Thinking about Fixed and Growth Mindsets
While Carol Dweck’s 2007 book Mindset is no longer new, it continues to spark rich conversations about the difference between fixed and growth mindsets. The basic thesis is simple: Some people approach life with a fixed mindset, assuming that they are born with certain talents and abilities and that relatively little can be done to alter what they started with. They will repeatedly do what they know they can do well – as this is safe and reassuring and gives them a chance to show what they are good at. If they fail, it is because they are no good at what they attempted, not...
Read MorePraying the journey…
My Sabbatical leave is almost over, and what an unusual season it has been. I spent part of it at Carson Newman University in Tennessee, and after seven wonderful weeks close to the Smoky Mountains, Rosemary and I had to dash back to Australia to avoid being locked out, potentially for many months. It did make for an abrupt end, though the major task for my Sabbatical, remained. That was to make significant progress on a book on the formation of spiritual leaders, which is my current writing project. I am now at the two thirds through stage, so am pleased about that. Naturally because I am...
Read MoreReframing Change: 8 Guiding Principles
At the start of a new year it is common for people to dream about things they’d like to change. For most, dreams rarely move beyond the “wouldn’t it be lovely” stage, usually because the motivation to change is not well developed and is not accompanied by a sense of urgency. The bottom line for most of us is that if change is desirable but not essential, it won’t happen. Not that this is always the case. For some, too many previous failures and disappointments cast a long shadow. Desirable change is approached with the disbelief that it is possible – “tried it before, it didn’t work. Sure...
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