New Year. New mindset.

You are enough.? You attended the right institution(s).? Chose the right major(s).? Accepted opportunities which have demonstrated what you can do and what you value. You consciously navigated those “sliding door moments'' when life presented you with a pivotal choice that resulted in you arriving at exactly where you are today.? Thinking you should be elsewhere or have chosen differently begets not a journey into imposter syndrome or hindsight-informed regret, but rather, a refreshed approach to the slate of possibilities that await you in the New Year notwithstanding the paths and decisions that led you to this very moment.? As expertly framed by one of my favorite authors, Brené Brown, creating space for possibility requires vulnerability and letting go of what we think we should be in order to arrive at who we authentically are.? Beginning this journey now is as simple as resetting your mindset.?

In her book Mindset, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck explains that it is not intelligence, talent or education that sets successful people apart from others, but rather, it is the mindset with which they approach life’s challenges and opportunities. Those who adopt a “fixed mindset” believe that their intelligence, talents and abilities are fixed, innate and limited such that they cannot change or achieve beyond what they know or can do today.? Those who adopt a “growth mindset,” on the other hand, do not fear that they are not enough: not smart or skilled enough to meet new challenges and achieve bold aspirations; instead, they believe that their abilities can be developed and that their current talents and intelligence are only the starting point.?

If self-doubt appears, as it sometimes does when you recognize the greatness that has always been resident inside you, take a moment to remind yourself about all that you have done, learned and been. ?In one of my favorite movies of 2023, the fictional Ruth Handler, co-founder and former President of Mattel, shares that, “We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they've come.” If I were standing still next to you, my friend, what incremental attainments and triumphs could we catalog together looking back just at 2023?? Think about what you have overcome. Who you have helped. How you have pushed yourself and grown.? And then, with the great self-love and compassion you deserve, recognize that you have already re-adopted a growth mindset on several occasions this past year even if you did not realize it at the time.?

Need some additional fortification?? Consider writing a thank you note from your one-year-from-now self to today’s you.? After dating the note, thank yourself for tackling the challenges and experiences that led you to exactly where you aspired to be in December 2024. Then describe them. Applaud yourself for being who you needed to be to prototype the experiences you only dreamed about pursuing in December 2023.? And then list them.? Capture in your note of gratitude the pride of knowing that the possibilities you envisioned (now) were indeed awaiting you in the New Year.? And then keep the note close for when you need to remind yourself of the journey you began today.? After all, you can reset your mindset at any time. For you, may that time be now.