From the Chaplain

In yesterday’s Senior School assembly, I was asked to speak about having a growth mindset. The Washington University blog says that having a growth mindset means that you thrive on challenge, and don't see failure as a way to describe yourself but as a springboard for growth and developing your abilities.  

When we do not succeed, we should not see this as a failure, feel hopeless and defeated because of it. We should see the things that have gone wrong as growth. We are unable to grow without failure to learn from.   

Paul in the Bible had many setbacks in life for trying to teach people about Jesus, including being beaten many times and being thrown in prison. On one occasion in jail, he wrote: ‘Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Christ Jesus to life up there in heaven.’ Philippians 3:13-14 

We all still have a lot of things to do in our life, many goals and achievements that God has set out for us. It is very easy to lose sight of these, be distracted or become exhausted.  Paul tells us to have a growth mindset by keeping our eyes on the goal and staying focused. Press on, even if things seem hard. Life was pretty hard for Paul and yet he was still positive about his future and doing what God had planned for him. Paul uses this analogy of a race, that we have to keep running. Life can seem like a ticking box, of getting one thing done and then the other and it just never seems to end. Paul tells us to forget the past and look forward to the future, because the day of collecting the prize is coming. 

Do not be afraid of failure and keep running the race that God has set out for you. 

Mrs Naomi Cooper | Chaplain