Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The Connection Between Radical Forgiveness and the Growth Mindset

These are brilliant thoughts - Radical Forgiveness and the Growth Mindset. While Radical Forgiveness may appear to be in the spiritual space (and thereby not so much to do with us practical and material people), the Growth Mindset gives us a clear approach to live a life of purpose and growth. They appear far removed from each other at first glance, but I find that they are indeed quite closely connected in their thought.

Radical Forgiveness - Gratitude Dissolves Bad Energy and Creates Good Spaces 
Radical Forgiveness is a tool developed by Colin Tipping that uses gratitude as a way to dissipate negative energy. If there are patterns that create negative spaces in your life,  they make you look at those life situations as 'bad' thereby creating a downward spiral of negative thoughts. This is conventional thinking. That's why Radical Forgiveness is radical - it makes you look at the circumstances gratefully, as tools that are aiding your growth, spiritual or otherwise, and by being grateful, you cannot hold the same bad energy about them. You cannot be grateful and angry or resentful at the same time can you? Its a wonderfully devious way of breaking this bad energy shield and allowing good energy in your space that can really propel your growth materially, relationships wise etc.

Growth Mindset - Grateful to Obstacles as Opportunities for Growth
Growth Mindset is a path breaking theory by Carol Dweck as mentioned in her book 'Mindset'. In this book she says people fall into two types of mindsets - the fixed and growth mindsets. Fixed mindset people look at all signs of trouble of obstacles as avoidable and therefore they tend to take easier options (which inhibits their growth). They plateau early. Growth mindset people look at obstacles or hardships as opportunities for growth and learning. They do not look at them with resentment and find excuses or blame them. They are grateful for the tough challenges because they allow them to grow, to learn. By being grateful to the opportunity to grow and taking tougher challenges and working harder and consistently, growth mindset people fulfill their potential.

The key in both approaches is the approach. That of gratitude - which is the game changer in our lives. In both approaches, hardships and tough circumstances are seen as opportunities that have come their way. They opportunities to learn. So they say yes to them gratefully and get down to work. In Radical forgiveness, the tool has an almost immediate effect upon feeling gratitude - the  energy quality improves and enables flow. In Growth Mindset too, the commitment to growth keeps the energy in good space and allows faster growth. Both need you to say yes, to identify patterns and to want to overcome them. Both lead to a life of authentic, purposeful, passionate living.

The bottom line is clear - all kinds of 'bad' stuff and people - actually present opportunities for growth. If we can change our approach and see them as such, we can move ahead. Else we can stay stuck and let the downward spiral lead us down into the hole.

We can choose now. Choose gratitude to the negative. It breaks down bad energy to good and keeps you focussed. It makes things easier. Thanks Carol Dweck and Colin Tipping.


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