Famous Last Words: Finishing the Class

Now that I've arrived at the last day of the last week of this class, I thought it would be helpful to reflect on what I have learned and how it affects me as a student and person in general. 

Enjoy the effort & keep on learning!

I think this is a great summary of what I've taken from this class.

Source: Growth Mindset Resources.

First of all, I'm so happy that I was exposed to a wide variety of readings. There is such a vast, seemingly endless amount of mythology and folklore out there, and I appreciate that I got a taste of several cultures' stories. Also, I now have access to so many different readings online, through the Untextbook and Freebookapalooza. I love that the Untextbook is an open source with organized units and readings; it will be easy to continue learning about mythology and folklore in the future if I choose to.

Before this class, I had not written creatively since I was in elementary school. When I found out at the beginning of the semester that we would have to write stories weekly, I felt nervous and wasn't sure whether I would be able to write anything I was happy with. It turns out that I had fun writing! It is something so different from what I normally do for school, and I think it opened me up to thinking differently than I normally do. I enjoyed having the power as a storyteller to change things I didn't like about certain stories, or to dwell on things that I really did like. I didn't love everything I wrote, but I am proud of my Storybook and will share it with my parents, and there are also some weekly stories that I felt came out well. It became easier to write as the semester went on, and it especially became easier to make myself sit down and write without judging myself. At the beginning of the semester, I waited until the last minute to write because I was afraid of how bad my writing would turn out. As the semester went on, I realized that my writing was better when I wasn't under time constraints, and I also realized that it was okay if one story wasn't very good. I think I shed a lot of the fear I had associated with writing and built up some willpower to sit down and get things done. Not only has this made me better at writing, but I think it will translate to other academic areas in which I fear that my results will not be excellent. I have learned to be okay with imperfection, and to just try and do what I can.

While I really enjoyed reading stories, writing my own, and interacting with my classmates on their blogs, I think the biggest gain I have received from this class is an introduction to the growth mindset. I am so happy that the growth mindset assignment was required at the beginning of the semester. It stuck with me, and I definitely had to remind myself many times throughout the semester to embrace a growth mindset rather than fretting about classes. Knowledge about the growth mindset helped me enjoy my difficult classes, because I knew that I was stretching and growing through the challenges. It also kept me, many times, from beating myself up over not getting something right away (although I also had many times when I forgot the importance of a growth mindset and let myself believe I was not good enough to achieve future goals - it's a process). As with the readings,  I am so thankful to Laura for providing us with a wealth of resources about growth mindset and Carol Dweck's research! I know it's a big statement, but I honestly think that learning about fixed and growth mindsets has changed my life. I will certainly carry this information with me long after this class and even college are over.

Growth Mindset: Carol Zweck on Perfectionism

In Carol Zweck's video on perfectionism, she describes two different types of perfectionism and compares these mindsets to her concept of a fixed vs. growth mindset. The first type of perfectionism she describes is focused on success and accomplishment of goals. This type of perfectionist worries about losing respect and standing if he or she does not meet very high expectations. This mindset is obviously harmful. The other type of perfectionism is about constantly striving for excellence and improvement. This type of perfectionist may feel that perfectionism is actually a positive trait, because it pushes him or her toward overcoming challenges and becoming a better person. Zweck then points out that these types of perfectionism (if the latter can be called perfectionism) correspond to a fixed and growth mindsets, respectively. Just like the former type of perfectionist, someone with a fixed mindset is afraid of looking dumb or making mistakes, and feels as if any failure can compromise his or her worth, because it reveals some inherent shortcoming. A person with a growth mindset believes he or she can improve, and thus can set high goals without fear of failure along the way. Failure is a step toward reaching those high goals, rather than an indicator that the person is incapable of accomplishing them. 

I'd like to share a few of my favorite quotations from this video and then elaborate on them. Carol Zweck does a great job of summing up her message and making it very clear what fixed and growth mindsets are all about. After watching a couple short videos about growth mindset earlier in the semester, I felt I knew enough to implement it in my life. The advantage to watching a longer video like this one is that Zweck also does a great job of elaborating and providing examples of fixed mindset beliefs that I recognize in myself. She also explains how growth mindset can help us in so many different situations and can make us healthier and happier in many areas of our lives. I found these quotations so helpful because they either expose dangerous effects of a fixed mindset or encourage me and guide me to develop a growth mindset for myself.

The first quote that stuck out to me was "I was so perfect that I had to start shrinking my world to maintain it." Zweck shares that she was a star student growing up but refused to participate in larger spelling bees and other competitions, because she didn't want to risk losing her status of perfection. This quote really hits home for me because I want a larger world, not a shrinking one, and because I see in myself the tendency to do this. I try to push myself to do difficult and potentially embarrassing things, but I often come close to backing out because I'm afraid of embarrassing myself or being exposed for my shortcomings. For example, I am taking piano lessons at OU this semester and I had to play at a small recital this past Friday. I went through with it and am glad I did it, but I was so nervous that I would embarrass myself that, right before I played, I wished I had never said yes to playing in the recital. Afterwards, though my performance wasn't perfect, I was glad I did it. Why would I turn down an opportunity to share what I've been working on, get more comfortable with performing, and hear my peers' pieces? But in the moment, when fear of failure and embarrassment faced me, I felt willing to shrink my world. This also applies to the academic world. Many of my friends who are pre-med do not want to take difficult Honors classes because they don't want to risk their GPA - a measure of academic perfection. 

I'll mention the other two quotes together, since I think they point toward the same idea. The first is "Everything in life requires huge amounts of effort over long periods of time." The other is "Why shouldn't we revere struggle? It means we've worked hard toward something we value." Here, Zweck discusses the rejection of effort by people with a fixed mindset. To them, since they believe that their natural intelligence and abilities cannot be improved upon, effort reveals weakness and dumbness. Zweck argues that everything worth having requires effort somewhere down the line. No one can get the things they want and have a meaningful life without exerting some effort, and she points out how harmful it is for people to view such necessary effort as shameful rather than something to be celebrated. I really appreciate Zweck's reminder that effort is good and something we should be proud of. I want to embrace the effort that I put into school and other areas of my life. It's true that I feel much prouder of myself when I do well in a class that was very difficult than when I do well in a class that was a breeze. Overcoming challenge with effort not only feels good in the end, but allows me to grow in a way that easy tasks can't. I will keep these quotes in my phone, because they remind me to strive for a challenge and be proud of the effort I exert. I should feel disappointed (though not self-abusively so) when I go through a day without putting effort in.

Hard work leads to positive results.

A great reminder to revere struggle and effort!

Source: Growth Mindset Resources.

Learning Challenge: Mindfulness and Attention

For this week's learning challenge, I read an article from the New York Times called "The Power of Concentration." I have been hearing about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation since high school, but this article is one of the more convincing cases I've seen for the practice of mindfulness. The author was able to convince me of the fruits of mindfulness through her citation and explanation of multiple studies that show a wide variety of practical benefits from mindfulness. I often think, "It sounds nice and calming to sit and focus on one thing, but would I really gain anything from it besides a few moments of peace?" While I'd have to look at the studies myself to be completely sure, this article did a lot to convince me to at least pay more attention to mindfulness.

The fact that surprised me most is that mindfulness can create better connectivity in the brain area whose deficiency is linked with Alzheimer's disease. I wonder how mindfulness compares with other activities such as reading or learning math in terms of creating these connections in the brain. I don't know whether mindfulness would be the best activity, but it is definitely good news that such a relaxing activity could actually improve mental health.

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience." 

Photo of East Greenland by Kitty Terwolbeck.

Source: Flickr.

This article has made me curious to know exactly what the lessons are in these mindfulness classes that the studies employ. I plan on doing more research and reading about what mindfulness activities garner the benefits cited in the article. Focusing on breathing? Simply avoiding multitasking? Going on walks and focusing on the physical sensations, sights, and sounds? I doubt all mindfulness and meditation activities are equal, so I'm curious about what I can do to gain the benefits discussed.

Finally, I like that the author, while noting mindfulness's roots in Eastern religion and spirituality, also uses the secular figure of Sherlock Holmes to illustrate mindfulness. I tend to be a bit skeptical about spiritual and religious claims, so I like that mindfulness can be separated from these things while still recognizing and respecting the history behind it.