GROWTH ENVIRONMENT MASTERY
To create your own growth, you must master your environment first.
We all exist within external and internal environments that influence our thoughts, words, and actions.
Many of us have not taken the time to examine, observe, and assess how our growth environments impact our personal development and growth.
In this extended lesson, we'll dive into how you can optimize your environments for maximum growth and development. By making the necessary adjustments, you'll set yourself up for the highest level of personal success as you enter the workplace and navigate life. We'll guide you in mastering your growth environments.
SIMPLY POWERFUL
The key points may appear oversimplified but do not underestimate the transformative power of each concept.
You might be accustomed to handling or consuming large volumes of information, believing that the more complex it is, the more valuable. However, the value and challenge of these simple concepts lie in your ability to not just comprehend but absorb, adapt, adjust, and apply them.
Let's first explore our external growth environment.
Key concept 1: Growth not Grades
The first key concept for developing a positive external growth environment is realizing your main aim is personal growth. So instead of placing so much importance on scores or grades, focus on if and how you're growing.
Why? External Pressure: Society, culture, and our school system can often blur your true life goal, which is simply to keep growing as a person.
Your pursuit of a specific grade, GPA, college admission, or a prestigious job can overshadow the most crucial growth: becoming the best version of yourself.
Focusing on personal growth, not just grades, allows you to achieve all your goals without unnecessary stress and pressure. Stress and pressure can skew your view of learning, hinder your ability and desire to grow, and contaminate your growth environment.
A person learning at a slower pace may grasp some, but not all, expected concepts within a specific timeframe (say, a week). A quiz or test may reflect this, with a student answering some questions incorrectly. The issue here is that the focus shifts to what wasn't learned, overlooking what was.
Both students and teachers often perceive a 75% score on a quiz or test negatively, failing to recognize the 75% of information that was successfully acquired.
Growth, not Grades: Value what is learned
In today's educational system, there is often more emphasis on grades and standardized test results than on the personal learning that occurs for each student. Instead of asking whether a student is learning and growing, the common question is what were their grades and scores.
The Unintended Impact of Grades
Not surprisingly, research indicates that low grades can have a profoundly negative impact on your self-esteem. Sciencedirect.com explains:
“Poor achievement as indicated by low grades in academic subjects can have negative consequences on the way children feel about themselves, and a lower overall sense of self-esteem may, in turn, ignite or exacerbate internalizing symptoms over time.
Specifically, this study examines the predictive associations between students' school grades in math and language arts and subsequent internalizing problems—specifically emotional and peer problems—in early adolescence (10 to 13 years old) at an age which is a particularly sensitive phase for self-concept development (Robins & Trzesniewski, 2005).”
“Rising parental expectations and criticism are linked to an increase in perfectionism among college students, which can have damaging mental health consequences, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
“Perfectionism contributes to many psychological conditions, including depression, anxiety, self-harm and eating disorders,” said lead researcher Thomas Curran, PhD, an assistant professor of psychological and behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Perfectionism often becomes a lifelong trait and prior research has shown that perfectionists become more neurotic and less conscientious as they get older.
Parental expectations have a high cost when they’re perceived as excessive,” Curran said. “Young people internalize those expectations and depend on them for their self-esteem. And when they fail to meet them, as they invariably will, they’ll be critical of themselves for not matching up. To compensate, they strive to be perfect.” -www.apa.org
Take a moment to reflect on whether you feel strong external pressure to excel. Do any of the statements in the article above relate to you? Can you identify with any of the comments above? Record your observations in your journal.
A growth environment overpowered by external pressure can cause you to feel inadequate, behind, not smart enough, embarrassed, or ashamed.
Remember: In the workplace, it won’t be about grades.
In the workplace, your value and performance will be based pm how well you follow through and can be depended upon. Your success will hinge on how effectively you engage, participate, collaborate, and contribute to the team and the current project. Being positive and encouraging will be crucial, as well as your ability to learn new things.
In the workplace, grades won't dominate you; don't let them dominate you now.
Embracing personal growth in school is easey and encouraging. Here's how to focus on growth:
Acknowledge any progress you make in school. Do you know more today than you did four years ago? What about more than last year? Even in your least favorite class or subject, it's likely you know more about that subject now than at the beginning of the year. Recognize the progress—whether it's fast or slow, always keep progressing.
Focus on and appreciate what you have learned. You might not have aced the biology test, but now you know what RNA and DNA are. Maybe your English paper didn't get the grade you wanted, but you were able to express yourself and develop your own writing style. Appreciate what you learn every day—always keep learning.
Reduce your focus on grades. So, you got a B on a test. In ten years, you won't even remember how or why you got that grade. Don't stress about a specific grade; just focus on doing your best. If you receive a lower grade than expected, understand why and work on improvement. Don't place too much importance on getting a specific grade—always be striving to improve.
Metacognitive Goal
From now until Wednesday, your assignment has two parts.
First: Reflect on whether you have a genuine love for learning and a sincere desire for personal improvement. Thoughtfully consider and write down your findings in your journal. How do you recognize your love of learning? What demonstrates that your focus extends beyond specific grades?
In addition, contemplate your time in school in terms of what you've learned and how you've grown. Don't dwell on the negatives (lower grades or comparisons to others); concentrate on the positive aspects of your learning and growth. Write about what you have learned either this year or in past years.
Second: Ponder areas where you can continue to grow, both inside and outside of school. For instance, identify areas for improvement:
Could you enhance your time management skills?
Could you cultivate more empathy or patience with others?
Could you engage in more physical activity?
Could you refine your relationship skills?
Ultimately, consider writing down two or three personal growth goals and develop a plan to work towards achieving them.
Growing, improving and learning doesn’t always need to be a chore. The more you enjoy self-growth and development, the more successful and happy you will be in school, the workplace and life. It is after all the secret of the most successful people alive: they’re constantly growing.