If there was one thing you could change about your homeschool that would result in:
- higher productivity
- more joy
- less stress
- and increased resilience
you’d do it right?!? You can!
A growth mindset really can empower your kids and you to make the most out of your days!
What is Growth Mindset?
Having a growth mindset means that you recognize that both your current ability and intelligence are not fixed. They aren’t predefined. The brain is malleable, and like a muscle when exercised, can change and learn in a way that leads to success.
Individuals with a growth mindset aim to learn, not just be intelligent. They also:
- embrace challenges
- persist despite setbacks
- link effort to mastery
- use criticism to improve
- and are inspired, rather than threatened by the success of others.
Importance of a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset enables us and our kids to have a greater appreciation for the impact we can have on our own future. How we react to mistakes, setbacks, and failures may well be what defines our ability to not just overcome, but prosper. Here are just a few examples of amazing accomplishments by people who didn’t let setbacks and failures derail them from their path.
- Walt Disney’s editor felt he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”
- JK Rowling’s Harry Potter manuscript was rejected by 12 major publishers.
- Kobe Bryant, a high scorer in the NBA also held the record for most missed shots.
- Dyson’s vacuum had over 5,126 failed prototypes.
Albert Einstein is quoted as having said, “Failure is really just success in progress.”
Having a growth mindset does not help you avoid failure. It helps you accept mistakes and rejections. It keeps you focused during moments of frustration and discomfort. A growth mindset is the best way to continue working towards your goal while making it possible for you to enjoy the journey.
So, how does one adopt a growth mindset for their homeschool?
How to Adopt a Growth Mindset in Your Homeschool
Like most things, developing a growth mindset takes practice. The more you practice the more natural a growth mindset becomes! I promise it’s worth the effort!
Here are Five Growth Mindset Phrases to Get You Started!
1. I Can Do Hard Things
It’s okay for things to be hard. It’s important to recognize that just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s not doable. Once we recognize that we can do hard things, the world opens up a bit more. Things that we never considered, might slowly find their way onto our to-do list.
2. I Can’t Do This, Yet
Struggle doesn’t equate to impossible. We may not be able to do something. It happens. Just because we can’t do it now doesn’t mean we won’t ever be able to do so. Always add a yet!
- I can’t do this yet.
- I’m not good at puzzles, yet.
- I can’t read that book, yet.
That yet is huge! Recognizing that time and practice make a difference help correlate success with effort. It makes sense to practice when you believe it to be an effective method to reach a goal. Granted we may not be able to do everything we attempt, but if we don’t truly try we’ll never know.
3. Mistakes Help Me Learn
Mistakes are wonderful. Mistakes help us recognize information we don’t know. Realizing that mistakes help us learn, can also help us to avoid losing focus when we make mistakes. Making mistakes while homeschooling is a huge blessing because we are in a safe environment. Recognizing that mistakes are part of the process and not evidence of failure can help curtail the negative emotional response to making a mistake and renew our focus on learning.
4. I Can Always Do Better
Practice is repetitive and can get boring. Sometimes we just don’t want to do something anymore. Realize that even the best performers, authors, athletes, etc. continue to practice. Just doing something right or well once, doesn’t mean you are done. Keep at it! Get better and better and better! Remember we aren’t aiming for perfection or even to be the best, just to improve our own performance.
5. Challenge Makes Me Strong
Frustration is common when faced with challenges that seem insurmountable. Try to remember that pushing through and learning something new to get to that “I did it” feeling is worth the effort. Each time we face difficulty head-on and persevere we get stronger and more resilient to defeat.
Practice Growth Mindset and Reap the Benefits
Remember those promises at the beginning of this post: higher productivity, more joy, less stress, and increased resilience for your homeschool? Let’s revisit those.
Increased Productivity
- “Mistakes help me learn.”
- More will get done when one mistake doesn’t end an entire lesson.
- “I can always do better.”
- Reluctance to practice can be overcome by realizing that improvement is always possible.
More Joy
- “Challenge makes me strong.”
- More joy is felt when we can recognize the importance of challenge.
Less Stress
- “I can do hard things!”
- Less stress is brought about when we can appreciate our own ability to do hard things.
Increased Resilience
- “I can’t do this, yet!”
- Recognizing effort and persistence are needed to reach goals keeps us moving forward despite real and perceived obstacles.
Practice using these phrases in your homeschool. When you forget or falter, remember it’s not failure, but a step to success. Try again! Challenge yourself and your kids to adopt a growth mindset and your homeschool will prosper.
Growth Mindset Makeover
If you are ready to overhaul your homeschool with a growth mindset (and I sincerely hope you are), I have one more suggestion for you. Visit one of my favorite affiliates, Big Life Journal! This resource has without question transformed the way I approach my kids and our homeschool journey. There are challenge kits, helpful charts, and even a weekly free printable when you sign up for their mailing list. They arm you with what to say and provide resources including books and movies that help propagate a growth mindset!
You really can do this! A growth mindset makeover can transform your homeschool. Be more productive, joyous, relaxed, and resilient. Start today by using any one of the phrases I’ve shared and be sure to visit Big Life Journal for even more resources to keep you focused on the journey!
