25 Chapter 2 Mindset Matters Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. TRY THIS Do you think you could “get better” at doing certain activities? If you were given a chance to improve your abilities in the following activities, could you? Would your mind and/or body actually be able to do these things and improve upon them with practice? For the purpose of this exercise, you can measure how you “get better” in whatever way you like. Look at the following table. Open up your journal and either recreate the table or record your answers however you prefer. For each skill, decide whether or not you can get better at it, and if you would even want to. Make a note about it in your journal. Table 2.1 Mindset Inventory Skill I can get better I can’t get better Would I want to try? Cooking Meditating Telling jokes Dancing Taking tests Organizing Basketball Drawing Singing Writing poetry Solving algebra equations Listening Other Other 1. While looking at Table 2.1, ask yourself the following questions: Are there activities you are just good at? How did you learn you were good at them? Are there things you believe you simply aren’t good at? These are the types of things where you might have said to yourself or someone else, “My head/my body/my finger simply doesn’t work that way.” 2. Look at Table 2.1 and write one sentence that states a belief you hold about your ability in an area and your capacity to change. You can use the following template for your sentence: I believe I (can) (cannot) get better at _________________________ (if) (because) I ________________ ________________. 3. Be prepared to share your sentence with classmates and explain why your belief is correct. 2.2