By: Scott Dickie on November 11, 2024
My title is a bit over-the-top, but it captures the direction I’d like to go in this post. But first let me address what, I suspect, many of us will recognize and wrestle with in relation to this book: Peter Boghossian is someone firmly entrenched in the atheist camp and he seems motivated to use…
By: Jeff Styer on November 11, 2024
Reading Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: The Power and Passion and Perseverance reminded me of a bike ride I took this past summer.[1] It was a two-day 132-mile ride on a 71-mile crushed gravel trail in West Virginia that parallels U.S. Route 50. This was a trail that my wife and I began several years ago…
By: Tim Clark on November 11, 2024
I was ready to be inspired when I started reading the book How to Have Impossible Conversations: A Very Practical Guide. After the first couple of chapters, it seemed like the book might be more about “how to have any conversations” than only the impossible ones because the principles and practices I started noticing in…
By: Kally Elliott on November 11, 2024
I’ve sworn off conversations about politics with my father. I haven’t told him this but I think he’s taken the hint. I’ve witnessed him trying really hard to not talk about politics with me. I can see him squirming, beginning to say something divisive (at least it is divisive from my perspective) and then stopping…
By: Jennifer Eckert on November 10, 2024
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.” — Attributed to Vince Lombardi Lombardi’s quote addresses the idea that grit is the will to keep pushing forward, and despite the difficulty, it is often a quality that determines…
By: Noel Liemam on November 8, 2024
“The Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” by Dr. Carol S. Dweck, has a good content that I can learn from. I would love to have it in bookshelves; however, I would read it only once or twice. This book teaches about the ‘two mindsets’ which are fixed mindset and growth mindset, and the remaining…
By: Dinka Utomo on November 7, 2024
My Standpoint Colonialism and slavery, in my view, are both kinds of oppression and exploitation that are carried out by a group of people or nations against other groups or nations who are weaker. Colonialism and slavery are practices that are carried out to accrue the most significant possible benefit from the people or nations…
By: Jennifer Eckert on November 7, 2024
The contentious U.S. election has left me feeling battered and drained, much like the Oklahoma tornadoes that struck shortly before. Americans remain deeply divided in how the country should move forward, and many increasingly rely on social media headlines instead of fact-checking or thinking critically. Those who challenge misinformation are often publicly criticized or even…
By: Jana Dluehosh on November 7, 2024
Summary of my most deeply held convictions before the readings and why I have these beliefs. My first encounter with my whiteness occurred as a young teen when I was visiting my dad’s extended family in Michigan for a family reunion. I clearly remember sitting in a Pizza Hut as I heard my grandpa and…
By: Daren Jaime on November 7, 2024
It was one of my first denominational ministerial classes. We were nervous, uncertain, and in a healthy fear of what our ministerial journey will take us. The course was pastoral administration. A very well seasoned scholar and pastor was sharing with us what we should expect if we were ever assigned to a pastorate. As…
By: Chad Warren on November 7, 2024
With the arrival of winter and snow in our part of the Rocky Mountains, I am reminded of the widely used skiing metaphor “Over your skis.” This describes a skier who leans too far forward, making them unstable and more likely to lose control or fall. Figuratively, it means taking on more than you can…
By: Julie O'Hara on November 7, 2024
I follow a social media account called Visual Hustles, it was the source of the above image. If asked, I would describe it as cartoons which demonstrate the value of not giving up when faced with challenges. I thought of the account while reading Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck and I looked…
By: Christy on November 7, 2024
Hi, my name is Christy, and I have some fixed mindset triggers. Meet Koa, her name means “fear”. When I am in a high risk situation, Koa tells me that I can only trust myself and if I want something done right, I should just do it myself. Koa encourages me to avoid making hard…
By: Elysse Burns on November 7, 2024
Cooking is one of my favorite activities. There’s something deeply therapeutic about it, and nothing excites me more than discovering a new recipe, experimenting with ingredients, and adding a personal twist. But it wasn’t always this way. When I first began, cooking felt like a high-stakes test. I needed a foolproof recipe, something guaranteed to…
By: Kari on November 7, 2024
The past two weekends revolved around my colleague, Elysse, and my design workshops. We have different NPOs, but they are closely related. The workshops addressed, in different ways, the lack of collaboration between Mauritanian communities and non-profits, the government, and other leaders. All workshop participants said that the solution is a societal change of mentality.…
By: Graham English on November 7, 2024
Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success is a seminal work which explores the profound impact that adopting a mindset can have on someone’s development and personal growth in every facet of life. She writes that “It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you…
By: Debbie Owen on November 7, 2024
Jesus said, ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on…
By: Joel Zantingh on November 7, 2024
In his trusted work in reconciliation, mediation, and conflict resolution, Dr. Vern Neufeld-Redekop refers to an idea in his ‘third-party-neutral’ approach called “the adjacent possible”, an option for breakthrough that only comes when we allow divergent voices and ideas to be presented together, and give space for emergent possibilities to reveal themselves [1]. It takes…
By: Diane Tuttle on November 6, 2024
Since returning from Washington, my work life has been turned upside down. For different reasons, we had several people resign within weeks of one another. Add our need for added funding and it was a perfect storm, literally. The conversations have been difficult, hours long, and emotions on the edge. I am exhausted. Reading Mindset…
By: Shela Sullivan on November 6, 2024
Introduction This week’s reading assignment is based on “Mindset: Changing the Way you think to fulfil your potential” by Dr. Carol Dweck.[1] “Becoming is better than being.”[2] This quote highlights the importance of growth mindset, emphasizing the importance of the journey of learning and development over simply achieving a static state of success. Exploring the…
