BElieve in
YOUrself
“A”chieve with all your might
December 16, 2015
Dear Mash,
You might not have fully realized this but you have come a long way from being a spoiled little 10-year-old girl with a fixed mindset to a humble individual embodying a resilient growth mindset.
I cannot pinpoint when you started to reflect this change. I suppose you started to loosen the shackles of “academic achievement” when the 10-year-old Mash moved from Lahore to Atlanta. Coming from a family of high achievers isn’t easy. I know that even now you desire to secure “good grades”. I want you to remember your experience at American University of Dubai (AUD). Didn’t you start that degree with hopes of earning an “A,” only to realize you had forgotten the goal and focused on the process instead? The zeal to learn to improve the project made you loose sight of the grade. You had begun to embrace unfamiliar challenges and sought out feedback so often from professors — it’s embarrassing to acknowledge this, but I think you were silently thought of as the “teacher’s pet.” Ugh. Completely unintentional right?
Anyway, being as blind and unaware of yourself as you are, I would like to inform you that through Lisa and Roger’s Transforming Mindsets Studio your growth mindset has expanded further. It is hard to believe but in the short span of four months you have gained a little more confidence in yourself. I believe this growth of confidence arises from shared learning experience through “play.” Who would have thought that by making yourself uncomfortable and playing “Kitty Wants a Corner,” that you would stretch your social skills? You can say ‘sayonara’ to trying to please everyone — as you attempted to do in the past. Mash today is not rude but honestly conveys her views thanks to the MESH field training.
And Mash, do not forget to apply these “soft skills” in the professional world. When the atmosphere at work starts to become acrid suggest a break and play a game with the team. You have found that, through playing a “silly game,” the team’s mind and heart will open up. Regrouping and coming up with a consensus won’t look so abhorrent anymore.
Let me sign-off by saying that you should be conscious of your posture. I know that you are probably hunching while reading this — stop hunching and straighten your shoulders. One of the many things that will stick with you from this course will be Amy Cuddy’s lesson of how our body language can shape our minds, which in turn affects our behavior and sets the stage for either positive or negative outcomes. So Mash, believe in yourself! Open up and hold your head high — exude a confident presence.
Here’s to a bright future.
Sincerely,
The New & Improved Mash
