In this lesson, we will cover the topic of redemptive story reframing. It is a great technique to take some type of setback or failure and turn it into a redemptive story to help redeem the setback or failure and help you move forward. Let's look at the concept of failure between fixed mindset and growth mindset people yet again. Fixed mindset people tend to see setbacks as contaminants that ruin and otherwise good thing, and it sometimes can look like this, "I was never the same again after I didn't get that promotion." Whereas a growth mindset person will frame the setback as a learning experience and will often redeem the setback into a bigger picture way of moving forward. "Losing that promotion was painful, but it helped me understand that I needed to do some more professional development and take on more complex assignments at work and more high profile projects as a way to further my career." You see the difference? I was never the same again after that promotion, set-back has contaminated me or I look at my role honestly, but also use it as a learning experience. Another thing to think about is that growth mindset employees bring a sense of intellectual curiosity. It doesn't really matter the title they have, the job title they have, their specific career there in, the specific job or position. It's more about loving the job you're in, then worrying about what's not working. It's a little bit of a mindset shift, but it's a really powerful one. Let's look at two scenarios here, where Thomas and Priya, we're able to do a redemptive story to re-frame a setback, and the reason this is so important, this type of work, is that when you can recognize that you've used your growth mindset muscles in the past, you're more likely to be able to use them again in the future. Here are two examples. Let's start with Thomas. I remember a few years ago before my current job, I interviewed someplace else and I didn't get a callback interview and I was really disappointed. I reached out to that organization and I asked for feedback to help me in my next interview. I wanted keeping in close contact with that organizational team and they were the ones that let me know about the job that I'm in now, which I then interviewed for and received. That's a great example of a redemptive story. He reframed the set back and said, "You know what, I'm going to open myself up to feed back and ask how I can improve in the next interview." By doing that, he wanted keeping in touch with that team and they obviously had a good feeling about him and about the way he handled the growth mindset way he handled not getting a job and they told him about his current position, which he then put himself out for and received. Priya has a little different story, but it's slightly similar. Years ago, she was applying to a graduate school program, and she applied to the program and didn't get in. For most people that setback or failure would be it and for a fixed mindset person, it would definitely be it, and they would ruminate and torment themselves over it. They certainly wouldn't ask for feedback. Priya contacted the program and let them know that she was extremely interested in knowing why her application wasn't admitted for that round of admissions and if they had any feedback about how she could improve her application for the next time, letting them know that she was planning to apply for the very next semester. Well, what happened was the committee let her know within a week that she was indeed admitted into the program. They shared with her that somebody else had dropped out of the program and decided not to attend, and that it was such a close call to begin with which she would not have known, and so when that person dropped out, they were so impressed with her initiative and the growth mindset that she had shown that they decided to give her to grant her admission to that ground. She then went to that graduate school program and graduated from it and feels that it really helped her further her career. Those are two great examples of using the growth mindset for a redemptive story around your career. You can probably think of some other examples of this in your personal life also. Question for you. Can you think of an example in your own career when you use the growth mindset to help you reframe a past setback or failure? I'd like you to use a three-part exercise. Part 1; think of something from the past that you think measured you or defined you in some way that most people would consider a setback or failure. Here are some examples. A poor test score, not getting into a college or graduate school program, being passed up for promotion, a big mistake that you made at work that you really think affected one of your assignments or affected the trust level that your supervisor had about to you or even being fired from a job. So that could be the setback or failure that you use. Think of an example of one and let's make it about your career. Part 2, put yourself into the growth mindset, look honestly at your role that you played in this set back or failure. But understand that it does not define you, it does not define your intelligence, your personality or your overall career. Step 3. Now, staying in that growth mindset, ask yourself what you learned from that experience and how can you use that experience as a learning basis for future growth. That's the redemption part we're going to redeem this past setback and reframe it using a growth mindset so that we can learn from it and you'll see with the examples of our personas Thomas and Priya, that it worked really well for them.
