What drives self-chosen change?
The 4M prinicples drive self-chosen change:
- mindset (thinking change)
- motion (doing change)
- mastery (feeling change)
- measurement (tracking change)
What is mindset?
- The thinking of change and the view we adopt about ourselves.
- Change is seen as a process of skill-building and learning.
- Growth mindset is the core belief.
- Fuse growth mindset with any mind methodology.
How can you change your mindset?
- Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.” What is your internal narrative telling you when you: approach a challenge? Hit a setback? Face criticism?
- Recognize that you have a choice for the growth mindset. Interpret challenges, setbacks, and criticism in a growth mindset, as signs that you need to ramp up your strategies and effort, stretch yourself, and expand your abilities.
- Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice. As you approach a challenge, are you determined to avoid failure at all costs or are you willing to embrace the opportunity to learn?
- Take the growth mindset action. Take on the challenge wholeheartedly, learn from your setbacks, and try again.
Sum up the core beliefs of mindset in 2 sentences
- The way I am now is not the way I always have to be.
- I can get substantially better at anything I try, through my own efforts and practice.
What is motion?
Doing of change in a feedback loop of trying, learning, reworking. Continue in the loop even if you reach your desired outcome. Change is evolution / trial-and-error.
Describe the motion process.
Classic trial and error:
- reject what doesn’t work.
- Be extremely open to what might work. Try things out. Experiment.
- Draw information from your inevitable mistakes and quickly correct them along the way.
- Find what does work. Once you do, keep doing it, tweaking and iterating to maintain an upward trajectory.
- Keep working: Awareness is key. Denial is the enemy. There may come a time when what works now doesn’t work anymore. When that happens, stop doing it.
- Keep looping through the process to keep evolving.
How can you rework change in the context of “motion”?
There are two basic reworks:
- Build on existing method
- Try a completely new one
Look at mastery (how you feel in the feedback loop) and measurement (tracking during looping) to determine to do either 1. or 2.
What is mastery?
- Feeling of change
- Micro-mastery, small wins
- Skill-building every time you feel your skill level growing
What is micro-mastery and how do you get it?
Micro-mastery is a feeling, not an accomplishment
- Do something that’s difficult for you, something you can achieve only if you stretch yourself.
- Finally do a small part of it, not perfectly or completely, but just enough to make you think, “I can do this” or “I’m on the right track.”
- Find enjoyment in exploring the limits of your abilities and trying to expand them – which is the same thing as enjoying the process.
What is measurement?
Tracking of change, using metrics to drive the change process:
- keeps you focussed and objective
- shows you what works and what doesn’t
How can you devise a metric?
- Ask why the change is done
- Determine how to measure the “real why”
- Collect fact, theroy, data, narrative
- Quantify the quantifiable
What kind of metrics are there?
- Trial period metrics: try something new for e.g. 7 days. The metric would be 7 days.
- Actionable metrics: gives you results you can work on and shows what to do next.
- Creative metrics: e.g. transferring items from one (full) container to another for each successfull attempt.
- Journaling metrics: Just write down whatever’s helpful and relevant, developing your own style as you go.
What are the beliefs of a growth mindset?
- Talents, aptitudes, interests, temperaments, and intelligence can be changed and grown through our own efforts.
- We evolve throughout our lives.
What are the beliefs of a fixed mindset?
- Innate qualities (talents, aptitude, interestes, …) make us who we are
- They can’t be changed very much.
What are the consequences of having a fixed mindset?
Having a fixed mindset leads to…
- … being concerned with how one will be judged.
- … a desire to look smart.
- … avoiding challenges.
- … giving up easily at obstacles.
- … seeing effort as fruitless.
- … ignoring criticism and valuable feedback.
- … perceiving success of others is threatening.
- .. confirming a deterministic view of the world.
What are the consequences of having a growth mindset?
Having a growth mindset leads to…
- … being concerned with improving.
- … a desire to learn.
- … embracing challenges.
- … persisting in the face of setbacks.
- … seeing effort as the path to mastery.
- … learning from criticism.
- … finding lessons and inspirations in the successes of others.
- … a greater sense of free will.
Give examples for fixed mindset thoughts.
- It’s possible to practice new skills, but our natural ability is really what’s determinative.
- Some people are just “naturals” at certain things.
- People are however they are, and not a lot can be done to change that.
- We should spend our energy doing what we’re inherently good at.
Give examples for growth mindset thoughts
- Intelligence, skill, and qualities we’re born with are the foundation for development.
- They can be grown through learning and hard work.
- Some people can do certain things well with little or no training or practice, but others can learn to do those same things, just as well or better, with training and practice.
Give examples for fixed mindset words
- “I am bad at math.”
- “I can’t [manage my time, or whatever] because I’m just not disciplined”
- “I don’t have the the willpower” - “I tried that already and it didn’t work.”
Give examples for growth mindset words
- “I have the rest of the semester to pull up my grade.”
- “I realized I had a choice. I could sit in my misery or I could do something about it.”
- “All my life I’ve been playing up, meaning I’ve challenged myself with players … older, bigger, more skillful, more experienced.”
Give examples for fixed mindset actions
- Doing what you’re already good at; not doing what you haven’t tried yet or doesn’t come easily
- Staying where you are in terms of skill level (because you’re afraid of risk, mistakes, and looking bad)
- Trying to progress for purposes of validation and confirmation of self worth.
Give examples for growth mindset actions
- Trying new things, experimenting
- Making mistakes and correcting them along the way
- Rejecting what doesn’t work, finding what does work
- Tweaking, iterating, and maintaining an upward trajectory in effort and progress.
Give an example of actionable metrics
Trying to lose weight.
Vanity metric:
- Number of pounds lost, as shown on a scale.
- With no real record of what you did, you can only guess as to how to proceed.
Actionable metric:
- Journaling your efforts (food intake, exercise, other factors)
- Combine with pounds lost
- You can see what you did, what resulted, and what actions to you could take to keep moving toward your objective.
