Over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, I had a video call with my family, who live across the US. My 93-year-old Mother participated in the meeting. She loves our family video calls. She thinks this technology is the neatest thing on the planet right now. One of the insights during the call is that I am acutely aware of our human vulnerability, the heart of a growth mindset—more on that in a moment.
It is hard to be vulnerable when life feels somewhat normal, sans pandemic stress. The COVID crisis seems to intensify the experience of vulnerability even more than usual. We live in a fragile environment where anything can happen very quickly to change the status of our health, our job, our lives. We are at risk of infection, rejection, or subjection to the stress, the difficulty, and the failure that could lead to the point of no return. I worry and pray for my family and friends a lot. If I were writing this during any other time, my family would think I am over-reacting and worrying too much. By today’s standards of living amid a pandemic, the worry feels about right.
The Heart of a Growth Mindset – Vulnerability Defined
The word vulnerability means a willingness to show emotion or allow one’s weakness to be seen or known. In her book, Daring Greatly, Brené Brown says, “vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage.” Being vulnerable means being willing to risk being wrong, risk exposing our weakness to others, and trusting others will embrace us with empathy or compassion.
Vulnerability connects us as humans with fuel for inner courage. There is strength in the broken places.
This pandemic has exposed our human frailty in a way that we have not experienced before. In what ways do we choose to respond to hold one another with respect and empathy? With a more profound compassionate listening?
Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.
Brené Brown, Rising Strong as a Spiritual Practice
Living a Growth Mindset
Vulnerability is an integral part of a growth mindset. A growth mindset understands that our intelligence can develop and change, whereas a fixed mindset means that our intelligence is fixed and static. Think of a growth mindset as a learn-it-all, while a fixed mindset is a know-it-all. All of us have both fixed and growth mindsets within us.
During a Toastmasters meeting this week, one of my work colleagues shared her insights from her research on growth mindset. The following are her words, used with permission.
To remind us all, here are a few characteristics within the growth mindset, where I:
- Stretch myself, take risks and learn
- Welcome challenges!
- Choose opportunities that help me grow
- Accept when I fail – and I’ll try harder next time
- Embrace challenges, and I persist in the face of setbacks
- Believe and understand that growing and learning require effort
- I’m willing to put in the effort
- Embrace the opportunity to grow and learn
- Listen to criticism for how I can improve (instead of shutting down or becoming defensive)
- Find lessons and inspiration in other people’s success
- Reach ever-higher levels of achievement.
- From Anne Stein
Vulnerability and the Heart of a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is a landscape for learning, insight, and opportunity for change. With a growth mindset, to be a learn-it-all requires a willingness to risk-it-all through being vulnerable. When you embrace vulnerability, you take fear along with you in the process. Yet, fear does not paralyze you from taking action.
Being vulnerable means, you are willing to risk imperfection, mistakes, and weakness. Instead of falling into an abyss of self-doubt, vulnerability is your parachute for helping you touch down safely on the landing point of a growth mindset. You are not alone in this process. Your trusted companions are parachuting with you, giving you the courage and safety net to be vulnerable and take the risk into the wisdom of a growth mindset.
Your Turn
What are your thoughts on vulnerability and a growth mindset?
I welcome your ideas. Thank you.
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