Letran Senior High School students attend webinar on Growth Mindset in the Midst of Adversity

Danielle Margareth Piler

THURSDAY, October 14, 2021 - In accordance with the celebration of World Mental Health Day, the Colegio, in cooperation with the Guidance, Counseling, Testing, and Placement Department (GCTAP Department), organized a webinar entitled, “Growth Mindset in the Midst of Adversity” with the theme: “Hawa-hawang Ginhawa sa Panahon ng Pandemya” via Zoom Conference which was attended by Grade 11 & 12 students and faculty members.

Ms. Renelene Talod, RPm, the Senior High School Guidance Counselor, briefly explained the focal point for the said webinar. She then introduced the resource speaker, Mr. Renz Montano, RPm, a Mental Health Advocate and a professor at the Lyceum of the Philippines University in College of Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Montano started his discussion by emphasizing the importance of goals, wherein he presented that goals are important for behaviors to make sense and that they may vary depending on the values and priorities of the individual. For the audience to further understand what he meant, he presented a quote from Viktor Frankl, which states: “Even when it is not fully attained, we become better by striving for a higher goal.”

“Basta nag-effort ka, and iyong mga natutunan mo during that experience, ‘yon ang importante,” he remarked, implying that even though people may not fully accomplish what they wanted, the important part is that they gave their best and in that way, they became stronger, knowledgeable, and will strive higher for them to go beyond.

He also presented a short assessment in which the participants engaged. The speaker provided 3 questions, and the audience needed to indicate to which extent they agree or disagree by rating it from 1 (Strongly Disagree) and 6 (Strongly Agree). Thereafter, Mr. Montano further discussed the Mindset and the differences between its two types: Fixed and Growth Mindset.

“We should stop comparing ourselves to other people and focus on ourselves instead,” he advised. As a matter of fact, he also stated that serving those better people as their inspiration will greatly help them to improve and strengthen themselves more, instead of comparison. Thus, they can learn something from them, which results in making themselves better.

As the discussion goes deeper, Mr. Montano also tackled some Common Cognitive Biases such as: Looking only at the bad side, Jumping to conclusions, All-or-nothing thinking, Overgeneralization, and Personalization — in which people should prevent themselves from overdoing since it’s unhealthy for their mental state.

Following the discussion, he advised the participants on how to deal with failure, where he stated: “Even with Growth Mindset, failures and setbacks can be painful.” Mr. Montano also added that having a growth mindset doesn’t mean that everyone is immune to pain or heartbreaks, because of course, humans also have and feel emotions.

As Mr. Montano ended his lecture, he emphasized that having a growth mindset helps a person to be more understanding and accepting of what’s happening in their lives and that they’re willing to grow, as challenges are exciting for them rather than a threat.

Thereafter, the floor opened for the Question & Answer portion, which the audience actively engaged in. It was then followed by the awarding of the Certificate of Appreciation delivered by Ms. Renelene Talod, RPm, and the community singing of Himno del Colegio to formally end the said webinar.

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