A Growth Mindset, "Music and the Spoken Word"

There are some amazing things shared on "Music and the Spoken Word"

A Growth Mindset
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

What we think about others and ourselves has the power to shape our world. How often have we heard ourselves say things like "I’m not a morning person” or "I’m not very smart” or "That’s just the way I am”? If we believe our talents and personality will never change, then they probably never will. If we believe our fate is set in stone, then it probably is.

On the other hand, if we believe that desire, hard work, and persistence are much more important than intelligence or natural ability, then change and growth are possible.1

A high school valedictorian observed that her classmates always thought she was so successful in school because she was naturally gifted with talent and intellect. They thought that everything came easily to her. But she will tell you that the only reason she excelled academically was the simple fact that she studied more and worked harder.

Anyone who plays a musical instrument or runs a marathon will tell you the same thing. Their achievements come of sacrifice and serious effort, not luck or good fortune. Of course, there are those who are naturally gifted in one way or another. But we were not created with a fixed set of abilities; rather, we were created with a deep-seated ability and yearning to improve, to grow, to become more than what we are.

While we don’t have much control over innate ability or natural talent, we can usually control how much we try. We cannot do much about how tall or short we are, but we can control how dedicated we are and how intently we resist giving up. Such a mindset empowers us to step outside our comfort zone and seek new opportunities for progress and change—creating growth and development in place of rationalization and regret. We will then find—to our joy, but not to our surprise—that we can achieve remarkable things.

Our reactions to life's lessons

The greatest problem facing any organism is successful reaction to its environment. Environment, speaking scientifically, is the sum total of your experiences. In plain United States, this means fitting vocationally, socially and maritally into the place where you are. If you don't fit you must move or change your environment to fit you. If you can't change the environment and you won't move you will become a failure, just as tropical plants fail when transplanted to the Nevada desert. Learn From the Sagebrush ¶ But there is something that grows and keeps on growing in the Nevada desert—the sagebrush. It couldn't move away and it couldn't change its waterless environment, so it did what you and I must do if we expect to succeed. It adapted itself to its environment, and there it stands, each little stalwart shrub a reminder of what even a plant can do when it tries!

Life is a landscape.

Do you like landscapes and time lapse.  Well prepare to be inspired.  Life is wonderful and this will show us just how wonderful.