Another Round of Applause

June 2nd, 2016 by Kelly Kienzle

I want to send out another round of applause to all of my People With Whom I’ve Worked (PWWIWs. I can’t call you simply “clients” –- it’s deeper than that.)

The reason for this applause is that I recently tasked myself with doing something that I have pushed each of you to do during our work together.  And that is to create a Mindset Shift in your way of thinking.

As those who know my approach might recall, I often talk about this framework:

Mindset -> Actions -> Results

I describe how we get certain Results because of the Actions that we take.  And we take those Actions because we have a certain Mindset.  Pretty straightforward.

Yet, if we are unhappy with the Results we are achieving, then we have to change our Actions.  For example, if I am unhappy with the Results of a workshop design, I have to change my Actions such as doing more research beforehand.

Yet I cannot stop there.  I will only succeed if I go one step further back and shift my Mindset as well.  I have to think differently about workshop design.  I have to shift my Mindset (to perhaps seeing myself as a pupil instead of as a designer), so that I will take different Actions (do more research), so as to achieve different Results (deeper, richer content in what I share at the workshop).

Well, I had to shift my Mindset about my expectations for myself the other day on another topic and was feeling frustrated that I couldn’t.  With much exasperation, I told my family, “I just can’t change my mindset on this.”

I was shocked that such a fixed mindset perspective had spilled from my mouth.

My older daughter immediately looked up and said “But it’s your job to help people change their mindsets.”

Busted by a pre-teen in a tank top.

I never discount the difficulty in the deceptively simple step of changing one’s mindset.  Yet, when I come face to face with one of my deeply engrained and wholly unhelpful mindsets, I am reminded again of how difficult it can be to shift it.

And so that is why I am now offering up another round of applause for my PWWIWs and the others of you out there who may be doing similar work.  You know who you are and you know the mindset shifts that you have undertaken and may still be directing.  I applaud your humility to examine your weaknesses and your tenacity to stick with your task.

I hope you also soak in the applause for simply taking on this task.  Because if you weren’t challenging yourself to learn more and expand your mindset, what would you be doing instead?

Cue the curtain call once more!