Day 6

In today's assembly, we continued our study on mindset by learning about the power of positive self talk.  Self talk is a normal part of each of our days.  When I'm in rush hour traffic, for example, I might say to myself (in my mind or out loud), "Oh great, now I'm never going to get home."  That is a perfect example of negative self talk.  This naturally occurs when we encounter challenge or disappointment.  But, when we have a growth mindset, we can reframe our self talk to improve our outlook for success.  Let's return to my rush hour traffic example.  Instead of muttering about how I'll never get home, which isn't even true, I could say something like, "Hm, it looks like today's commute might take longer than usual.  This will give me a chance to listen to more music or hear more stories on the radio."  Now I've turned my negative experience on its head and decided to make it a positive one.  This is not always easy, especially when facing huge obstacles or heart-breaking circumstances.  That is why we practice, so that each time we transform our self talk in a positive way, it becomes more and more of a habit in our thinking.

Here's a quick video we watched during our assembly to illustrate the power of positive self talk and how it can impact our self confidence:

You can talk about this with your child at home when you encounter moments when self talk can make a difference in how you might perceive a situation.  Practice options for positive self talk to replace the negative self talk habit.