the article “The true peaceful face of islam” reads that “When the Prophet Muhammad brought the inspired scripture known as the Koran to the Arabs in the early 7th century A.D., a major part of his mission was devoted precisely to bringing an end to the kind of mass slaughter we witnessed in New York City and Washington.” the entire Koran talks about peace and how we should learn and grow from one another, its purpose is to avoid war and terror not create it. The attack on 9/11 was caused by a small group of islamic people who took the words of the Koran and twisted them believing in the meaning they made up in their own minds. The Koran states that muslims are to “slay [enemies] wherever you find them!" (4: 89). Extremist like Osama Bin laden and other terrorist like to take these small verses and some what justify the horrible things they do, but leave out the follow up verses that state, “Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer you peace, God does not allow you to harm them" (4: 90). These types of groups and individuals exist in almost every religion. There have been many cases on god loving christians murdering their children and other people simply because they believe god told them too, while quoting small verses from the bible. But do we fear every christian in this country? Of course not because that would be unrealistic. You can not take a small few out of many and sum up an entire religion. The true meaning of Islam is peace and blaming billions for the act of a few is just flat out wrong. Don’t let these exaggerated sterotypes fill your heart with fear and hate. Prompt: Why did the sniper in the movie want to set off a gas bomb in new York city? What was his motive?
Purpose: To persuade the audience to agree with my opinion on the Islamic religion and the 9/11 attacks. Audience: The audience is my classmates and professor Focus: My focus will be on the sterotypes inflicted on all muslim people and the unrealistic fears Americans have today about the religion. Style: For the most part the style will be professional stating mostly facts about the religion, along with a few of my own opinions on the matter. IThe movie survivor is a 2015 British American spy movie. In the movie the main character Kate Abbott is a diplomatic security service agent. She works for the American embassy in London. During a birthday celebration at a restaurant for her their boss Bill Talbot, most of her friends die in an explosion. Kate’s boss Bill has a son named johnny who is a soldier fighting in Afghanastan. Bill is currently being blackmailed and receiving threats of his son’s life. For this and other reasons Bill does not make it to the party. Kate survives the bombing and is attacked by a man with a gun. While trying to get away from the gunman she is attacked by Bill. During a struggle she shoots him in self defence. A video of Kate with the gun goes viral causing her to have to fake passports and hide from the public to not get noticed. She continues throughout the movie to run from the gunman who happens to be a big time assassin. They want her dead because she knows too much and is trying to stop a terrorist attack. A sniper plans to shoot a huge gas bomb at 12am. Kate is trying to save times square and over a million people on new years eve. I really liked this movie and the meaning behind it. Kept my interest and great actors.
My movie choice is, "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" After receiving bad news from a fertility doctor, Cindy and Jim Green try to bury their dreams of having a child by writing out all the great traits their child would have and putting them in a box in the garden. During a freak storm in the middle of the night, they awake to find a boy named Timothy, with leaves growing from his ankles, standing in their kitchen calling them mom and dad. Cindy and Jim are thrown into the midst of parenthood and over the coming months, Timothy will teach them more than they could have imagined about being parents and raising a child, no matter how he comes into their lives. Film-based project |
AuthorI'm 21 years old, my hearts too big for my chest & milk is actually life. I like to consider myself a fighter. There is nothing in the world I can't get past. I love hiking, climbing, kick boxing, canoeing, working out & basically anything that gets my heart racing & keeps my overthinking to a minimum. Welcome to my blog. Categories
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