Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

I’m currently reading the book “Bubble Gum Brain” to my grandchildren. I also read this book to all my children, because I love the metaphor in it so much—it contrasts a “bubble gum brain” and a “brick brain” (which is just a creative way of describing growth mindsets and fixed mindsets).

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Someone with a "bubble gum brain" chews on their thoughts, stretches their brain, and expands the way they think. Their motto is “I can make great mistakes! They help me learn!”

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Someone with a "brick brain" thinks: “with me, things are the way they are, and won’t change.”

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The most important requirement for someone I’m coaching at Viola Pro is that they are a lifelong learner, that they strive to have a “bubble gum brain.”
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You need to be able to tell yourself it’s OK to make a lot of great mistakes. Once you feel what it’s like to have hope, you will be amazed at the paths you can take! It’s not about how much talent you have, or how much stuff you can do. What matters most is, how hard you work, and becoming a better you!

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So move on from the brick brain (“I can’t do it”) to the bubble gum brain (“I can’t do it…yet").

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Becoming is better than being. In order to grow, there are choices we need to make. Go become a hopeful thinker and make some great mistakes!

Happy practicing,

Mick @ The Viola Pro