#4 Failure and Success

Back in the fall when I had a broken hip I read a book about Mindset and self improvement called gorilla mindset. It mentioned the Idea of fixed mindset and Growth mindset. It also used the terms Abundance Mindset and Scarcity mindset. Basically Abundance and growth are similar because they both include the idea of when something doesn't go your way you have to look at it as an opportunity to improve rather than as a problem that nothing can be done about. I wouldn't necessarily say that this lesson changed my perspective on how someone should look at their problems, but instead reinforced my ideas. Generally school fails to provide the opportunities for students to learn these key skills. From my experience the best way to help people approach their problems differently, is to offer your advice, then to provide a specific and relevant examples. Then to let them try out the new way of thinking for themselves while you offer support if the begin to go down the "this is impossible" path.

Growth mindset is one of the most important aspects of life and not so surprisingly, growing as a person. As a captain one of the things I try to create is the idea of "I can do better". For example often when players mess up drills they will say things like "I'm bad at (whatever)" or "I can't do (whatever). When I hear someone being hard on themselves without the proper mentality I try to remind them that practice is meant to make you better. I say things like "Now you know what you need to work on" or "Now is your chance to improve at (whatever)". I find that this generally makes people less down on themselves for doing things wrong but rather empowers players to work harder at the skills they are lacking at. This is a key mentality for anyone that wishes to succeed while attempting difficult tasks.

Teachers and adults need to understand that when someone comes up short while trying to achieve a goal, that they will often feel down on themselves and like they are a failure. These people should understand that they are there for guidance through these tough times. They should offer alternative view points (Now I know what to work on) This is key for directing a student towards improvement rather than dwelling on failure. Just like any skill Growth Mindset requires practice. Therefore it is important for those who offer guidance to be supportive and persistent when teaching these skills.