mind profile of a modern teacher The Science of Developing Mental Toughness in Health, Work, and Life Have you ever wondered what makes someone a good athlete? Or a good leader? Or a good parent? Why do some people accomplish their goals while others fail? What makes the difference? Usually we answer these questions by talking about the talent of top performers. But I think we all know there is more to the story than that. In fact, when you start looking into it, your talent and your intelligence don’t play nearly as big of a role as you might think. What makes a bigger impact than talent or intelligence? Research is starting to reveal that your mental toughness — or “grit” as they call it — plays a more important role than anything else for achieving your goals in health, business, and life. Why is mental toughness so important? Let’s talk about that now. Before we talk about how to get started, though, I wanted to let you know I researched and compiled science-backed ways to stick to good habits and stop procrastinating. Mental Toughness and The United States Military —Angela Duckworth 1.
True Grit: The Best Measure of Success and How to Teach It Can you predict academic success or whether a child will graduate? You can, but not how you might think. When psychologist Angela Duckworth studied people in various challenging situations, including National Spelling Bee participants, rookie teachers in tough neighborhoods, and West Point cadets, she found: One characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. Why is Grit So Important? Using the Grit Scale that Duckworth developed with Chris Peterson, they found that grit is a better indicator of GPA and graduation rates. Add to this the findings (from Bowen, Chingos and McPherson's Crossing the Finish Line) that high school grades have a more predictive value of college success than standardized tests, and you may just see a shift from standardized test scores to high school GPA by some college admissions officers. What is Grit? Some would argue that grit is inherent in Albert Bandura’s research on self-efficacy, and that resilience is also part of it. Can Grit be Taught? 1.
The Future of Self-Improvement, Part I: Grit Is More Important Than Talent In the late ’60s, Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel performed a now-iconic experiment called the Marshmallow Test, which analyzed the ability of four year olds to exhibit “delayed gratification.” Here’s what happened: Each child was brought into the room and sat down at a table with a delicious treat on it (maybe a marshmallow, maybe a donut). The scientists told the children that they could have a treat now, or, if they waited 15 minutes, they could have two treats. All of the children wanted to wait. (Who doesn’t want more treats?) When the researchers subsequently checked in on these same children in high school, it turned out that those with more self-control — that is, those who held out for 15 minutes — were better behaved, less prone to addiction, and scored higher on the SAT. It’s not difficult to see how self-control would be predictive of success in certain spheres. Very often when we talk about the skill of ‘productivity’ what we are really talking about is ‘self-control.’
COMPASS 12 Business Leadership Lessons from Stuart Lancaster and Brendan Rodgers | Harrington Starr 12 Leadership Secrets for Business from Brendan Rodgers and Stuart Lancaster By Toby Babb Both England Rugby and Liverpool Football Club have made tremendous progress in 2014. Stuart Lancaster has led a cultural revolution in English Rugby, “re-connecting the players to the shirt” and restoring a brand of rugby missing for so many years. Brendan Rodgers has broken record after record with Liverpool surpassing any expectations (including his own) of where Liverpool would finish in the league. Whilst not the finished article yet (England were runners up to Ireland in the Six Nations and Liverpool look set to miss out by the closest of margins to Manchester City in the Premier League) both leaders have restored pride and have overseen vast improvements in their teams. Reading about both Rodgers and Lancaster has been fascinating throughout the year. 1. So can we in business learn and adapt the common characteristics of two of sports most improved teams to transform our performance? 1. 3.
The One Quality Great Teammates Have in Common | Changing the Game Project “Coach, can I talk to you?” “Sure,” I said. “What’s on your mind today Michael?” “Well, I just want to know what I can do so I get to start more games and get more playing time as a center midfielder. Well Michael,” I said, “there is something that all coaches are looking for from the players they recruit. “Of course, coach. I waited a moment before I answered to make sure he was listening. “You have to stop asking what you can get, and start asking what you can give. Michael furrowed his brow as he tried to process what I told him. “You want me to serve the team, like with food?” I smiled, “No Michael, serving others is the one thing that unites successful people, from friends to employees to athletes to business owners. “So, you are saying that instead of asking what I can get from the team, I should be asking what I can give to the team?” I wanted to leap out of my chair and hug him. Michael got it. My great friend and coaching mentor Dr. Start by serving everyone in that crowd.
How to Increase Mental Toughness: 4 Secrets From Navy SEALs and Olympians Know what’s really interesting? Learning how Navy SEALs build mental toughness to handle deadly situations. Know what else is really interesting? Learning how Olympic athletes deal with the pressure of competition when the entire world is watching. Know what’s the most interesting of all? “Mental Links To Excellence” is a research study of what Olympians do to prepare for their big day. The best part is you and I can use these methods to perform better at work and in our personal lives. Let’s find out how… 1) Talk Positively To Yourself Your brain is always going. One of the Olympians said: Immediately before the race I was thinking about trying to stay on that edge, just letting myself relax, and doing a lot of positive self-talk about what I was going to do. SEALs use the same method — and they do it in a far more terrifying scenario. You’re underwater with SCUBA gear. Your brain starts screaming, “YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.” And this happens over and over — for 20 minutes. You get 4 attempts.
Have our kids gotten soft? Five ways to teach them grit Now, I have to commend these millennials for being so self-actualized that they feel very comfortable moving around to find the perfect gig. But I also wonder, where's the work ethic, the grit, the resilience? I never questioned working around the clock during my first jobs in my 20s because I believed a good work ethic would help me prove myself and move up, and it did. Millennials don't stay very long in jobs, said Robin Koval, co-author of provocative new book, "Grit to Great: How Perseverance, Passion and Pluck Take You From Ordinary to Extraordinary." Kaplan Thaler, who along with Koval co-founded the advertising agency Kaplan Thaler Group, was one of those helicopter parents, too. It wasn't until an elderly man approached her one day in the park and told Kaplan Thaler to put her hands in her pockets while he pushed Emily on the bike. "She is a well-rounded young lady today and I like to think I had a hand in her success mostly because of keeping it in a pocket," she said.