Mindset and Potential

Romans 12:12 “ Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

We all have dreams and aspirations; these goals can be big or small, and feel great when we accomplish them. Reading a new book, learning a new skill, passing an exam, getting our dream job or even learning to roller skate. It takes dedication to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves, but what happens when we don't feel encouraged to start or continue pursuing these goals? There could be a plethora of things that can cause our potential to falter, but what do you do when your mindset is the factor? Mindset refers to an individual’s attitudes, inclinations, beliefs and perspectives. Potential is someone's ability to develop, achieve, or succeed.

When we have a positive mindset, we can perform at our best. Tasks become more manageable, and we are most likely to work at our full potential. A poor mindset directly hinders cognitive functions like focus, memory, and information retention. We can become discouraged and unable to see good outcomes, goals can seem too big to attempt, and tasks can become burdensome. Where does our potential go?

I was horrible at math from grades 7 to 9; I would score the bare minimum and knew I wasn't putting in enough effort to do better, even though I wanted to. In my mind, I had already concluded that I was bad at math, and this is just the way it is. I felt bad for myself and would just focus on the other subject areas I was good at, until in grade 9, a good math score was needed for me to enter the Science stream. Being almost denied entry to the science stream made me feel like I had almost lost my dream of attending UofT. That feeling ignited something in me I didn't know I had. The first thing I began to do was change the agreements I made with math. I told myself that I was the best at math. Instead of saying I suck at it, I would begin math problems by saying ‘This isn't even that hard.’I enrolled in after-school math lessons and practiced as much as I could. I believed I could do it, and I did; my math grades improved in a few months, and I remained an A student in math for the rest of my high school years.

This mindset shift trickled to other areas of my life and continues to keep me going. I like to remind myself that things are really not that hard if I believe it's not and put in the work needed to be successful. I am a UofT student today, and I have a journey ahead of me that I still believe I can accomplish. I've had many grade 9 math moments that have propelled me to do better in life, and no matter what it is or how long it takes me to accomplish the goal, I begin by saying, ‘This isn't even that hard.’

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." Phillipians 4:8

Resources

The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV)

What is Mindset and how can you work on it? – News | Strong Mind Climbing. (n.d.). https://www.strongmindclimbing.com/news-resources/what-is-mindset-and-how-can-you-work-on-it

Mental health: What’s normal, what’s not - mayo clinic. (n.d.). https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/mental-health/art-20044098