How to Develop a Growth Mindset
Message Summary:
[Philippians 4:6-9 NKJV] 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Today, Pastor John taught us that more than any other topic, the topic that Paul addresses most in the book of Philippians is “the mind.” In particular he regularly refers back to this Greek word, phroneo, which means “mindset.” God gave you a brain to help you navigate every situation you will encounter in your life. What we have to address and discipline in connection to our own minds are our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. And if these things are not working for you, or rather, are working against you, you have to work to transform your own mind. You have to create new mindsets. To do that, you have to starve the negative thoughts and feelings. When you do this you will also begin to transform your behaviors, which are fed by your thoughts and feelings. Instead, even as you starve the negative, you have actively feed your mind a new diet of the Word of God. The Bible contains the good nutrients that your mind needs to be renewed.
What we have to do is develop a growth mindset. We all have three types of mindsets that develop with us as we mature – the child, the teen, and the adults mindsets. 1 Cor. 13 tells us that as we mature, we have to be aware of the mindsets we have preprogrammed into us, and learn now to navigate them. Essentially, we have to know how we are thinking in any moment, and which mindset is informing our thoughts and feelings, if we want to grow up.
Child Mindset (ages 0-10) – thinks reactionary, very needy, concrete/physical thinking, emotionally dysregulated but it feels real, it wants what it wants now, and doesn’t understand if it can’t have what it wants
Teen Mindset (ages 10-22) – binary thinking, feels deeply and powerful in emotions, acts impulsively, incredibly defensive, very black and white in their thinking, immature decision-making skills, will protect the child mindset with aggressive, potentially destructive behavior
Adult Mindset (Over the age of 22, fully matures at 25) – Complex thinking, can hold more than one stream of thought in the mind, can objectively weigh options, can integrate, can hold both good and bad
We have to learn to recognize the triggers that forces us out of adult mind into either our child or teen mindset, which each have their own immature responses. If we can learn to recognize and identify what draws us back in our more immature and emotional mindsets, and learn how to regulate them, we will develop a growth mindset. Your adult mindset is one of the greatest gifts you have, but you have to learn to stay in it.
Scriptures:
[1 Corinthians 13:11-12 NKJV] 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.
[Ephesians 4:12-14 NKJV] 12 …for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting…
Discussion Questions:
What is a phroneo, or a mindset, and how does this control our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?
What do I do if these are not working for, or rather, are working against me?
How do we starve our worries and fears?
How do we renew our mind or create new mindsets?
How do we learn to balance our child, teen and adult mindsets?
Life Application:
Over the next week, as you study the key scriptures, ask yourself: What triggers your child mindset? How is the behavior your teen mindset manifests to calm and protect the triggers of the child mindset? You have to learn how to manage the triggers of the child and teen without falling prey to then. You have to learn to stay in charge. And only God and his word can help you do that. Ask the Lord this week to help you to note the feelings of the child and teen, while maintaining maturity and growth in your life.