{"id":610,"date":"2012-03-30T23:57:34","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T23:57:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=610"},"modified":"2012-04-02T20:10:36","modified_gmt":"2012-04-02T20:10:36","slug":"all-the-worlds-a-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2012\/03\/30\/all-the-worlds-a-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"All the World’s a Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shakespeare wrote that \u201call the world\u2019s a stage and all the men and women merely players\u201d (Greenblatt, 1997). How we relate to the world around us shapes the daily drama of our lives. Are we mere puppets, dancing to someone else\u2019s tune, second rate actors mouthing our lines\u2014or jazz musicians, improvisational artists, actors who make the parts our own, creating a new reality in response to the world around us? Is our vision of reality static or dynamic?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck has made a powerful discovery, recognizing the degree to which our sense of self, our abilities, our success in life depend upon our \u201cmindset.\u201d People with what she calls a \u201cset mindset\u201d are stuck in the status quo, believing that their intelligence cannot be changed, while those with a \u201cgrowth mindset\u201d believe that their intelligence increases as they embrace new challenges in their lives.<\/p>\n

Neuroscience research has shown that our brains develop throughout our lives, growing new neural connections in response to stimulation. So if you cannot ride a bicycle, use a new computer program, play a musical instrument, or do any other new task, regular practice will stimulate your brain to develop new connections. After days, perhaps weeks of clumsy attempts and awkward efforts, suddenly one day it all comes together: suddenly you can do<\/span> it. Stimulated by all that effort, new brain connections have formed.<\/p>\n

On a cultural level, the two mindsets of growth or status quo reach back to the earliest Renaissance concepts of vocation. Both Martin Luther and John Calvin believed that we were\u00a0 blessed with unique gifts and called to use them to serve God and our neighbors. But\u00a0 Luther saw the world as set, with the social order created by God\u2014so that if your father was a butcher, a baker, or a glove maker, you were destined to follow his trade.\u00a0 But Calvin looked at the social injustice around him and concluded that God had nothing to do it: the social order was constructed by men. He believed we were called to discover our talents and use them to create new possibilities. With such a growth mindset, one glove maker\u2019s son, William Shakespeare, found his calling on the London stage, writing plays that have inspired the world for centuries.<\/p>\n

One view of life was dynamic, the other static; one led to conformity, the other to creativity and social change. These two social mindsets appear on many levels. The 18th<\/sup> century gave rise to two views of patriotism: 1) obedience to the status quo or 2) ideals that led to a new form of government, moving from monarchy to democracy, government of the people and the rule of law.<\/p>\n

The world around us continually affirms a growth mindset. Look around<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Flower from El Salvador by Juan Velasco<\/p><\/div>\n

you at the flowers of spring as they blossom and raise their heads to the sky. We can also find growth and set mindsets in our daily lives. Recently, when I questioned a longstanding policy at work, some people said \u201cbut we\u2019ve always done it that way.\u201d Yet just because we\u2019ve done something for years doesn\u2019t make it right or rule out better alternatives. If our country had followed a set mindset, there would be no progress, no airplanes, electricity, phones, or computers; women couldn\u2019t vote and there would still be slaves. Progress\u2014in science, art, politics, and life\u2014flows from a growth mindset.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s your turn:<\/p>\n