Your Mindset Matters
A Choose Well Message for 5th Graders
Your mindset matters when you are facing changes in your life. Ask yourself, what can you control?
Watch the video and have a discussion with your class or someone you know. Below, there are some suggested questions or writing prompts.
We all have to face changes in our lives, and sometimes change can be scary. That can be especially true, when you are changing grades, moving schools, or going from Elementary school to Junior High school.
This may be the first time you have ever had to change schools or you might feel anxious about having to change classrooms for each of your classes. Whatever it is, something about moving on from 5th grade may have you feeling apprehensive.
When you’re feeling scared or worried, I want to encourage you to think about your mindset. Your mindset matters. Your mindset is how you choose to see things, respond to life, and move forward.
This is what typically happens: we have the mindset of trying to control everything. The problem with that is we can’t control everything. When we try to control everything, we lose control of everything.
Focus on what you can control. Understand that you can’t control what is going to happen in the future and with the changes happening in your life. But you can control your attitude and how you think about things.
It’s like eating an elephant. You can’t eat an elephant all at once. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. What that silly analogy means is that when you are trying to accomplish something big or something that seems insurmountable, you do it one step at a time.
The same thing applies when going to a new school or a new grade. Don’t stress about the things you can’t control. All you can do is take one step at a time and take the next best step and the next best step after that. Keep taking those steps. Your journey won’t be perfect or easy, but it will be better because you aren’t stressing about things you can’t control.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
What grade will you be going into next school year? Are you worried about anything going to the next grade? What is it and why does it worry you?
Will you be changing schools next school year? Are you worried about anything going to the other school? What is it and why does it worry you?
What are some things you can’t control with changing grades or schools?
What are some things you can control with changing grades or schools?
What do you think about the analogy of eating an elephant one bite at a time?
Does focusing on what you can control instead of what you can’t control help you feel more confident with the changes you are facing? Why or why not?
Think of a time that you faced a similar change. Maybe you have changed schools before and you have probably changed grades before, or maybe you had to move away from a school you went to. What things helped you move forward in that situation?
