Understanding Growth Mindset

 Before this assignment, I had never heard of Carol Dweck or the idea of Growth Mindset. I really enjoyed Carol Dweck's talk and the way she explained Growth Mindset because I found myself resonating with a lot of what she said. Children are so easily influenced and how we respond to them in times of vulnerability is so important because it can affect them later in life as they develop. I've seen this topic play out in my own life when I was a competitive gymnast. 

Many people know about the harshness and difficulty of the competitive gymnastics world, but not many understand the negative psychological consequences that come with it as well. Many of us have never forgotten our first sports coach, and I'll never forget mine. I would push myself so hard to get a new skill and gain some approval from my peers and coaches, and when I finally achieved it, all my coach would do is point out what I had done wrong instead of celebrating the new skill I had worked so hard for. Those types of moments really affected my self-confidence by making me feel like I couldn't do anything right. Dweck points this out in her talk, saying that instances like this can hurt a child's mentality and development. 

Though my personal experience with gymnastics affected me greatly, I still loved the sport and I didn't want other children to go through what I did so I started coaching competitive gymnastics in 2014. I wanted to help better my athletes' skills, while still building them up and letting them love the sport like I did. I coached gymnastics for 5 years before I decided to step away, but I still firmly side with Carol Dweck when she says that Growth Mindset is extremely important in developing beautiful minds. 

Idea Brain Thinking: Pixabay