Mindset Matters.
Hey y’all! It’s your girl Julie, back with another segment of “Salty & Lit!” Today, I will be talking about “MINDSET MATTERS.” Let’s pray.
God, You are good. Thank You for teaching us that mindset matters. Help us to be mindful of our thoughts and take them captive with Your truth. In Jesus’ Name.
Wrapping up this school year, I noticed something: mindsets matter. I even noticed it in my writing: if I didn’t believe God would meet me here, I’d struggle in writing. But when I had confidence that He’d meet me here, I’d be confident in the writing given to me, and the same thing applied in my teaching: if I had negative mindsets of my students, I’d judge them or not empower them, whereas if I had positive mindsets, I’d believe them and empower them to do hard things. I’ll admit: it wasn’t always easy checking my mindset, but it did get better with time.
Here are some ways mindset impacts your life:
Mindset impacts how you show up.
If you believe that you belong somewhere, you will show up confidently, but if you believe you don’t belong, you will show up feeling insecure and not confident in your work. As an educator, I noticed that when I didn’t show up confidently, it reeked of insecurity. However, as time progressed, I showed confidence in myself as an educator because I did the work and had to trust in God and myself.
Mindset will impact how people treat you.
If you come off as insecure, people may treat you as that (as one who doesn’t know what s/he is doing). Here’s an example with my kids: when I gave a directive, but my voice wasn’t as sure as it could be, the kids didn’t take it seriously, but when I spoke with “bass” in my voice, speaking confidently, I received their attention. Further, when I fought for their attention by pleading with them or raising my voice, it helped for a little while, but I had to get their attention back. However, when I practiced patience, waiting for them to be quiet and then speaking when I was ready and speaking slowly, that was better. All in all, confidence and mindset matter because they will determine how people will treat you.
Lastly, fear matters too.
Often, fear makes you be in your head, assuming things that are not true. You can show up in ways that are not true, simply because you believed a lie in your mind. So, sometimes, you need others around you to push you and remind you of the truth. In this case, the Truth is God and His Word. His Word matters above what you’re feeling. His truth matters the most. You can do hard things in life because His Word says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Even when you think you can’t, the Word of God trumps that.
All in all, teaching has been showing me a lot, and it’s been showing me that mindset matters, and for those who are still growing, give yourself time to see the fruit. Though you may be in the beginning or in the middle, you’re still making progress. Let’s pray.
Father, You are so good. Thank You for the gift of writing. Help us to see the gift of understanding that our mindsets matter and teach us to take thoughts captive daily and to stand in Your truth. We thank You Abba for Your Truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Don’t forget you are loved, salty, and lit! Talk to you soon! 🧡
