“To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Nelson Mandela
'Long Walk to Freedom', 1994
Nelson Mandela
'Long Walk to Freedom', 1994
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In Praise of Doubt, by Bertold Brecht. A reminder not to rely on our ideas about certainty.24/10/2014 In Praise of Doubt
Bertolt Brecht, 1932 (translation: Taylor Stoehr, 2009) Praised be doubt! I advise you to greet Cheerfully and with respect the man Who tests your word like a bad penny. I’d like you to be wise and not to give Your word with too much assurance. Read history and see The headlong flight of invincible armies. Wherever you look Impregnable strongholds collapse and Even if the Armada was innumerable as it left port The returning ships Could be numbered. Thus one day a man stood on the unattainable summit And a ship reached the end of The endless sea. O Beautiful the shaking of heads Over the indisputable truth! O brave the doctor’s cure Of the incurable patient! But the most beautiful of all doubts Is when the downtrodden and despondent raise their heads and Stop believing in the strength Of their oppressors. … There are the thoughtless who never doubt Their digestion is splendid, their judgment is infallible. They don’t believe in the facts, they believe only in themselves. When it comes to the point The facts must go by the board Their patience with themselves Is boundless. To arguments They listen with the ear of a police spy. The thoughtless who never doubt Meet the thoughtful who never act. They doubt, not in order to come to a decision but To avoid a decision. Their heads They use only for shaking. With anxious faces they warn the crews of sinking ships that water is dangerous. Beneath the murderer’s axe They ask themselves if he isn’t human too. Murmuring something About the situation not yet being clarified, they go to bed. Their only action is to vacillate. Their favourite phrase is: not yet ripe for discussion. Therefore, if you praise doubt Do not praise The doubt which is a form of despair. What use is the ability to doubt to a man Who can’t make up his mind? He who is content with too few reasons May act wrongly But he who needs too many Remains inactive under danger.” http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-brain-and-emotional-intelligence/201310/how-focus-changed-my-thinking-about-emotional-intel An excerpt from 'The Right Mindset for Success' - An interview with Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
HBR IdeaCast, published 12 January 2012 http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/01/the-right-mindset-for-success/ SARAH GREEN: And what if you’re trying to encourage a growth mindset in someone who’s reporting to you? Because I’d imagine, for instance, a lot of managers would like to have someone who is the straight A student, right, who they can then hire that person and think they’ll get right to work. And I think it can be baffling for some people when someone that talented doesn’t perform up to standard. If you want to push someone who’s really talented into a growth mindset, how would you proceed? CAROL DWECK: Great question. First of all, yes. A lot of companies hire people with great pedigree, straight A. But [Patrick Welsh?] once said, these pedigrees don’t tell you about the passion and the drive to get things done. So what message should a manager or leader give to new recruits that would put them into more of a growth mindset? First, I think the message from the top is really important, that we value passion, dedication, growth, and learning, not genius. SARAH GREEN: Mm. CAROL DWECK: Second, we don’t expect that you’ve arrive here fully formed. We expect that you’ve arrive here ready to learn. Third, we expect you to stretch beyond your comfort zone and take reasonable risks, not to do the same thing you’re good at over and over and stay in your comfort zone. Fourth, we value process here, and we reward process. We reward taking on big but reasonable challenges. We reward pursuing them doggedly. We reward teamwork. And even if a project has not reached fruition or become successful, we reward that you’ve engaged in in a wholehearted and smart way. An excerpt from 'The Right Mindset for Success' - An interview with Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
HBR IdeaCast, published 12 January 2012 http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/01/the-right-mindset-for-success/ CAROL DWECK: ... my research has shown, contrary to popular opinion, you don’t praise talent. You don’t praise ability. You praised process. SARAH GREEN: Mm. I would love it if you could talk a little more about that because that’s actually a piece of research that has changed the way my friends who are parents actually praise their kids, and I just think it’s fascinating. CAROL DWECK: We’ve done a lot of work now showing that praising someone’s talent puts them into a fixed mindset. The whole self-esteem movement taught us erroneously that praising intelligence, talent, abilities would foster self-confidence, self-esteem, and everything great would follow. But we’ve found it backfires. People who are praised for talent now worry about doing the next thing, about taking on the hard task, and not looking talented, tarnishing that reputation for brilliance. So instead, they’ll stick to their comfort zone and get really defensive when they hit setbacks. So what should we praise? The effort, the strategies, the doggedness and persistence, the grit people show, the resilience that they show in the face of obstacles, that bouncing back when things go wrong and knowing what to try next. So I think a huge part of promoting a growth mindset in the workplace is to convey those values of process, to give feedback, to reward people engaging in the process, and not just a successful outcome. An excerpt from 'The Right Mindset for Success' - An interview with Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
HBR IdeaCast, published 12 January 2012 http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/01/the-right-mindset-for-success/ SARAH GREEN: So I think we’ve all experienced maybe the strange sensation of, say, going back to your high school reunion, whether it’s the 10 year, or the 20, or the 30 year, or something, and seeing the person you thought was going to be the next President of the United States or something who just– their career has just not panned out. In that case, you never intend to be that person. You never intend to be the person who has the fixed mindset. So how does someone fall into that trap? CAROL DWECK: That’s a great example because you think oh, this person’s most likely to succeed. They’ve gotten the A’s. They’re president of the student body. But because of their success, they may have fallen into a fixed mindset. They may have believed all the hype, the idea that they just have it. And they become afraid of making mistakes. They become afraid of tarnishing their image. And because they are fearful of venturing out of their comfort zone, they don’t take the risks or develop the abilities they’re capable of. You go back to the same reunion, and you see people you thought were not likely to succeed, and they’ve really done amazing things. These are the people who maybe didn’t have an image to uphold, didn’t feel the weight of other people’s expectations, and just followed their passions and developed their abilities. SARAH GREEN: So I’m wondering as you talk about that, is this a conundrum that we can get into at any time? If you become CEO of a company, say, at 45 or 55, can you suddenly find yourself falling into the same trap? CAROL DWECK: It’s possible. Many people have told me that when they were promoted into a prestigious position, they suddenly felt, now I have to have all the answers. Now, my period of growth is over. I have to be a fully mature person who knows everything. So yes, at any point, you can fall into that trap. People who become CEOs suddenly feel they have to be gods goddesses, and not people who say, gee, I don’t know. Let’s talk about it. Let’s think about it. Let’s feel our way through this problem. "There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."  Po in Qigong Posture! |
Belinda Rydings,
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