This post was originally published January 22, 2017. I'm republishing today as a matter of record and a matter of example. It shows the intent of Pondering Acres in the beginning (a tiny urban farm), and a connection to the Pondering Acres of today (a place to learn and grow creative courage). The lesson here is that we never stop learning. Sometimes it happens with intention, sometimes it's forced upon us. It is always available to us if we're open to it.
For the past month, I’ve been infusing sweet almond oil with cayenne pepper. I wanted to craft a homemade version of Icy Hot for Bob’s and my chronic aches and pains. The all-natural muscle and joint rub recipe is pretty simple: cayenne-infused oil for the warming sensation, spearmint (or peppermint) infused oil for the cooling sensation, and comfrey-infused oil for the anti-inflammatory effect. After melting beeswax in the oil concoction and pouring it into small glass jars, I had enough of orange salve to get us and our sore muscles and joints through the year.
I was really looking forward to rubbing the stuff on my elbow. It’s been bothering me since last spring when I started hauling a two-gallon watering can around the tiny farm and when Cash put on some serious weight and used it to forcefully yank me and my elbow in whatever direction he wanted to go from the end of his leash. But the rub wasn’t warm. Or cool. Still, I think my elbow is less ouchy since applying the ointment. That might be a placebo effect—I really wanted this stuff to work and I absolutely believe in the power of cayenne even in its mildest form. One thing is for certain— I have the softest elbow skin ever. So I didn’t achieve the goal but it wasn’t a complete failure either. I learned some things.
That’s my growth mindset talking. I was introduced to the concept of a growth mindset last year. Carol Dweck, Ph.D., is the researcher, teacher, and champion of the idea. If you want details, read her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (paid link). Or, you can watch her Ted Talk, The Power of Believing You Can Improve.
Or, you can settle for my interpretation…
People with a fixed mindset believe that they are born with a defined set of skills and capabilities. They see failure as a personal label and as proof that they suck. Fixed mindset people often stick with doing things that they know they are good at and therefore miss out on new experiences and learning.
For example, when my sixth grade music teacher, Mrs. Grube, didn’t allow me to be a part of the chorus because she didn’t think I could carry a tune in a bucket, I accepted that as truth, then and forever more. My fixed mindset has prevented me from singing anywhere but in the solitude of my car for the last 40 years.
With a growth mindset, people don’t see failure as a evaluation of their worth. Instead it’s just the first or second or tenth or one-hundredth try at something. They think, “I haven’t achieved success yet, but I’m learning and that will help me the next time I try.”
The logic behind a growth mindset is the simple fact that we’re generally not born experts at anything. But if it’s important enough to us, we can learn and become experts through experiments and experience. So, my homemade muscle rub isn’t perfect yet, but I’m still learning and I’ll keep trying. (Being a good singer isn’t that important to me, so I’m not going to spend my trying trying to become one.)
As someone who’s lived a lifetime with chronic low self-esteem and self-doubt, I’ll say that adopting a growth mindset is uncomfortable and a little exhausting. Being worried about failure or getting embarrassed by it doesn’t really go away (at least it hasn’t yet). But walking around with a fixed mindset is exhausting too and there’s not much of an upside. So here we go…Grow. Create. Learn. Repeat.
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