Think You Can't Do Something? Develop a Growth Mindset and Watch the Results.

About half of our skills and gifts are genetically handed to us. The other half is down to us. It’s called neuroplasticity; the ability of the brain to build new connections. Information is passed through the brain by electrical signals through neurons, over gaps called synapses. These gaps mean we are not hard-wired in our thinking and processes, so we can change the way we think and act. It's a clever design feature so the brain can adapt to a changing environment. Therefore, we naturally can develop new pathways which means, practically, that we can do what we thought we would not be able to. 

 

If you have already read my last blog Feedback is a Gift you may recall I talked about the difference between a Fixed and a Growth Mindset. This is a slightly different scenario, in that here, the difference is that we can either think we can do something or we can't. Most of the time it's a fulfilling prophecy too! A Fixed Mindset means we will automatically assume that skills are mostly something we are born with, and there is no point thinking otherwise.