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by
Jo Boaler
Read between
October 3 - October 12, 2020
damaging and incorrect beliefs about her ability. She believed, as most people do, that there were limits to what she could do.
But what if the opposite is true, and we can all learn anything? What if the possibilities to change our expertise, to develop in new directions, to form different identities as people are actually endless and continue throughout our lives? What if we wake up every day of our lives with a changed brain?
The six keys not only change people’s beliefs about their reality, they change their reality. This is because as we begin to realize our potential, we unlock parts of ourselves that had been held back and start to live without limiting beliefs; we become able to meet the small and large challenges we are faced with in life and turn them into achievements.
neuroscience
I regularly share the new knowledge that is in this book, and invite people to think differently about problems, and it changes the way they think about themselves.
as soon as people become anxious about it, their brains are compromised. Anxiety in any subject area has a negative impact on the functioning of the brain. It
We are not born with fixed abilities, and those who achieve at the highest levels do not do so because of their genetics.
The myth that our brains are fixed and that we simply don’t have the aptitude for certain topics is not only scientifically inaccurate; it is omnipresent and negatively impacts education and many other events in our everyday lives. When we let go of the idea that our brains are fixed, stop believing that our genetics determine our lives’ pathways, and learn that our brains are incredibly adaptable,
ideas about limits to potential or intelligence are incorrect.
dangerous self-limiting beliefs and reveal the opportunities that open up when we adopt a limitless approach. The limitless approach starts with knowledge from neuroscience and expands into a different approach to ideas and to life.
This approach illustrates a key takeaway—when you hit a barrier, it is advantageous to develop a new approach and come at the problem from a new perspective. Despite how logical this sounds, far too many of us fail to make adjustments in our thinking when we run into those barriers. We often decide, instead, that we cannot overcome them.
“It is surprisingly rare to get clear evidence in any field that a person has reached some immutable limit on performance. Instead, I’ve found that people more often just give up and stop trying to improve.”8
Those who study remarkable feats performed by seemingly ordinary people find that none of the people have a genetic advantage; instead, they put in a lot of effort and practice.
The six keys of learning I will share in this book create opportunities for people to excel in the learning of different subjects, but they also empower them to approach life in a different way. They allow people to access parts of themselves that were previously unavailable.
Dweck. Dweck’s research reveals that how we think about our talents and abilities has a profound impact on our potential.9 Some people have what she has termed a “growth mindset.” They believe, as they should, that they can learn anything. Others have a damaging “fixed mindset.” They believe that their intelligence is more or less fixed, and although they can learn new things, they cannot change their basic intelligence. These beliefs, she has shown through decades of research, change the scope of what we can learn—and how we live our lives.
LEARNING KEY #1 Every time we learn, our brains form, strengthen, or connect neural pathways. We need to replace the idea that learning ability is fixed, with the recognition that we are all on a growth journey.
struggle is the very best process for brain growth
LEARNING KEY #2 The times when we are struggling and making mistakes are the best times for brain growth.
When we are willing to face obstacles and make mistakes in the learning process, we enhance neural connections that expedite and improve the learning experience.
achievement comes not from any natural-born ability, but rather from a special kind of work and practice.
brain needs to be pushed to do things that are difficult.
Many people study for tests by rereading materials, but the Bjorks point out that this is not very helpful for the brain. A much more helpful way of reviewing material is to test yourself, so that you keep having to recall the material—and hopefully make mistakes and correct them along the way.
Learning scientists point out that these tests should not be performance events, as these cause stress and reduce the learning experience. Nonevaluative self-testing or peer testing is most beneficial.
when students don’t want to struggle, it is because they have a fixed mindset;
limitless.
when we believe different things about ourselves, our brains—and our bodies—function differently.
LEARNING KEY #3 When we change our beliefs, our bodies and our brains physically change as well.
never have believed a few years ago—that when we have positive self-beliefs about what we can do, our brains and bodies function differently and lead to more positive outcomes.
These words changed people’s mindsets about their bodies and about what they could do with their lives, which went on to change their actual bodies and their lives.
We can improve our own lives by thinking differently. And we can change the lives of others by encouraging them through positive thinking and knowledge of the growth and change that anyone can achieve.
living a life without limits
LEARNING KEY #4 Neural pathways and learning are optimized when considering ideas with a multidimensional approach.
LEARNING KEY #5 Speed of thinking is not a measure of aptitude. Learning is optimized when we approach ideas, and life, with creativity and flexibility.
taking a memorization approach to learning does not lead to high achievement, whereas thinking about ideas and relationships does.
He chose instead to unlock himself and break out of the limits, with positive beliefs about his potential and his life.
I look at whoever asks me the question, and I tell them I wake up every day grateful for everything I have in my life. . . . I get to wake up every day and do a job I love. I get to be challenged to push myself in many ways on many levels, and I am always learning, always moving forwards. Not many people can say that, and when I look at my life this way, I consider myself very lucky. What do I have to be down about? I have so much to be happy for. There is no point in dwelling on what might or could have been. The past has happened and cannot be changed; it can only be accepted. Life is much
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Every day is a good day.5
grateful people are more happy, energetic, emotionally intelligent, and less likely to be depressed, lonely, or anxious.7 Importantly, he shows that people are not more grateful because they are happier, but that they can be trained to be more grateful and happiness results from it. When researchers train people to become more grateful, those people become happier and more optimistic.
times of struggle and making mistakes are good for our brains. There are two ways to approach mistakes that we make—negatively, with regret, or positively, with the idea that they will be an opportunity for learning, for brain growth, and for greater outcomes.
So my final advice for you is to embrace struggle and failure, to take risks, and to not let people obstruct your pathways.
