Bold Growth Mindset Scholarship

Failing has crushed my self-esteem before. I learned to become comfortable with failure, challenge myself in my areas of failure, and ask for help. A great example of this is my current coding journey. In my freshman year of college, I took an introductory coding class because I saw it as a valuable skill. My fixed mindset led to many failures when facing challenges in the class. I thought I lacked the naturally gifted skills others had to succeed and easily gave in to failure. This left me crushed and fearful of coding. The following year, I took my first design class where I was introduced to the growth mindset and gained awareness of my fixed mindset. Learning about the growth mindset gave me hope and I strived to make this my dominant mindset. One of the most difficult steps to accomplishing this was accepting my failure in coding and rebranding it as a setback and learning experience. This gave me the confidence to register for another coding class. My success in this class helped me regain confidence, and more importantly, showed me that I can learn to code. I then took another class with a more challenging coding language. Near the end of the class, I almost gave in to my fixed mindset but was able to overcome my challenge by asking for assistance from my professor. Even after this difficulty, I plan to enroll in a capstone coding course in my major because I have seen the benefits of defying the limits I set myself. As I have become more comfortable with failure, I have amassed a collection of situations where I was near failure, yet ended up surpassing the hardships and succeeding. These memories now drive me forward through challenges and cultivate my growth mindset.

To maintain a growth mindset, I created a system that helps me deal with the feelings of insecurity and defensiveness that inhibit growth. For example, I often feel bad about my artwork, which makes addressing the problems I face more difficult because it can be painful. To deal with the insecurity of my artistic self-image, I reframe the problem. Instead of focusing on how bad I feel in the moment, I turn my attention to how good I will feel tomorrow knowing that my art is objectively better because I practiced intentionally. As a result, I work harder in pursuit of that warm, rewarding feeling of satisfaction. To maintain growth in the face of inevitable fluctuations in motivation, drive, and interest, I structure the time I spend working based on a work-reward feedback loop. Each time I work, I alternate between working for 45 minutes and spending 15 minutes relaxing. This way, I avoid burnout and make it clear when I will be rewarded for my work. Additionally, I make sure to write out detailed goals and specific, actionable means of achieving them before I start working. This way, I know exactly what I’m doing and why. With this system, I have drastically improved my art skills, won scholarships, and improved my physical and mental health in the past year. I hope this advice helps others face their insecurities and continue to grow.