6th Session of Panther "Pause" Challenge

This session was online because of school conflicts. Over winter break, we posted an announcement on our google classroom with instructions on how gratitude helps mindfulness.

In the post we included the google presentation that we would have use if we'd held the session, and a gratitude exercise for the new year. You can find the exercise in our Panther "Pause" Challenge online version.

We also included instructions on how changing your mindset affects the outcome of a situation, which is also encouraged by mindfulness. Thinking outside the box instead of giving up befor you've begun.

Some examples of changing your mindset are:

From "I can never do this" to "This may take some hard work and effort."

From "She'll always be better than me" to "What can I learn from her that I can try myself?"

From "This is my best work" to "What can I do to improve?"

Think about the race between the tortoise and hare: the tortoise had a growth mindset, which meant that he adjusted and adapted to the situation before him. He didn't give up, even though he knew that the hare was much quicker than he was. He thought, "With enough perserverance, maybe I can win."

On the other hand, the hare was very cocky and arrogant, and thought that no matter what he did, he'd win the race. He had a fixed mindset. So, the outcome of the story: the hare settled down for a nap in the middle of the race, but slept so long that the tortoise was able to pass him and win the race.

The fixed and growth mindset are very important concepts to mindfulness. Without a growth mindset, mindfulness won't work for most people, but if you have a growth mindset and are willing to adapt to new changes, mindfulness will come naturally.