Tag: growth mindset

Growth Takes Energy

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“It is very important that we relearn the art of resting and relaxing. Not only does it help prevent the onset of many illnesses through chronic tension and worry; it allows us to clear our minds, focus, and find creative solutions to problems.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

I made a rookie mistake last weekend. My kids, a friend, Cooper the dog, and I went hiking. It was 1.9 miles each way and 1500 feet of elevation gain. Not a particularly long hike but it had some challenging elements. Here was my mistake: as the responsible adult who had done this trail at least a dozen times, I didn’t call a break until we reached the top — at about two hours after we started hiking.

Doh! I know better. Hikes are more enjoyable, easier to do, and sometimes are even faster when we take breaks along the way. But often I am so focused on the destination that I ignore the wisdom to stop along the way.

So this week’s Life of Try podcast episode is the reminder I need. As we head into fall and all the changes in routines, rhythm and goals, I focused on finding some recommendations about how to best rest and restore so that we can meet our goals. Drawing on ideas from Carol Dweck’s growth mindset research, Adam Grant’s work on motivation and habits, and research on creativity and stress reduction, this episode offers practical ways to make change more sustainable. Three tips in particular resonated with me:

  1. Expect fatigue
  2. Build in regular rest intervals
  3. Reduce unnecessary decisions

So, if you often push to the top without taking a break, consider this your reminder that growth takes energy and we need some rest.

If you are working on personal growth, building better habits, navigating a life transition, or trying to avoid burnout, this episode offers an encouraging reminder: tiredness isn’t weakness. Sometimes it is information—and an invitation to recover before the next climb.

P.S. I’m unable to get the captions to show up when in a Word Press post. If you’d like to watch with captions, please click the link below.

Links for this episode:

Growth Mindset, Habit Formation and the Power of Rest transcript

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, PhD on Amazon

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney

The Fun Habit: How the Pursuit of Joy and Wonder Can Change Your Life by Mike Rucker, PhD

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things by Adam Grant

Other Episodes You Might Enjoy

How to Build Habits that Stick | Why Fun is the Secret to Lasting Change

Identity Before Strategy | How to Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder

Encourage Effort, Not Results | How to Build Resilience and Confidence

Success isn’t always about finishing first. Sometimes the greatest victories belong to those who stay prepared, keep growing, and never stop trying.

(featured photo from Pexels)

If my work has encouraged, inspired, or helped you try something new, consider supporting it with a small “cup of coffee” donation. Your support helps me keep creating conversations, stories, and resources that cheer people on as they do brave, meaningful work.

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram wynneleon

Creating Lift

Posted in thelifeoftryTagged , , , , , , , , , , 43 Comments

“If you see someone without a smile today, give ’em yours. ” – Dolly Parton

I think one of the most charming aspects of this WordPress community is the generous willingness to share knowledge. Topics like:

P.J. Gudka sharing blogging advice
Dr. Gerald Stein’s insightful essays based on a distinguished career as a psychologist
Edward Ortiz provides Thoughts about leadership, history, and more
Tamara Kulish shares notes about soul-healing
Ab offers a window into disability advocacy
Todd Fulginiti shares his music
Michelle provides tips for and inspiration on decluttering
Dr. Yvette Prior creating incredible anthologies with contributors we know and love,
Shaun sharing daily encouragement
and on and on. It is a remarkable wealth of experience, information and knowledge available to everyone.

This incredible wealth of sharing and curiosity is right inline with my recent Life of Try podcast conversation with Bruce Dorey, PhD. In his book, Lift: Passing the Craft, Bruce provides a research-based framework for how we can mentor and provide lift to others.

A few key takeaways from this conversation:

  • Lift, whether it be for an airplane or in our interactions with others, does not happen in a vacuum. We need to engage with others to have the opportunity to pass on our expertise.
  • Bruce talks about how many of the master artists like Rodin were part of a guild and employed many young artists in the making of art. He surfaces the craftsman model: journeyman, apprentice and master for passing on knowledge. He shares ways we can do that in business, not just the trades.
  • We delve into the power of awe and the innovative way that Bruce uses virtual reality (VR) to incorporate awe into his work rhythm.

If you’re interested in how to become a better mentor, build resilience, use technology more intentionally, find flow, overcome burnout, or create more meaning in your work, this episode offers practical inspiration and a new way to think about growth.

Here are more ways to listen and subscribe:

Links for this episode:

Creating Lift: Leadership, Mentorship, and the Courage to Keep Growing transcript

Lift: Passing the Craft by Bruce Dorey, PhD on Amazon

A Whole New Way to Work: A Map to Freedom and Success by Bruce Dorey, PhD on Amazon

Bruce Dorey, PhD on LinkedIn

 Other episodes you might enjoy

Brand Strategy for Humans with Nancy Martira

⁠Identity Before Strategy: How to Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder⁠

How to Embrace What Makes You Different | Finding Your Purpose with Kym Gordon Moore

(featured photo from Pexels)

If my work has encouraged, inspired, or helped you try something new, consider supporting it with a small “cup of coffee” donation. Your support helps me keep creating conversations, stories, and resources that cheer people on as they do brave, meaningful work.

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram wynneleon

Support Without Pressure: Why Effort Matters More Than Results

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“Give light and people will find the way.” – Ella Baker

The other day, my six-year-old son, Mr. D, announced that he wasn’t going back to finish out the last 12 days of first grade. After some delicate probing, I discovered he was worried about a math test.

It’s hard to know what to say to help in a situation like that, isn’t it? And what does real support actually look like—especially when someone is struggling, failing, or figuring things out?

So in this episode of The Life of Try, I explore how to support others without adding pressure, and why focusing on effort instead of outcome can make all the difference.

Whether you’re a parent, coach, friend, or teammate, it’s easy to unintentionally turn encouragement into expectations. But research—and stories from figures like basketball coach John Wooden and psychologist Carol Dweck—show that when we shift our focus to effort, persistence, and growth, we help people stay in the process longer and build real resilience.

This episode dives into:

  • Why it’s often harder to watch someone try than to try ourselves
  • How subtle signals can create pressure without us realizing it
  • The difference between encouragement and expectation
  • How to support kids, friends, and colleagues in a way that builds confidence and persistence
  • Practical ways to reinforce effort, not just results

And fortunately this research helped provide me a roadmap to help with Mr. D’s math test. I reminded him that he’d already done the work and practice and so the test was just like a baseball game. All he had to do was do his best.

If you’ve ever wondered how to truly support someone you care about—especially when things aren’t going well—this episode offers a powerful reframe. Because sometimes the best support isn’t helping someone succeed… …it’s helping them keep going.

Here are some other ways you can listen and watch this episode:

Growth Takes Energy| How Rest Helps Habits Stick – The Life of Try: Personal growth, one try at a time.

Why does growth feel so exhausting—and could rest be themissing ingredient that helps new habits stick? In this episode of The Life of Try, Wynne Leon connects Carol Dweck’s growth mindset research, Adam Grant’s ideas about habits and identity, and the restorative power of sleep,fewer decisions, intentional breaks, and creativity. Through stories from the first day of school, middle-school drop-off, mountain climbing, and her daughter’s crochet project, Wynne shares three practical ways to protect yourenergy while building sustainable change. If you’re navigating a transition, working on personal growth, or trying to avoid burnout, this episode is a reminder that rest is not stepping away from the try—it is what helps you return.Listen next: Identity Before Strategy withKevin Yoder, a conversation about why lasting change begins with who we believe we are—not simply with a better plan.ABOUT MEHi, I’m Wynne Leon — host of The Life of Try, a personal growth and self-improvement podcast exploring resilience, reinvention, uncertainty, and the courage to keep trying.Through thoughtful interviews, reflective conversations, and real-life stories, I share insights to help you navigate change, get unstuck, and move forward with more intention.🌍 Website: https://wynneleon.com
  1. Growth Takes Energy| How Rest Helps Habits Stick
  2. When You Know You're Not Going to Make It
  3. Creating Lift: Leadership, Mentorship and the Courage to Keep Growing
  4. Brand Strategy for Humans with Nancy Martira
  5. Identity Before Strategy: How To Break Through Invisible Ceilings with Kevin Yoder

Links for this episode:

Other Episodes you Might Enjoy:

⁠ Letting Go Of Outcomes: The Mindset That Keeps You Moving⁠

4⁠8: How to Get Unstuck: Michael Yang on Saying Yes, Resilience and Coming Alive⁠

⁠How to Reclaim Fun in Adult Life | Mike Rucker, PhD, on Joy, Burnout and the Fun Habit⁠

(featured photo from Pexels)

Motivated and Hopeful

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“Every sunrise is a blessing, it’s an opportunity to learn something new and to create something that can benefit others. It also gives a chance to make amends. Use it wisely before sunset.” – Eugenia Herlihy

Have you ever seen that math exercise where two people stand something like 20 feet apart? And with each move, they divide the distance between them in half so after the second move, they are 10 feet apart and after the third, five feet.

In the end, the point is that there is an endless number of moves because they’ll always be some distance, even if infinitesimal, between them.

There is no finish line.

It reminds me how I feel about my self-improvement. There’s always room for growth.  

Three recent things have inspired me to keep feeding a growth mindset. When Vicki and I talked with author Andrew Mayne, he described the year when he wanted to become an author. He set a goal to write ten books in a year. He’d write a book and then read a book on writing. I’ve been intrigued by the “feedback loop” as Andrew described it, even since that conversation.

Elizabeth from the Bleuwater blog took a photography course this Spring. As she shared her lessons on speed, aperture, focus, I realized how much I don’t know about photography, especially when I just grab a picture with my phone. You can see Elizabeth’s incredible photography that she submitted as her final here.

Vicki Atkinson wrote a fascinating post about editing last week, Learning to Rewrite. The conclusion that grabbed me? “Pack a punch with fewer words. Make every sentence count.”

The math exercise reminds me that we will never completely occupy the space of another person on this planet. These recent posts and conversations remind me that there are never ending ways to inspire each other and improve. Taken all together, it makes me feel so motivated and hopeful…and never bored.

(featured photo from Pexels)

You can find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/ and Instagram @wynneleon

I co-host a author, creator and storytelling podcast with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about collaboration and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.

Spring Training

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“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” – Babe Ruth

It’s Spring! I know because my five-year-old son, Mr. D, had his first Little League game.

My friend Eric quipped “Isn’t a Little League game at this level where a batter hits and then everything that happens next is an error?”

Well, he wasn’t far off. The games last for an hour. Each side bats their entire lineup and then they switch to the outfield. A batter gets four coach pitched balls. If a hit hasn’t happened by then, they bring in the tee for the child to hit off of. Each team got to bat twice.

In the outfield, the whole team of 10-12 players go out. Figuring out who to throw to is understandably confusing. Who’s on first? Practically EVERYONE.

In one play, a kid on the other team fielded the ball hit by his own team as he ran to second base. Eric laughed, “I wouldn’t even know how to score that. He gets a forced out and an assist? “

The teams practice getting outs but no one actually sits down on the bench as a result.

It struck me as a great lesson in low stakes learning. How to set up environments where hits and errors are all just scored as lessons. Even for adults, we can learn pickleball or improve our writing without going full-on into performance or competition mode.

So here’s to learning to pitch things and trust they’ll teach us something. To swing for the fences and be able to laugh when it all goes wrong and the ball ends up behind us. And maybe if we don’t want to consider sliding for home, we can at least pounce on the finish line when we find it.

 Because even if we’re not in the Spring of our lives, we’re still in training! Right?

(featured photo is mine)

You can find me on Instagram @wynneleon and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wynneleon/

I co-host a storytelling podcast featuring authors and artists with the amazing Vicki Atkinson. To tune in, search for Sharing the Heart of the Matter on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music or Pocketcasts (and subscribe) or click here. Or the YouTube channel features videos of our interviews. Please subscribe!

My other projects include work as a CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), speaking about collaboration and AI through the Chicago Writer’s Association, and my book about my journey to find what fueled my dad’s indelible spark and twinkle can be found on Amazon: Finding My Father’s Faith.