A Growth Mindset

We're often encouraged to pursue a goal in life, something to strive for, an aim that gives our lives meaning. Most of the time, the goal that's promoted is happiness.

Happiness is a worthwhile pursuit, arguably an inherent one, in the human mind. Some people believe that happiness is an all or nothing type of effort. You're either happy or you're not. Others choose material forms of happiness as the end game: money, building a successful company, going to law school. There are a vast number of ways to find meaning and happiness in your life.

One method that doesn't focus solely on the end result is adopting a growth mindset. Mindsets shape how we process meaning in our lives and react to it. A growth mindset is an adaptive way of dealing with life events. Research on stressful life events has demonstrated a correlation between those with a growth mindset and reduced post-traumatic symptoms. Other researchers have found students with a growth mindset demonstrate better academic outcomes than those without.

Simply put: applying a growth mindset to your life helps frame your failures and achievements, whatever they might be, as situations to adapt to. From not getting the job you wanted or failing an important quiz, understanding that your existing skill sets are malleable is key. Instead of being downcast that you haven't achieved a meaningful state of happiness in life, be proud of how far you're come in pursuit of it. Happiness and growth are very much aligned with each other.

However big or small, you make that conscious shift to adapting to something you previously couldn't/didn't adapt to. There will be stumbling blocks, difficult moments, and times where you want to give up. It's at these moments you need to remind yourself of how far you've come and how much further you have to go.

Home Is More Than A Geographic Location

If you look up the definition of home, you will find this description:

 "the house, apartment, etc. where you live, especially with your family"

 There is a secondary definition not relating to a physical space-

"the type of family you come from"

The idea of having either a physical space or an intangible entity called home is ingrained in us since we are children. The entire premise of the question "where are you from" or "where do you live" rests on the proposition that everyone must belong somewhere geographically- that we have a definitive place of origin.

For some people, having lived abroad for years on end means cultivating a stronger sense of who they are- a nationality, a culture, a city they came from. For others, there is an acceptance, reluctantly or warmly embraced, that adaptation of new social customs at the risk of forgetting old ones is a must. Yet more people have never left the cities where they were born.

Some countries instil a strong sense of pride in their citizens. This patriotism about their place of origin shapes identity, who we are at our core, effectively. Home and belonging are closely linked. Yet, belonging in particular isn't rational or logical when we consider how emotionally charged identity is.  

Perhaps a combination of both a physical and philosophical notion of what home is fits best. We are shaped by where we have lived as well as who we spend most of our time with. This statement is presented keeping in mind that applying logic to a proper multi-faceted understanding of society is fraught with caveats.

After all, the idea of what home is depends on who you ask and how they feel about it. If you've ever asked someone what home is to them, how often has their answer included precise measurements about land mass?