“Human creativity is nature manifest in us.” — Ethan Hawke
I was finishing up my photography assignments Saturday. There was a page of resources the professor left for us. Included with short videos by famous photographers discussing their work was this gem of a TED Talk by Ethan Hawke, actor, writer and film director.
It’s definitely worth the less than 10 minutes to hear his views about creativity, humanity, and our connections with each other. He discusses that our own enemy is wanting to create something of importance or something great. In Hawke’s opinion, children throw themselves into any project with abandonment. They don’t care if they’re “good” or not. They are willing to try and don’t bring habits into the project.
Happy Monday and enjoy this TED Talk.
After watching this video, what impressed you?
How did you find it helpful for your own writing or blogging?
My daughter shared a TED Talk with me yesterday about “The power of believing you can improve” by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. I’ve read Dweck’s book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” and am a fan.
In the seven-minute Ted Talk, Dweck explains the word “Yet.” At a high school in Chicago, if kids failed a class, instead of getting an “F” they got a grade of “Not Yet.” Instead of feeling like they were a failure and shutting down, they learned they could improve and they tried harder. Dweck explained, “Not yet opens up a path into the future that creates greater persistence.”
Dweck said people with growth mindsets are open to challenges, they learn from their mistakes and they can actually get smarter. In contrast, those with a fixed mindset are influenced by judgement of the moment. They are stuck in the tyranny of “now.” They tend to run from difficulties.
In studies, she offered tests that were above the children’s level of ability. The kids with a growth mindset were up to the challenge and excited, even when they did poorly. After failing the test, the fixed mindset kids said next time they would cheat or they looked for someone who did worse than they did.
My daughter thought I’d find this Ted Talk useful for writing a SwimSwam parenting tip. Dweck offered one gem to parents on how to raise kids with a growth mindset. She said to “Praise wisely.” Never compliment our children on their natural talent or intelligence. Instead, praise their effort, hard work, perseverance, etc. Don’t praise the outcome. Dweck called it “Process Praise.”
Every time our kids push out of their comfort zones to try something new and hard, the neurons in their brains form new and stronger connections. I think this is true for us older people, too. It’s important to stretch and do something new and challenging.
What have you done to push out of your routines and take on a new challenge? How did it make you feel afterwards?
