Is this what growth feels like to you? At first, you experience a high because you have some initial success. Then it gets tough, every time. You are in the dip. Feelings of despair set in. You may think, “I can’t do this”, “This is too hard”, or “I’m just too tired.” But … if you press through, you’ll have a breakthrough, and reach even higher heights than you did before. You’ll progress toward mastery.At Acton, we use metaphors like this to help learners take their mindset to a process of mastery. This goes far beyond scores on a test or doing better than the next person (dabbling quick-fix artists who care most about getting approval). It’s about excellence being a by-product of deeply ingrained habits that are becoming mastered.
For this to work, it’s important not to put too much emphasis on early success, because surely these early successes will soon become a plateau, a difficult period where intense effort is required to break through to another level of skill.
Of course, mastery doesn’t make failure easy. There still will be failure and struggle. And getting back up, as heroes do. Why struggle necessary? Because the stakes are high, and failure is difficult and plateaus will never be easy or fun. The deeper joy that comes from this rigor is well worth it, and a celebration in itself of each person’s precious self-determination--something that will make their life better no matter the situation they find themselves in in the future.
Ready for your child to cultivate a mindset of mastery? Schedule a tour to take the first step.
