Growth Mindset and Neuroplasticity Effect

Daily Quote: 

“Among other things, neuroplasticity means that emotions such as happiness and compassion can be cultivated in much the same way that a person can learn through repetition to play golf and basketball or master a musical instrument, and that such practice changes the activity and physical aspects of specific brain areas.”
― Andrew Weil, Spontaneous Healing

Key Information: The keys to building new habits is through brain training and learning the following:

1. self efficacy -belief in your ability and skills to learn and take constructive action to accomplish your goals.

2. Understanding Neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity, which refers to the brain’s ability to CHANGE throughout life.

The human brain has the amazing ability to reorganize itself by forming new connections between brain cells (neurons).Discovery of methods and new ways to do things by learning the benefits of facing challenges, efforting and deliberative practice (small dose learning on step at a time).

The good news is that practicing these new behaviors over and over again changes our brain structure because it is not fixed but flexible and always capable of changing. So the take away is that you always have the power to change yourself: No matter how old you are belief, deliberate practice, as well as effort and rest can result in successful brain changes through what is called neuroplasticity.

Let’s look at what brain researchers have discovered when it comes to neuroplasticity. One of their key findings is that neural pathways (paths that connect different areas of the brain and nervous system) can not only be created at will, but can also eliminate unwanted connections through effort and drill and practice instructional strategies involves repetition of specific skills.Every time we learn something new or have a novel idea, a new pathway is created. The more we use this new pathway (through practice and repetition), the firmer and more ingrained it becomes; likewise, the less we use it, the weaker it becomes, until it is eventually forgotten.

Summary:

Neuroplasticity Effect:  Our brains can be thought of as malleable substance like plastic or muscle— they are constantly being changed by our day-to-day experiences. In scientific terms, the effect of neuroplasticity refers to the “rewiring” of the brain structure by interactions between neurons that transmit information in the brain, and the alterations that occur at synapses with constant use.

So if you think you can’t change the way you think and act you are mistaken. To learn more from the following sources —

Book “The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science,” by Norman Doidge describes numerous examples of functional changes in the brain structures.

http://www.lifehack.org/395242/entrepreneurial-success-starts-with-training-your-brain?ref=mail&mtype=daily_newsletter&mid=20160609_customized&uid=86053&email=mwhardwick44%40gmail.com&action=click

Mind Maker Effect

Mind Maker Effect-Fundamental Learning Methods for changing the ability to improve our mindset and performance by taking on challenges for learning.

“Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It’s about seeing things in a new way. When people…change to a growth mindset, they change from a judge-and-be-judged framework to a learn-and-help-learn framework. Their commitment is to growth, and growth take plenty of time, effort, and mutual support.”
― Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Case Study on Challenging the Development of Performance (High School Band project)

Congratulations to Julie Verret, music teacher at Fiske Elementary and elementary band leader for all of the Wellesley, MA School District, recently reported to Mindset Works how she used the concept of malleable brain to teach students about “ learning how to learning” using Growth Mindset methods and strategies. She eloquently describes the process of how a Growth Mindset helped her band students tackle a challenging piece of music. Julie applied the malleable mind concept to her music students because of multi-year, school-wide Growth Mindset initiative led by the principal. Verret introduced the idea that a musician’s brain can grow with effort and practice. To put this concept into action, Julie and her 4th and 5th grade students worked on a piece of music that would typically be played at the middle school level.

Here is an excerpt from her Growth Mindset project: “When they received the piece, some were excited to have such an awesome challenge,” Julie wrote. “Others thought [it] was going to be impossible.” Although her students reacted to the challenge in different ways, Julie and her class developed a number of strategies to help achieve their goal. Using the growth mindset as a foundation, the group aligned to tackle the task together, with help from the following this set of learning strategies and performance tips:

• Learn to take-on challenges rather saying this activity is to hard for us
• Isolate the tricky bits in the music that can trip them up
• Practice slowly and carefully so you don’t learn it wrong.
• Take a moment to learn from mistakes by marking missed notes and rhythms.

• Use a Plus-One Small dose learning strategy by not trying to tackle the “whole piece at one time”; instead, work on 8 measures at a time.
• To get everyone on the same page and set a standard for getting a learning session going she used a metronome every time when they began a new learning activity.
• Learn to take a “time-out” by stepping away from playing for a few minutes if you stumble or get frustrated. (Managing Emotions technique from EQ            research)
• Actively listen to the musical piece (modeling) and pay attention and be attuned to follow their part when playing.

” Julie’s class followed these strategies together, and every student worked to master the challenging piece. According to Julie: “They now cheer when I ask them to take it out so we can work on it. Not one child felt it was beyond their abilities because they used the strategies.” And so, the band played on”!

See more at  MindsetWorksNewsletter:

 

 

Part I: Myth of Being Born Smart.”It’s not people who start out the Smartest…Who End Up the Smartest”

” It is not people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest…Research shows that whether you are low-income or not, mindset is a bigger predictor of success than IQ or other talents possessed at birth, and how students gain great academic skills and persevere in the face of challenges and failure is what I call a ” Growth Mindset.” Dr. Carol Dweck  

” One critical element of Growth Mindset is Being Present in the moment. This concept is defined as the ability to be completely in the “here and now” and being open and flexible enough to learn new ways to handle challenges, expectations, opportunities, unexpected crisis and conflicts.  Use mindfulness to stay in the “here and now” moment” Being Present by Mark W. Hardwick, Ph.D. 

When learning something new be sure to be attentive and focused to the task at hand, to learn how to make this happen learn to be more aware of your surroundings and relax your brain and body through meditation practices such as focusing on your breathing by taking a deep breath clearing your mind and smiling.

How to foster a growth and learning mindset. One thing that might be keeping you back from learning new things is the belief that you can’t learn new things. But recent neuroscience and psychology research have shown this to be false. Our brains remain plastic and malleable well into old age, and it’s possible to create new connections among neurons and learn new things even if you’re 80 years old and beyond. To become an effective lifelong learner you need to adopt a mindset that is in line with how our brains really work. Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck discovered that people have one of two “mindsets” – fixed or growth. Individuals with a fixed mindset believe that their intelligence and talents are fixed at birth. They don’t think they can improve with work and effort. Folks with a growth mindset believe that they can improve themselves through being open to learning, accepting failures as a challenge and finding new strategies for learning and self-improvement.

You want to foster a growth mindset. How do you do that? Here are a few things Dweck suggests:

• Reading research that shows growth and improvement is possible
• Developing your resiliency to learn how to bounce back from failures and deal with suffering in life
• Trying new and difficult tasks to stimulate growth and learning
• Accept obstacles and failure as opportuniies for learning
• Listening to feedback and gathering more knowledge and experience to do better
• Finding role models. Observing, reading about and extracting lessons from others and then setting your course for growing and development.
• Being more attuned and present in the “here and now” moment through development of mindfulness and observation practices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BEING PRESENT Most Critical Factor in Developing a Growth Mindset…by Mark W. Hardwick, Ph.D.

One critical element of Growth Mindset is Being Present in the moment. This concept is defined as the ability to be completely in the “here and now” and being open and flexible enough to learn new ways to handle challenges, expectations, opportunities, unexpected crisis and conflicts.  Don’t miss this 60 minutes show on Anderson Cooper’s exploration of mindfulness. He talks extensively and attends a retreat with Jon Kabat-Zinn, who has written 10 books on mindfulness and led nearly a hundred retreats, describes meditation as a mental workout. The essence of being present is to just be present. Here is how he express what mindfulness is: Take a deep breath and just focus on your breathing “in for 5 seconds then out for 5 seconds” your  mind wanders away from the breath and then you gently and non-judgmentally just bring it back. Use mindfulness to stay in the “here and now” moment.

 

When learning something new be sure to be attentive and focused to the task at hand, to help in doing this be aware of your surroundings and relaxed your brain and body through mindfulness by taking a deep breath clearing your mind and smiling.

Self- Coaching Challenge: Are you committed to learn more about Mindfulness and Being Present? If so create and plan for exploration and learning this week. Good Luck with finding more relaxtion and calm in your life. Coach Mark

Growth Mindset-4 Tips on How to Overcome Negative Thinking

Daily Quote: What you are thinking, what shapes your mind is in the end, what makes the biggest difference of all.   Willie Mays

Reflection:  Your toughness is made up of equal parts belief, persistence and deliberative practice and experience. The toughest opponent of all is the negativity and skeptic or sarcastic alien inside your head.  

Below see the  4 tips for overcoming negativity in your life.

1. Believe it or not, passions grow out of your values. Make early, wise choices to value what (and who) is good, trustworthy, and praiseworthy.

2.Think straight, talk straight and do the straight or right thing to grow your character and live by your principles

3. Find a passion. Pick a hobby, own it: running, photography, juggling, tennis, writing, poetry, art or whatever interests you. Get your 10,000 hours of perfect practice in early and change your life.

4.Don’t bother comparing yourself to others—this only leads to heartbreak, anger, and disappointment.

Self-Coaching Challenge: What’s the one thing you would do right now if you had more confidence? What are you going to do to gain more self-confidence and mental toughness or grit?

WHAT DO PARENTS NEED TO KNOW OR DO TO MOTIVATE THEIR CHILDREN TO BE MORE CONFIDENT?

 

What do parents need to know and do to motivate their children?  

Success or failure in almost anything starts from within. Once your kids start believing in themselves, they create a domino effect of positive outcomes.  Let’s look at some successful and not so successful ways to motivate your kids and teach them how to be more confident and independent.

One way I have seen used is the “nice to me” technique.The reason why being too “nice” to your kids doesn’t work in trying to motivate them to do better in playing with other kids or school is because you’re usually trying to do one of two things:

1. Either you’re being nice in an attempt to make them like you so they’ll perform…
2. Maybe you’re trying to get their approval.

The problem is that most kids don’t get motivated to study or learn new things or go to the wall to do their best at school based on sweat talk or how “nice” a parent or teacher is. Their motivation motivation and success or failure like so many things comes from within. Internal motivation can become a habit when people believe they can change themselves and overcome their doubts or fears through practice and support. External motivation (rewards) can work for short term change or compliance in the present situation, but doesn’t have the staying power of internal belief and motivation. Most of us do these things based on our belief system about how smart we think we are and how confident and mentally tough they are from the inside out.

When an your child has self-efficacy (belief) and is confident, they are motivated too take on risks and challenges in life. They will study and practice harder and go for it – simply because they believe they can over come obstacles and that their ability or brain can grow over time with the right effort and strategy for learning.

Otherwise, they are going to hang back in new and challenging situations and hedge their bets, and no amount of “nice-ness”, encouragement or rewards is going to change their more or convince them to try and risk failure.

Also, the less confidence your athlete has, the more he needs an independent leader to model confidence for him.  If he perceives you as looking for his approval, the more annoyed he’ll get – and be even less likely to follow your advice or demands in a motivated way.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that you need to treat your child harshly to get results. It’s perfectly okay to be pleasant and good company to your sons and daughters. As a matter of fact creating a comfortable home environment where they feel loved and safe is critical for their development.  

What I am pointing out is that often our “nice-ness” as parents is really a trick many parents use in attempt to get our kids to do what we want. Of course, this seldom works, because your kids aren’t motivated because of your nice-ness (or lack of it).

They are de-motivated because they don’t know how their brain can grow with exercise and proper effort and usage. They need to learn that effort and use of the right tools for learning are based on practice and perseverance when the going gets difficult or tough.    

They may APPEAR AND SAY THEY DO NOT CARE, but actually I think they care TOO much – so at the first sign of risk of potential embarrassment, failure or insecurity, they stop trying (freeze or flight response) in order to protect themselves.

For example, in approaching new situations or people they hide behind you and cling to your coat or slacks…What to do and say… Hey, its okay I am a little scared and fearful too but lets go and observe (modeling) what they are doing and see if it is fun and if so will they let us join in (belonging) 

Take Away. If you want to learn more tips on how to encourage your child’s motivation and increase their “grit” for overcoming fear and taking on challenges consult the Parent’s Growth Mindset toolkit at the following https://www.mindsetkit.org/. You can learn how to support and help help your child to eliminate their fears and build deep mental toughness mindset, so they are naturally motivated and confident about handling new and difficult situations.

 

What can Parents Do increase the Adoption of Growth Mindset ?

Quotes to Inspire you:

If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning. Carol Dweck

You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By becoming a little better each and every day, over a period of time, you will become a lot better. John Wooden

You’re in charge of your mind. You can help it grow by using it in the right way. ..Vowing, even intense vowing, is often useless. The next day comes and the next day goes. What works is making a vivid, concrete plan…What did you learn today? What mistake did you make that taught you something? What did you try hard at today? What can I learn from this? What will I do next time I’m in this situation? Carol Dweck on asking questions that encourage the  growth mindset way.

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. Albert Einstein

• Realize the brain can change and grow with actions that reinforce effort, learning from feedback and seeing failure as an opportunity and challenge for trying harder and using different strategies for learning the material being presented. The brain changes and develops throughout life – a process called neuroplasticity.
• Certain experiences cause new connections in the brain to form or strengthen, making the brain smarter by literally rewiring it. For example, New research with London taxi drivers revealed that drivers give their brain quite a workout they navigate the complicated streets of London. These types of strenuous workouts have a significant an impact on the brain. The part of the brain responsible for spatial awareness is bigger in taxi drivers compared to other Londoners. And the longer a person has been a taxi driver, the bigger their hippocampus which is the part of the brain responsible for spatial memory and navigating winding roads and unmarked streets. As scientists learn more and more about the brain, they are discovering that it changes and develops throughout life, a process called neural plasticity. The cells in the brain, called neurons, are each connected to thousands of other neurons. The strength, number, and location of these connections affect how the brain works.
• These brain connections change all the time, as the result of our experiences. Certain of our experiences cause new connections to form or strengthen, making the brain smarter by literally rewiring it.
• Take away is that working hard on something challenging can cause anatomical changes in the brain. Thus spending years studying your special vocation from root cannels for dentist or leave structures for a botanist is a way to increase your brain effectiveness.

When you really think about it, the fact that our brains change in response to our actions shouldn’t be so surprising. After all, our bodies are in general quite good at adapting to the demands that we place on them. In the same way that our muscles get stronger when we push their capacities, so too do our brains get smarter when we push their capacities. Children who understand that the brain can get smarter, kids who have developed a growth mindset, do better in school because they have an empowering perspective on learning.  They focus on improvement and see effort as a way to build those abilities.

For more checkout these sources:

https://www.mindsetkit.org/growth-mindset-parents

https://www.mindsetkit.org/

2016 Challenge Reaching your Full Potential

Daily Quote and Challenge:

“No one can build you the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life.” Nietzsche 

Challenge: How do you develop the awareness, knowledge, and courage to bring forth the strengths and determination to reach your full potential?

 Self-Reflection: This is life’s eternal question and the essence of creating our “own footprints in the sand”. Many an artist, philosopher and common man have looked for the answer to this existential quandary.  Friedrich Nietzsche, Victor Frankl and many others believed that there is no real and fulfilling life without suffering and full-hearted acceptance of life as we face it moment to moment. The pathway of self-discovery is one of the greatest challenges in living a fulfilling life. In 1873, Nietzsche addressed this question of how we find ourselves and bring forth our gifts in a beautiful essay titled Schopenhauer as Educator  of his Untimely Meditations. Victor Frankl focuses on this question of meaning in his powerful reflections on life and survival  in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. In Man’s Search for Meaning   he captures his experiences and observations  of how powerlessness and suffering inmates either survived or didn’t finding a positive  purpose in life to feel good  about, and then continuously imagining that positive outcome.  

Self-Coaching Challenge:   What is the question that will get you started?

When we ask questions, we are seeking answers to things we don’t know or understand. It is a way of filling in the gaps of knowledge about this called living and dying. Just by asking a question, we are taking the first step toward learning something new or solving a problem. Questioning opens up your mind to new possibilities. And there’s research evidence to suggest that questions are highly motivating: Ask yourself a question and your mind almost can’t help going to work on finding an answer.

Here are 3 questions that might get you started on this challenge—each designed to help unlock your  curious side of the brain and get started on finding answers for living a better “quality of life. Be patient in doing this exercise for it requires a lot of time and effort to make such a personal “search”.

1. What drives your interest and activities? What do you really care about and What are your priorities and passion in life?   

These questions are derived from many career and life counseling and coaching sessions with clients over 30 years of practice. “The most successful people are obsessed with solving an important problem, something that matters to them. They remind me of a dog chasing a stick or ball.

Where should you look for that thing that pulls you in and ignites your passion to act.

1. Over the next 15 days pay attention to and capture in a notebook your own behavior and the things you find yourself doing without thinking.

2.Then —Draw up a list of 10 favorite activities or interest you love doing now or in your younger days.

3. Once you’ve figured out what cranks your motor or gets your pulse beating at a high level it’s time to make a choice.  Pick one interest or activity and develop a specific plan for  incorporating  this interest or activity into my everyday life?

 

 

Sharing reflectionspoems inspiration responses for 2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 490 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 8 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Stories on the impact of Growth Mindset on Performance

Most of you now have heard about the new brain research regarding the growth and fixed mindsets. Understanding how to put this research into a day to day coaching framework can be difficult because it takes courage and practice to put aside our firmly held beliefs and common sense practices and try something new. Certainly  having proof of the power of these concepts is important for us to change our approach and behavior. So in this blog post I am going to provide an essay containing stories  written by Dr. Carol Dweck  about the benefits of knowing how to praise your kids so that they develop their brain as a learning machine that can help them engage more fully in the tasks of learning in school or playing sports. If we do praising and positive reinforcement in the right way we can help our kids or others we are in contact with develop the mindset to sustain a love for learning and growth.

Are you still a non-believer in the Growth Mindset and Mental Toughness Ideas? Read this essay by Carol Dweck and maybe a “light bulb” will go off.

Why did these Olympics seem so lackluster? Where were the American champions that in the past made every day of the games so thrilling? Instead we had the figure skater who, after he missed the bus to the rink, skated a mistake-riddled and soulless performance. We had the skier, who waiting for the fog to lift, lost her focus. We had the skier, known for his carousing, who had little to show on the slopes. And we had the many athletes who simply announced “I guess I didn’t have it today.” What is this “it” and is it something you just wait for or is it something you dig down and find?

I’m not talking about the athletes who were fighting their way back from injuries, or the ones who gave their all and were beaten, or even the ones who succumbed to the tremendous pressure of the Olympics. I’m talking about the ones who phoned it in.

When we look at real champions, we find something completely different. For example, how many times in his professional career do you think Jack Nicklaus failed to make his shot when a tournament depended on it? Once! Did he feel great and were the conditions perfect on every one of those winning occasions? Billie Jean King said explicitly that the mark of a champion is the ability to win when things are not quite right—when you’re not playing your best and your emotions are not the right ones. Here’s how she learned what being a champion meant.

King was in the finals of the U.S. Open playing against Margaret Smith, who was then at the height of her greatness. King had played her over a dozen times but had beaten her only once. In the first set, King played wonderfully. She didn’t miss one volley and she built a comfortable lead. Suddenly, the set was over and Smith had won it. In the second set, King again built an impressive lead and was serving to win the set, but before she knew it, Smith had won the set and the match.

At first, King was befuddled. She had never built such a commanding lead in such an important match. But then she had a Eureka! moment. She suddenly understood what champions are: people who could lift their level of play when they needed to. When they are in a pinch, they suddenly “get around three times tougher.”

Jackie Joyner-Kersee had her “Eureka” moment too. She was 15 years old and competing in the heptathlon at the AAU Junior Olympics. Everything now depended on the last event, the 800-meter race, an event she dreaded. She was exhausted and she was competing against an expert distance runner whose times she had never matched. She did this time. “I felt a kind of high. I’d proven that I could win if I wanted it badly enough. …That win showed me that I could not only compete with the best athletes in the country, I could will myself to win.”

Mia Hamm said she was often asked “Mia, what is the most important thing for a soccer player to have?” With no hesitation, she answered, “Mental toughness.”

What happened to our 2006 Olympians? My hunch is that they were the victims of praise. Told constantly by well-meaning coaches, family, friends and fans how much talent they had, they relied too heavily on their talent to carry them through. My research shows that praising people’s talent—as opposed to their hard work or good strategies—does not give them mental toughness or lasting confidence. Instead, it makes them fragile in the face of pressure and adversity. They expect “it” to always be there when they need it and do not learn how to go and find it.

I did this research because I saw a whole generation of children being praised lavishly for their talent and intelligence in the name of self-esteem building. I have been waiting with some dread for this generation to grow up to see the effects of this praise. We saw it in Torino.