Worth a look: New at something? Tips for cultivating a growth mindset for any newbie
Back-to-school edition
Dear community,
September is a season for fresh starts. I recall many new challenges in this season — throughout school and as a medical trainee grappling with taking care of sick patients in new ways, in new settings, with increasingly more autonomy: in emergency rooms, intensive care units, cancer wards — each bringing with it its set of doubts, questions, and eventually, triumphs.
I’ve had a lot of firsts and transitions in my life — becoming a pediatrician, a health equity researcher, a policymaker, a health consultant, a parent, a nomad… the list goes on. And doing anything for the first time requires us to learn a new set of skills around how to approach something new — how to be a newbie effectively. It requires us to set aside our egos and approach the new circumstance with humility and curiosity, and some key tools.
Whether you’re just starting ninth grade, are parenting someone who’s starting ninth grade, have launched into a new year of medical training or other professional phase, or are grappling with any new challenge like a health condition or a caregiving role — I want to first say that being brand-new to something can be hard.
When we’re new to something, some of what’s hard comes from all that’s unknown or yet to be learned — and some of it can come from our own feelings about not being ready or suited to the new thing. You aren’t an expert; as you begin to become aware of all that you don’t yet know (see graphic below of the four stages of learning, first coined in this 1960 management course), every new skill or knowledge domain requires intentional labor to acquire; and setbacks and mistakes are par for the course. And though they are essential to learning, when they occur frequently, mistakes can be especially discouraging — in contrast, let’s say, to all the mastery you felt at the end of eighth grade or in a well-worn career phase, when you were in learning stage 4 — unconscious competence.
When we enter stage 2 — conscious incompetence — that’s when learning is at its most stressful and anxiety-provoking.
If you find yourself tackling something for the first time, here are some tips to cope with and help ease the transition — especially in stage 2 — and to be able to move more quickly towards competence.
1. Cultivate a growth mindset.
A growth mindset is the belief that with intention and effort, anyone can gain the skills and learnings needed to be successful at a new endeavor — as opposed to believing that talent is innate and fixed. Research shows that these beliefs can be cultivated and practiced. And once we nurture it, a growth mindset can help us be more successful in a number of domains, from our personal lives to school and professional endeavors, for children and adults, as well as protect us from health impacts like depression and anxiety.
Cultivating a growth mindset involves refocusing ourselves on our learning and practicing believing that we are capable of moving along the learning stages with sufficient effort, practice, and mentorship. Techniques to help us get there can include: positive visualization — imagining yourself succeeding at something new, in detail; counter-acting your inner critic with techniques like mantras and affirmations; cultivating an alter ego; cataloguing learnings; and seeking out specific feedback, resources, and support towards getting better at something. Read on for more specifics.
2. Anticipate learnings and set achievable goals.
Ask yourself — especially if this new phase is not something you chose for yourself: What can you learn from this new experience? What skills, knowledge, outlooks, or approaches could it help you gain?
For each one, how might you capture or actualize that learning? What strategies or resources could you employ to help you get there? Can you map them to specific timelines? And how will you know when you’re there?
What experiences lie ahead that excite you (even though they may make you anxious)? How can you best ladder up to or prepare for those experiences? Where can you look for resources and mentorship?
3. Celebrate wins.
When we’re new to something, our brains tend to over-focus on what we don’t yet know and what we’re struggling with — and sometimes discount the impact of what we are actually learning and consolidating. This makes being in steps 1-2 above especially hard. This practice helps reveal that in small ways, we might be moving along to steps 3 or even 4 without having recognized it.
At the end of the day or week, take the time to reflect on what you’ve tangibly learned or grown in. Did you make any kind of progress, big or small? What was easier for you this week than last week? Maybe you figured out who to call or what to do differently when you faced a particular kind of ‘stuck’ to move you towards less stuck or even ‘unstuck.’
Whatever it was — write it down. These notes will be invaluable when you look back at these early days of this formative experience — and the formal act of creating them will help you capture and focus on what you’re gaining at a regular cadence. It helps you internalize that the process of walking through the new thing will itself yield fruit and help move you along the learning continuum. As my mother’s grandfather used to say: “kursi kaam sikhathi hai” (an idiom in Hindi: occupying the seat teaches you the work — or, you learn best by doing).
4. Chunk bigger tasks into bite-sized pieces.
Any task can appear daunting in its entirety, especially if it’s a new kind of undertaking. And equally, any task can be split up into much smaller tasks or domains, each of which is much more conquerable on its own.
In creating these smaller tasks, call on skills you already have and in this way, move yourself to learning steps 3 and 4 — such as, asking the right question or seeking out the right resource for a specific question.
5. Invoke your inner child.
Remember when you were three and when you came across something new — frequently, in those days — you were unfazed? You were likely as curious or excited as you were resilient about accommodating that new thing into your life. A new friend in the playground, a new topic at school, a move — you sized up that new thing, felt equal to it, and integrated it into what you already knew. It fit into your life without too much ado and you moved forward with conviction and confidence.
Recently, I wrote about how toddlers have much wisdom to impart — and are often unjustly maligned.
Ask yourself: What would my inner toddler do? Channel that curious and confident inner child that we each still carry deep within: that can-do, deeply-in-touch-with-your-needs-and-your-worth, untarnished-by-external-expectations-or-an-inner-critic self — and see what wisdom and strength emerge for you in approaching this new experience.
6. Reframe mistakes as necessary for learning.
Success in a new circumstance doesn’t look like doing it error-free — this is just not possible and not a worthy goal. Instead, strive for doing it with the best intentions and effort you can muster, with the belief that with time and practice, you will gain the skills you need to be successful and move along the learning continuum.
Doing something new means you are going to make mistakes to be able to learn and grow. So celebrate the fact that you’re in a position to learn and grow — and even consider celebrating what you learn from each mistake.
Process what you learn from mistakes through journaling, creating a voice memo, reflecting, chatting with a trusted friend, or another way. This will help you frame mistakes as helpful, process those learnings, and also, move away from ruminating on mistakes (a favorite pastime of us perfectionists and recovering perfectionists).
If you are currently struggling with feelings of imposter syndrome — of not being good enough for the current challenge you face, despite having done well at many hard things, here are some lessons from my own experiences with imposter syndrome:
Let the community know in the comments what’s new in this season of your life — along with where you find yourselves on the learning continuum, and any tips that particularly resonate with you today, or others you’d add to this list.
Next week, I’ll be taking a break from the newsletter for a family vacation — and will see you back here on September 20, 2023. In the meantime, please feel free to peruse our archives here.
Wishing you light,
Dr Devika Bhushan
You journey Inspiring us and motivate to keep going with judgment or doubt👏