One of the greatest tools to grow in fortitude is to develop our growth mindset. A growth mindset accepts that failure is part of the learning process, it doesn't succumb to despair and knows whose opinions matter in the long run!

During these challenging times, we all need to develop our growth mindset. 

As inspiration for our growth mindset journey, there is a wealth of wisdom that can be taken from this famous quote by Theodore Roosevelt. 

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

What are the key messages?

1. You've got to be in it to win it! Without "striving valiantly" - we will never experience the "triumph of high achievement".

2. Failure in the pursuit of excellence is better than never trying.

3. Listen only to people who matter... people who will help you be better, bolder and stronger. The voice of "critics" who aren't there "in the arena" with you need to be ignored.

I'd like to expand upon this last point. 

It's not just about simply deflecting the voice of critics. We need to do so without it entering our psyche and hardening our hearts.

Unconstructive, misinformed criticism, without special care, can lead to an armouring of self that will ultimately desensitise us and negatively impact our ability to experience love, joy and satisfaction. 

We can't grow if we shield ourselves from all feedback. But if we engage with all feedback we will be easily hurt and it will likely trigger a 100% natural defence mechanism that will seal off our heart from not just hurt, but many wonderful things also. We need to discern whose voices deserve consideration and filter out those that should be ignored. Setting this filter will require a lifetime of careful, mindful calibration. It isn't easy - but is imperative to a balanced life. 

The importance of avoiding a hardening of the heart is well captured by the great author C.S. Lewis:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.” - The Four Loves

Kia Kaha