ASU Week 1

 Do you feel you have a more malleable/growth mindset, or a fixed mindset?

    I am not sure how to answer this. I am very fixed with some things, and malleable with others. I am not afraid to learn when it comes to things like science, although I can get particular about knowing all the rules or expectations, and sometimes get stuck. I can go to a foreign city, or in the middle of a jungle, and feel very comfortable in unfamiliar territory. If I am fixing a machine, I see it as a challenge and growth opportunity when I don't find the problem right away. In other areas I definitely have a fixed mindset. Language, for instance, has never been easy for me, and I resist learning. I took Spanish for 4 years and it did not "speak to me." I didn't like it at all. Now I hear people telling me how I need to learn Spanish and I get upset. I say things like, "There are 450 languages spoken in the U.S.. Am I to learn them all, or should everyone just learn English?" I find that the existence of many languages seems inefficient and feels like a waste of time. Yet, there is a part of me that knows I should embrace the opportunities to learn new things, and see from different perspectives. Deep down I know it could even be fun, even if I never become fluent.

How has your educational journey thus far influenced your mindset? 

    Again, there is a bit of both here. The grading system did not give me the "not yet" feeling for sure. I was either great at something or bad at it. Most of my grades in high school were terrible, and I always felt I wasn't smart. But then I took a test to enter the military, and scored very high, and suddenly I thought differently. I focused fully on science in the military schools, and did very well. I bought a book called "Brain Building", written by the lady with the highest know I.Q. at the time. It talked about how intelligence can be improved, and gave steps to do so. So, sometimes grades dragged me down, and other times they lifted me up. As one of the articles suggests, believing in myself made me smarter. I think what has impacted me the most recently is the people I have been surrounded by, more than grades. I am surrounded by people who are smart, driven, positive, kind, patient, etc., and I feel like I am changing a bit because of them. Also, my teachers do not make me feel bad for asking questions. which helps maintain the "not yet" mentality.

How has your mindset impacted your success thus far?

    The mindset I acquired in the military, which is "No matter how tired, scared, or defeated you feel, you CAN take another step." has helped me succeed the most.  I have been sick for 3 years, in pain, exhausted, scared for my life, and very limited on time for studies. I have sat at my desk staring at the hours of math homework before me, and just deeply cried. But as I cried, I started doing my homework, and got it done. I am unstoppable once I take that first step. My mother also had an impact. She was the type of person to go to the library and check out a book if the dishwasher broke, or she needed to learn how to paint the house. her mom told her, "If someone else can learn something, so can you." Mom has tried to impart that on me as well through her example. She never said I would be just as fast as everyone else, as skilled as someone else, or anything like that. Simply, if they can learn it, so can you eventually. I suppose that is why I have excelled at mechanical/electrical repair. I watched her fail and try again until she got it right.

Do you feel that you have benefitted from your mindset, or has it impeded your learning in some way? If so, how?

    Again, a bit of both. The earlier parts of my life were very impeded by my reaction to grades. I sometimes took for granted what I learned in school. Some of these things are taught so nonchalantly, and yet were the culmination of someone's life work. Debates held for centuries trying to discover the secrets of the universe, and we learn and accept them in a moment, without much though. My $75 geometry book would have been priceless a few hundred years ago, and shook the world. Had I focused more on what amazing things I did learn and understand, perhaps I wouldn't have felt so bad about the things I didn't. These days I have more confidence and patience with myself for most things. I haven't moved past my disliking for languages (YET!), but otherwise I feel I am doing well and improving.