So I have been watching the NBA playoffs and the Milwaukee Bucks had the best record in the Nba and were seen as title favorites heading into these playoffs. Unfortunately they lost to the 8th seeded Miami Heat to everyone’s surprise in one of the most unlikely upsets in the NBA. Of course the players and staff of the team were disappointed and had high hopes for the season and their best player Giannis Antetokounmpo was interviewed after the game. Giannis was asked if he thought the season was a failure due to them not reaching their goal of a championship and losing in the first round and his answer was really important and justified a growth mindset.
Giannis said there is no failure in sports but just an opportunity to grow. He talked about how there are steps to success and every time you may fall short in the process is not considered failure but a way to build on it. He also talked about how there are good days and bad days and how Somedays you win, other days you lose and it’s all part of it. It may be your turn one day and the next may be another person’s turn. I think this is really important because a lot of us don’t see things that way. We may fall short and fail and we automatically give up or move on to the next thing. That doesn’t take away from you and what you have done and you can continue to build on that. For him it’s about coming back next year and building good habits and trying to get better no matter what. That’s all what matters, the growth mindset.
There are steps to everything and in order to get to the finish line you have to begin, get to the middle point and then eventually the end. Being successful is not dependent on the end but on the process to get there. A person with a growth mindset uses challenges as an opportunity to continue to develop themselves and don’t see a limit on their abilities or how far they can go. Giannis is a perfect example of this and has continued to improve every year since he got into the league.
He knew he didn’t play his best in the playoff series and will use that as motivation to work on his skills for the long run. That is the perfect embodiment of a growth mindset. There is always room for improvement no matter what. Everybody's circumstance may be different and even though Giannis was talking about sports, this can be applied to everyday life. The way we look at failure can be a huge determent on how far we can grow from it and what we can gain.
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