Mindset on My Mind - Chapter 4 Disco

Barb contributed this post. Click here to read more of Barb's thinking about mindset.

Chapter 4 - "Sports: The Mindset of a Champion" - gives examples of athletes with and without growth mindset.

Confession: I skipped this chapter the first time I read Mindset. Sports, athletics, and fitness are not things I feel confident about; they're not areas where I have much background knowledge. Examples from these areas don't resonate with me. (See my previous post about teaching aerobics.)

I read the chapter this time, though, and here's why. During a recent presentation about mindset (see "The Power of Yet: Improving Literacy Learning through Growth Mindset" for the slides), participants started talking about whether an individual is all fixed or all growth mindset. Lots of examples were shared, including mine.

I have a very, very fixed mindset about sports. I don't do them. I don't watch them. I actively avoid them. And, I'm starting to see that it's because of my fixed mindset about sports. I've never experienced any sports-related success. In fact, I sometimes think my family goes out of their way to tease me about not being athletic. I've never been on or coached any type of sports team. I don't have any favorite sports teams and don't own even a single piece of clothing with a team logo.

Actually reading - instead of skipping - this chapter is about the only step I'm willing to take in moving towards a having a growth mindset related to sports, but I have to start somewhere, right?

Updated to add:

I signed up for a yoga class for beginners. Baby steps, friends.