Mindset Changes Everything
[Music]
[Music]
were you ever just doing something
like playing basketball
and you just can’t get the ball in
do you
in easy terms
get pretty frustrated
did you felt like destroying everything
in your sight
and rage quit
or approach positively
and persist
with a determined mind
having a brain like that
does sound pretty practical
in a lot of ways so what is it
and how do we get one
that’s what i’m here to talk about today
about how i developed a mind like that
which helped me face my fears
finally escape from the negative loop of
self-doubt
and prove to myself
that anything
really is possible
i know from my own experience
that with positivity
optimism
effort
time determination
and a genuine interest in learning
anyone
and especially kids
can develop a healthy positive and
productive mindset
one that can change your life entirely
and the best way to explain how
is to share with you my story
then you can see for yourself
that even when things get tough
a positive mindset
will keep you going
for the first three years of my life i’d
had a living
no different from any other people my
age
our family was sufficient in resources
and we were happy
not long after i turned three something
in my path twisted
my family was immigrating to canada
after some packing
i was on the plane
before i knew it
i went to preschool
and elementary school
here in richmond
when i turned grade 2
something changed again
my chinese
started stammering
and that’s when my mom took me back to
china to study chinese from grade one
the new school
was pretty cool
we would always read traditional chinese
poems and articles out loud in class
do tiny projects together
and share our ideas
whenever someone shared a really good
thought or did a really good job
the whole class will shout out slogans
like you’re great and we’ll learn from
you
the entire place
also had a much more competitive beat
no one wants to watch
as they’re being tossed behind
as others shoot hundreds of miles away
under such a spiritual atmosphere
i thrived
i was very fortunate to get excellent
grades
good reading and writing and great
calculation skills
now looking back
i believe that the school used these
easy methods
to improve our overall learning
encouragement
competition
tasks and homework
all these kind of elements
they made us use an optimistic mindset
to learn with passion and emotions
and that’s what i can learn in an
exciting and efficient way
i have to admit that
they worked pretty well on me
just as i was doing well and adapting
my english started diminishing
i lost my ease with the language
and i no longer did very well in my
tests
so our family decided to go back to
canada and i can catch up once again
my english and social skills
were terrible
i had struggled through the course of
grade 3 and 4.
i was really frustrated
i couldn’t do things sufficiently when i
was bad to begin with
my parents
observantly notice my unhappiness
they increase the ratio of things i
could serve on youtube
both for my entertainment
and to learn
i also attended courses like magic
tricks and other interesting classes
both of them
wanted me to unstressfully learn
i improved quickly on language and
social skills
and i was optimistic about learning new
things
but when i turned grade 5
things changed a lot
the new class was all about elections
politics climate change
and other projects
once
we did a hard work report
i remember staring at the ground below
my desk
as the teacher called my name
i picked up my paper
as everyone stared at me with interest
as if it were a test
and i was about to fail
i walked her to the front of the room
adjusted myself
and started speaking but the teacher
told me to stop
he asked if it were the second time i
did that book
i replied yes
since i could see room for improvement
as i was dissatisfied with the first
version of work
he told me to go back to my desk
and meet him after class
i remember the murmur of laughter as i
walked back to my seat
embarrassment at that moment was almost
unbearable
but i refrained from running away
i was really depressed that year
i really smiled on a daily basis
finally
i told my parents about my unhappiness
to my surprise
after listening to my story
they explained that i was the youngest
in my class
since there are grade five and six
students
plus the fact that i’m born in december
which means that people in my grade are
mostly older than me
these curriculums
were clearly above my immature 10 year
old’s reach
after this realization
some people in my situation
might have just found an excuse to quit
but i didn’t give up
at first
i thought the reason why i didn’t do
well was because i wasn’t smart enough
but since that wasn’t the case
i gained a little more self-esteem
so
i started doing all sorts of things that
will help me improve
like watching election and debating
ted and tedx videos
reading canadian history books
going on field trips and more
to upgrade my empathy and responsibility
skills
our family even got us a dog and some
other pets
we had so much fun
and that helped me focus on learning new
things
i realized
that i had developed a growth mindset
a term my teachers would always use
it means the ability to learn skills
through effort
time
will
spirit and positivity
and it wasn’t just a growth mindset
there’s also a good mindset i got
unlike a growth mindset
or skills and abilities do not change
through effort and time
our mindset will then must be commonly
known as fixed
which is not good but don’t worry
because if you have the traits described
above
that’s okay
you only don’t have a growth mindset yet
anyone
can obtain a growth mindset just like i
did
my work
wasn’t fruitless
by the start of my sixth year at school
everything got better
i got better at socializing
i improved in work efficiency
and i made friends who supported me
i was doing well
becoming popular when i went back to
china again
my grandma used to perform a surgery in
beijing urgently
so there i was
doing it all over again
even when my mom
and one of my chinese classmates
said i was hopeless in catching up
i still found confidence within myself
and trust me
success is 50 based on confidence
50 actual skill
even i was surprised when i realized how
good i was catching up with the rest of
my class in china
i still get excellent grades like before
soon
i found myself joining the school’s
english drama club
and i realized that i could use my
english to help those who had troubles
with the language
i believe that growth mindset helped me
go through all of these times
that would have been otherwise tough
through experience
i’ve adapted to sudden change itself
which can only be easier and easier
as the number for me increases
with positivity
optimism
interest in learning
effort
time and determination
anyone can develop a good and growing
mindset just like i did
my grandma’s surgery
was successful
after eight months in china
i was on the plane again
what’s different though was that
nobody came with me i flew from beijing
to canada
all by myself
my mom
who was a little worried about me taking
care of myself
told the service people to take extra
good care of me
but instead of being taken care of
i helped took care of the other kids who
are like me on the same flight
they didn’t know much about english
so i hope they’re translating when we
arrived
my growth already proved to me
that i would be fine taking care of
myself
so now when there’s other people who
need help
i can help
with the gesture of ease
this journey
wasn’t easy
it was only easy after i paid enough
effort
time and passion
a good and growing mindset is the number
one companion that helped me through
it’s more important
than we might realize
first
how do we actually develop a growth
mindset
well
it begins with embracing the challenges
life throws at us
it’s her instinct to turn away from
things we don’t like
or that we think is too difficult
we convince ourselves we can’t do it
but that’s just negative thinking
instead
get out of your comfort zone
embrace the challenges
and see what you’re capable of
you’ll surprise yourself
and maybe others too
if you’re an elementary student like me
then typical challenges
might just come from homework
we tend to give up when we get to the
part we’re not good at
but tell you what
it slowly becomes a tendency
which then becomes a part of our own
identity
which is why habits are so hard to get
rid of
we don’t need to waste our time
trying to change bad habits
so let’s avoid them
before they even become one
it’s the same with overcoming challenges
small good habits
are much harder to form than bad ones
but they affect us
just as strongly
so next time when we see a challenge
instead of going away and doing
something else
we can try it out first
then determine whether we like it or
deeper perspective
second
find a way to be interested
genuinely interested in what you’re
doing and learning
if you don’t like something
and you’re getting bored
then take a break
and come back later
after all
there are many different ways to look at
something
so find the most interesting viewpoint
and carry on from there with an open
mind
find what you love
what you give passion for
if something you participate in is not
mandatory
and you don’t enjoy
then you are unlikely to find much use
for it in life
time is irreversible and precious
try to find a living that most leads to
happiness
if you don’t know what you love
then keep searching
it’s never too late
thirdly and finally
be positive
when our mind contains destructive
thoughts and beliefs
it’s hard to focus on the things we want
to get done
negative thoughts
like hating ourselves
hating others and hating the world
destroy all our mental strengths when we
need it
and that can never lead to development
of a growth mindset
so
we need to try to notice when the
negative thoughts arise
and then replace them with positive ones
that’s the way to begin the type of
growth mindset
that can turn your life around 180
degrees
and help you achieve things you never
dreamed of
like standing here on this stage today
and the best news of all
anyone can do it
time is irreversible and precious
try to find a living that most leads to
happiness
if you don’t know what you love
then keep searching
it’s never too late
so that is my story and advice
about a good and growing mindset
everyone can be happy and learn with
ease
thank you
[Music]
[Music]