Learning releases jolts of dopamine and endorfins, just like having fun does. Here are my seven shots on Sunday. Experience 1: my B team tennis doubles team match was scheduled for 1:30. On the way over, it started to rain a little. Arrived at the court just as I received the text message, match canceled. Experience 2: as we are all talking the rain lets up. The pro announces the matches are back on. I let on that I’m not comfortable if the lines are wet and slippery, but the pro assures me I’ll be okay. Now only one problem, no one can reach my partner: he isn’t answering calls or texts. Experience 3: I see one of the A players go onto one of the courts with his 16 year old daughter. I’ve never met the girl, but my idea is why not ask if she can play as my partner. She’s a little nervous but her dad encourages her to give it a try. Experience 4: we warm up with our opponents, one of whom announces he is the tennis coach for two of the local high schools. While he’s not A level, it’s a little intimidating and he pulls some head game comments on my partner, like I hope we win a game against you, are you Division 1 material, and a few more. Experience 5: we get off to a rocky start. They go up 4-1. We win the next game she comes over and says to me, “Mitch, you know what I’m envisioning? I’m watching us win the next three games and go ahead. Can you see it? We take the next game, then the next. Then the next. And then we win the set. You seeing that, too? Experience 6: we win the next three games. Then we tie at 6-6 for a tiebreaker. She comes over to me and says, “Mitch, I’m seeing a really easy tiebreak; a tiebreak where we walk over them. Can you see that?” And we win the tiebreak 7-3. Experience 7: we win the second set 6-1. Imagine that; me who teaches, writes about, and talks about MindShifting, getting a MindShifting lesson from a sixteen year old kid. When have you gotten an unexpected and fun lesson? |
Mindshifting is recognizing and shifting from the mindsets that hold us back to the mindsets that push us forward. I write about mindsets, Mindshifting, learning, and education, with the hope that these posts give readers more power over their own lives and helps them give others, like their students, more power as well.
We often think our biggest challenges are external—but what if the real roadblocks are in our own thinking? In my conversation with Marc Haine, I unpack some of the most common (and sneaky) mindset traps that derail progress, and I share tools I’ve used with leaders to help them move forward with clarity and purpose. This episode is full of insights you can use right away.
I love when I see really smart people explaining their work. Last night 15 educators showed and explained lesson plans on how to teach others the techniques to become resourceful, how to take control of your mind and not let circumstances dictate how you feel, think, and actl The sequence of lessons are: 1. Navigating Sensory overload with MindShifting, for 6th to adult 2. What if, a way to get unstuck, for K-5 3. Professional Development: Implementing a Choice Board for Empowering Students...
Yesterday I had surgery on my leg behind my knee to remove tissue around a Melanoma and the nearest lymph node. I’ll get the results back in about a month. The surgeon says he removed a lot of tissue, so he put me in a leg brace to keep the knee immobile, crutches to move around on, and said no weight on the leg for two weeks and no exercise for a month. He said that otherwise the stitches might burst. He also said I’d be in a lot of pain and gave me a prescription Oxycodone/Acetaminophen....