Growth Mindset

As an Asian-American/Canadian, my performance in school was always attributed by my peers to the fact that I'm Asian and "Asians are smart". This mindset disappointed me, not only because the hard work I put into earning my grades was overshadowed by this stereotype, but also because almost everybody around me believed that we all had a fixed capacity of intelligence and that you were either naturally smart or you were not. I also fell into this trap and believed that smart people were naturally smart and that we all could only succeed in doing something that came naturally to us. It wasn't until college that I learned that with the right resources, I could learn about whatever I wanted and the only thing that was stopping me from being a expert in a field was myself.

My personal learning goals for this semester all have to do with gaining a very firm understanding and building a strong foundation of knowledge in my areas of interests: economics and water scarcity. Here are some of the things that I hope to achieve:

1) While my studies at OU concentrate on the politics, geopolitics, history, and economics of water scarcity, I rarely get to learn about environmental science. Because of that, I am going to aim to read more books and articles of the science of water to bolster my positions on law and public policy regarding the allocation of scarce natural resources.

2) The world did not make sense to me until I looked at it through the lens of an economist. While most of my economic experience is qualitative, I really need to get over my grudge against math and indulge in more quantitative research and analysis and teach myself to stop subconsciously avoiding things I don't like if I know that it'll make me a much better equipped scholar and professional.

3) I want to spend more time taking care of myself this semester. This includes relaxing a little bit more, taking more time to enjoy the small things, getting more sleep, and spending more time alone. I need to be physically and mentally healthy in order to have the energy and drive to grow.

4) My focus this semester is gaining more experience outside of the classroom. I plan to do this by interning for a law firm and becoming more involved in the business community in OKC. 

              

              Rest Your Mind by johnhain. Web Source: Pixabay

Until my junior year of college, I thought I always had to be listening to a podcast, watching an informative video, reading, or doing my homework in order to be productive every minute of my life. This led to me burning out and I found myself having a difficult time gathering and creating my original thoughts and my ability to think critically took a hit. Since then, I have learned that it is okay to be sitting in silence. It is okay to be doing nothing. Now, I force myself to do more things in silence with no distractions and just relax for a little bit because it is in this time that I can stop absorbing the thoughts of others and memorizing millions of facts and use everything that I have learned to form my own thoughts and opinions.

I think I will be interested in learning more about the growth mindset this semester, but after three years in college, I like to believe that I have grown to be pretty self-aware, which has allowed me to more easily identify my flaws and fix what I can, rather than just accepting that I am the way I am. I love the person I am, but I couldn't love myself nearly as much if I did not try to be the best me that I could be, not only for myself, but to put myself in a position in which I can most effectively cultivate my capabilities in order to better the quality of life for others in the future.