Adopting the Creator Mindset

 

            It wasn’t until very recently I learned the true meaning of the word stress.  Life as a full time student and full time worker is the most bitter-sweet challenge I ever had to take on. Since 2012, my motto has been “Peace, Love, and Positivity,” and I have been living accordingly since that time. I find it quite surprising how these three things in my generation are seen as corny, and though I may not be the coolest person, I like to radiate positivity in everything I do. However, I am only human. I am still very young and naïve.  My emotions and desire to live a normal twenty-year old’s life sometimes gets to me and lures me off track. My mindset has always been positive, but my actions do not always reflect that.  According to Dr. Skip Downing, strong-minded individuals who possess proper techniques to cope with life’s many challenges possess a Creator mindset. On the other hand, those who see responsibility as “a heavy burden they have to lug through life” (Downing 44-46) are seen as having a Victim mindset. Though my attitude has always been a positive one, as of this semester I have been guilty of possessing traits of both of the mindsets explained by Dr. Downing. That being said in order to be placed firmly back on the track towards success, I must strictly and exclusively adopt a creator mindset.

            In an article written by Professor Mirman, he describes two student’s approach to a common problem. The two students described in the article couldn’t be more different: they are polar opposites.  The situation faced was that their local bookstore ran out of textbooks for their class.  One student stopped right there and deemed it the school’s fault for not having the textbook while the second student went to great lengths to make sure she was prepared for the class.  He did not explain their academic backgrounds, but through each student’s actions, he displayed how a positive, go-getter type mindset yields better results than a more lax approach.  He labeled the student with the laid back approach a Victim and the student with the aggressive approach to her education a Creator.  An individual with a Creator state of mind is relentless in his or her pursuit for success.  These individuals go above and beyond the call of duty to attain the exact degree of excellence they set for themselves and nothing less. Those with a Victim mindset are the first people to find someone or something to place fault for their personal shortcomings (Mirman).  As I look at the words of the Professor Mirman, I could not agree more. As life progresses, a strong desire to accomplish your goals must set in.  Self-determination is not something parents, teacher, or peers can simply conjure up and present as a gift.  No matter how much someone other than yourself may wish for positive things to come, they cannot be the one that goes and accomplishes things in another individuals shoes.  A positive drive for success has to be somewhat stubborn. What I mean by this is no one should be able to break your determination with words or by setting minor barriers on path to success.  Those who let these barriers halt their progress towards their goals completely are possessors of the Victim mindset.  However, if you are tripped up by a couple barriers on your journey that makes you only human as long as you don’t let it completely stop your momentum.

            My journey to becoming a pharmacist is just beginning. I am beginning to encounter some of the barriers I mentioned for the first time. Because of my inexperience of life, I was unable to identify these challenges as minor inconveniences that lay on the course I set out for success. I found myself guilty of possessing traits of a Victim mindset. I began to point fingers instead of doing what I am doing now, which is taking personal responsibility for my unsatisfactory school performances. I procrastinated in renewing my driver’s license until five days before it expired. That was no one’s fault but mine. This led to me missing a very important instructional period in a class which is not exactly my strong suit. I also pointed fingers at my work situation. I recently took more hours at my job, and I chose to blame the fact that I had more hours away from my studies on my lack of performance. I used the many hours I invested into honoring various commitments as an excuse to slack-off. I would come home from a ten-hour shift at work and would immediately fire up my Xbox instead of focusing on my studies because I had convinced myself I deserved a break. “Why should I go straight from work do doing school assignments? I more than earned some time for myself!” I would think to myself.  I naively thought that the amount of time I set aside for my classes in my summer semester would suffice for this current semester.  This is a mindset I cannot afford to continue to have. I have to step up and make adjustments as a person with a Creator mindset would.

            Now a days it is hard to come across people with a genuine Creator state of mind.  I feel we live in a time where it’s more “popular” to be a follower than a leader.  I found myself at a true deadlock trying to think of someone I know who has a strong Creator’s mindset.  Not to say that there’s no one I know that is out making an honest living, but not anyone in particular who stands out that I would idolize to that degree. After a half an hour of intense thought I came to a breakthrough. A true Creator’s mindset and work rate doesn’t have to result in a large paycheck and fancy lifestyle because those things aren’t what success is. No matter what way I look at it my mother, Patricia Lacy, is a possessor of a Creator’s mindset. I was able to live a carefree childhood due to my mother’s struggles. Mirman described a Creator more or less as someone who is persistent in their pursuit of their goal.  As a single mother, it was up to her to raise as many as three boys and to get us through school and into the world as a productive member of society. My mother often describes her actions as, “Making a way out of no way.” As a full time human recourses manager she still made the time to come to school events for three children, drove us to and from sports, schedule us for regular medical appointments, and all other things needed for us to have an ideal childhood.  It wasn’t until later in my life where I came to appreciate the true difficulty of this goal she had set out to accomplish. I never once felt like my mother was ever inconvenienced by having to honor all the different commitments we had made through our childhood and adolescence which is why she is someone who would sacrifice any and everything in the attempt to get through the task in front of her. When I stack my current dilemma up to the issues she faced with three troublemaking children, my situation is basic motor skills while her situation is rocket science. It makes me want to kick into the next gear to match the effort she had put out just for us to barely get by.

            In conclusion, I would first off like to say this this assignment has been a big lift in my confidence going forward in college. I may not have it all figured out, but my state of mind is back to its normal fixation on success. I must be more proactive in my education.  That usually goes without saying; however, my proactive approach to my education has been lacking in terms of longevity.  I tend to only take the time to seek further instruction when it is convent to me or things have been going exceptionally unsatisfactory. Getting involved in my school work outside of the classroom is going to be something I improve on. Efficient time management is also going to play a large roll in me achieving academic excellence. I have begun by limiting distractions by force as well as simply doing my best to break negative habits, such as procrastination. Since my job has become somewhat second nature, I do not find it too much of stretch to come home and put in 3-4 hours of my free time into my studies. Knowing myself, I can go up to 5 hours consecutively before my mind becomes exhausted and would reflect in the work I produce unless I take a break.  So instead of going hard into my homework on my days off or non-stop during school days, I have set aside time periods to daily to focus on my work. My work shifts end at 7pm or 9pm, so I dive right into my English assignments. This work is a harder transition to make from the high school to collegiate level, so I try to start on this work while my mind is fresh.  Next I go sign into my Pearson account to work on assignments for my Pre-calculus and Chemistry class.  Depending on the day of the week, I will also print out my lab assignment for the week and go over it as well as doing the pre-lab questions.  I like to study for my math and chemistry classes depending on the material for the upcoming test; whereas, for my English class, I devote more time into making sure the work I compose abides to the guidelines set in the rubric for each assignments.  In this particular class all the small details matter as well as displaying an understanding for the actual assignment, so to make sure I honor all the parameters of each assignment more focus must be put into these assignments.  It is a challenge, but it is one that I will accept gladly. It is also my responsibility to take advantage of the office hours available to me to gain better understandings of things I am not completely clear on.   Responsibility is something I always have embraced.  A Creator’s mindset is something I have always possessed, and the changes I have recently made as a result of this assignment are going to get me that much closer to my goal, which is academic excellence.

 

 

    Works Cited

 

Downing, Skip. Chapter 2: “Adopting a Creator Mindset.” On Course: Strategies for

           Creating Success in College and Life. 7th Edition. Boston: Wadsworth, 2014.

 

Mirman, David. “Do You Think Like A Victim Or A Creator?” Are You A Prime Mover Web.,

            January 2012. 23 September 2015.

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