Growth Mindset
There is only one known home of human beings in the entire milky way, our beloved home, the Earth. They say it all started with a “bang”. Stars, galaxies, planets, and every living organism came into existence as a result. As the time progressed, humans started walking on this mighty planet. We, the humans, found many things around here which we could use to benefit ourselves and live life easily. As the time passed, we made much progress in utilizing the resources to facilitate and make life easier for everyone. Different people came up with extraordinary ideas and put them into reality, paving the path to this modern era where autonomous cars, advanced healthcare facilities and much more are available. But how did we reach here? How did we make all this? And who were those people who came up with the ideas that were fictional then but now reality?
If we zoom into the lives of these people we find some common traits or principles that they all share, which make one to believe in things that others can’t and foresee the future, and the ability to take initiative despite huge risks and potential consequences. These people had what’s called “Growth Mindset” i.e they believed they could do things others believed were impossible, they have a firm belief in their ability to learn and learn more.
Being at Amal academy, I learnt about “Amal Totkays”, this is the name given to these tips that make a man of positive impact in the society. These totkays are simple, yet very efficient, akin to the ones provided by Zubaida Apa for the delicious dishes. However, the end result will be a growth mindset, not the mouthwatering odour and taste of the dishes.
To develop a growth mindset one has to believe in his/her self, that he/she can do a thing or learn to do a thing and not to think negatively about abilities or talent that person has. But for that it is necessary to come out of our comfort zone. We have to leave our comfort zone and try things that we find difficult or challenging to do. In addition to this, a person must be ready to accept new things in life and adopt new routines and habits everyday.
The growth mindset is also about seeing things from another’s perspective, knowing how they see and what they believe about things around you. But often it’s not possible for people to see this picture by themselves. We need unbiased and honest feedback to see that and the audacity to take any criticism as a chance to enhance or improve ourselves.
But does this guarantee our success? “Will I be able to succeed with these tips in my life?”, every budding student asks. The answer to this is often “YES”, but the success doesn’t come overnight. We have to be persistent with our hard work, trying again and again until we reach where we want to be and with this we have to remove all doubts about things we want to achieve and even fake it until we really do believe in those things.
In conclusion, introspection, pushing yourself, working hard, being dynamic and adaptive and being ready to face small failures for greater outcomes (goals) make us a person of change, who can contribute to the progress of everyone, from finding a new home (planet) to making life sustainable here on earth. Once you have a growth mindset and the right skills, tools and people around you, believe me, you can do anything and change the lives of thousands if not millions.
Like many other people, I used to struggle a lot with the negative self thoughts. They are really bad… they lower your energy, make you feel worse and decrease your productivity. I found the importance of being positive, confident and optimistic about my own abilities from these “Totkay” and there was no point in delaying to embrace this mindset and start practicing it.
I am sure that everyone of us can change the fixed part of our minds to be more dynamic and flexible about our ability and success, by starting to practice and take small steps everyday and by keeping a track of our progress and staying positive. So why not start this journey today? Explore yourself, know your values and the goals you have in your life, make them SMART and start working on your first task today and be successful. :)
