In any day we experience both tamed emotions for growth, and untamed or fixed emotions. Emotional responses to challenges such as loneliness or isolation during a pandemic, will determine our mindset and leave us emotionally well or moody and emotionally impaired.
You may remember MYG as a fantasy character that represents our amygdala or seat of our emotions. Emotional reactions stored in our amygdala can either help us seek to understand an opposing view (a growth mindset reaction), or push us to demand we are right (a fixed mindset response).
Growth mindset doesn’t mean we agree with everything we engage. It means we suspend our beliefs temporarily while we hold up new possibilities empathetically to consider through a different filter and to learn from another’s point of view. Empathy enables us to see possibilities through a similar filter as a person who differs.
How many growth mindset emotions will you awaken today?
How many fixed mindset emotions will you default into today?
Transforming fixed emotions into growth mindset advances
As we observe our thoughts and grow aware of emotional reactions, we cultivate richer mental real estate required to remap emotional reactions and to thrive in daily challenges. We begin the practice of taming our amygdala to step beyond fixed or broken reactions, and we increase growth mindset opportunities by examining and improving our emotional choices.
For instance, we may refrain from snapping back to a personal criticism, in favor of considering a measured response that shows respect for the critic.
A tamed amygdala, with growth mindset spaces, for instance:
- Drops expectations that assume others can make us happy.
- Navigates stressors by making small daily changes.
- Lives each moment as valued life in mindful focus.
- Enjoys freedoms that come from living our authentic self.
- Recognize that we are good enough and we possess all we need to grow.
- Grow resilient through healing that takes hard work and hanging in.
- Transforms blame from ourselves or others into tools to thrive.
Tools to live on the other side of anxiety and stress:
- Increase awareness of triggers and our emotional responses
- Practice growth mindset emotional reactions (see blue chart above).
- Accept that we are social beings and can build better emotional reactions
- Choose to be around people who energize your growth mindset.
- Avoid physiological imbalances by eating, exercising and sleeping well
- Breathe deeply as a daily practice, while walking or sitting still
- Develop intentional gratitude to shift emotional energy into abundance.
- Observe self and chart changes by journalling growth mindset progress.
- Deliberately choose serotonin in its many ways to access!
Our observation of life in each moment will become our thermostat to ensure enough warmth and self-acceptance needed to grow new neuron pathways. Branches we build by choices made to set out better directions that sustain ongoing emotional health.
Knowing that emotional health germinates and grows with one small change at a time, what fixed mindset will you alter as you seed healing greatness today?
Imagine the delight of building growth mindset strategies and skills with our youth, who often get left behind to struggle alone in these difficult times!
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