Do you wish you were more patient with yourself while learning new skills? Do you wish you equated reward with effort, and not the outcome? Do you wish you were someone who embraced challenges rather than giving up? Someone who saw beauty in adversity? Someone who was wired to always look for solutions and not the problems?
How does one develop a growth mindset that keeps you pushing forward into the uncharted territories? Could there be a quick, easy way to developing it? Indeed, there is!
Method
I used the web version of ‘Down Dog’ app for this experiment. What I loved about this app was that I could tailor each session based on time, yoga style, and music. Best of all, I loved the flexibility of doing yoga per my convenience rather than depending on a live class.Here are the top 7 Growth Mindset Lessons that I learned in 90 days
Lesson 1 - Process precedes results
I learned about the power of ‘Process’ by showing up on the yoga mat every single day. I observed that results are inevitable when you consistently show up for something. It is no longer a matter of - if you will improve at your chosen endeavor but rather merely a matter of time before you gain the new skills. I won’t be exaggerating when I say that this 90-day challenge made me fall in love with the ‘Process,’ a no mean task for an over-thinker like me. The fact that Process precedes results is no longer an intellectual concept; I know it as a Truth in my body and mind.Lesson 2 - Acceptance is a virtue
Truth be told, I have a highly analytical, overthinking mind that wants to accomplish everything in an instant. My mind doesn’t know patience and quickly gets frustrated when things take longer than expected to learn and master. The 90-day yoga challenge taught me to accept things as they are versus how I wanted them to be. Through the daily yoga practice, I learned that I couldn’t bully my body to do asanas (poses) that it wasn’t ready to. Can you imagine doing headstands if you haven’t built the core muscle strength? No, right? And so, I learned to accept where I was in the learning curve and cherish the struggles, even if they last only for a little time. My overthinking mind finally ‘got’ that progress is a journey and not a destination.Lesson 3 - Celebrating Atomic-size Improvements
There were many days when I felt that my progress was slower than the pace of a tortoise. I had to make peace with the slow progress, instead of fighting it. I understood that I had to surrender and cherish the journey, and so, I started celebrating my tiny improvements. I would have a joyful glee when I could hold the ‘Crow Pose’ for even a second longer. I could have never imagined and known the joy that comes for improving even a teeny tiny bit. This realization shifted to my day-to-day life, where I was able to hold more patience in situations that previously triggered me.Lesson 4 - Learning when to push and when to step back
Learning to respect my body’s energy level was one of the most profound shifts I experienced in this challenge. As a society, we are always taught to be on the ‘go’ all the time. So much so, that we don’t even realize or respect the energy levels of our physical body. Through the course of this challenge, I noticed that my body didn’t have the same energy level on all days; some days I had more energy while other days I was flat-lined, and I needed to honor these energy rhythms. On days I had low energy, I would opt for a less intense ‘Restorative' yoga practice rather than an ‘Intensive’ yoga session. Learning to discern the energy levels helped me understand when to push my body’s limit and when to pull back. Again, this on-the-mat learning transferred beautifully in my daily interactions with others. Knowing when to push and make your point with others, versus, when to step back, is a fine line that any sales professional will readily consent to.Lesson 5 - Power of Daily Routines
After ten days of regularly showing up on yoga mat, the practice became second nature. I no longer had to force myself for yoga; it became as natural as eating. Yoga was not something I did; but rather who I was.Lesson 6 - Remembering the Why
There were a few days in the 90-day challenge when I felt excruciatingly tired, and on those days, I reminded myself to connect with my why. The ‘why’ for me was building the strength for 200hr YTT program, healing my body, and eventually, learning splits.Lesson 7 - Showing up is 95% of the work
When you are learning a new skill, showing up is quite literally 95% of the work. The remaining 5% is where you actually ‘do’ the work. I had heard this statement, probably a gazillion times in my life, and finally experienced it as a truth in this 90-day yoga practice.In conclusion,
Trust the gentle nudges of your heart for they will never mislead you. Is there a project or an idea that your heart keeps coming back to? If so, then follow through on that idea even if only for 90 days. Chances are you will uncover the keys to developing a growth mindset.
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