A Treatise

During my senior year at Wellesley, I often talked about Carol Dweck and her work's impact on me. Here is a short treatise on:

How psychology changes lives

One of the most influential people in my life is a woman named Carol Dweck. Carol is a social psychologist currently working from Stanford University. I've never actually met her in person, but her research about mindsets and failure helped to change my perception and understanding of myself. I grew up believing that failure was bad, and that failure in any way was a sign of my ineptitude as a human being. I had to avoid failure at all costs because I needed to uphold my image of being "smart", of being a good daughter, capable, put together, a good role model, etc..

Reading about Dweck's work opened up the floodgates for me in a sense - it helped me to better understand where I was coming from, why I was the way I was, what I could do to move forward. From her work, I understood that failure is not a condition in which I am eternally bound; rather, it stems from a mindset from which I was capable of breaking through hard work and perseverance. Looking back on my senior year, I have to say that her work was an important part in my pulling through thesis/antithesis - not only that, but it helps inform me in the ways that I think about education and instruction.

Sounds lovely right? And I held to this pretty firmly. I shared this with others who would listen, and I encouraged others to look at her work and research for themselves.

I even wrote up a nice little blog post about it, see?

But after writing this, even in my thinking of writing this, I realized how empty and meaningless our world's psychology really is.

Another Treatise, then:

How the Gospel changes lives

One of the most influential people in my life is a man named Jesus. Jesus is the Son of the Living God, wholly man and wholly God, who walked the earth more than twenty centuries ago. He currently lives in a time and space that I can't quite understand, everywhere and everytime, and also in me. I've never actually met him in person, but I have met him many times, and his life, death, and resurrection have changed my perception and understanding of myself. I grew up believing that failure was bad, and that failure in any way was a sign of my ineptitude as a human being. I had to avoid failure at all costs because I needed to uphold my image of being "smart", of being a good daughter, capable, put together, a good role model, etc..

Knowing Jesus opened up the floodgates for me - it helped me to better understand where I was coming from, why I am the way I am, what I could do moving forward. From the Gospel, I understood that failure is a condition in which I was eternally bound; it is not something as simple as a mindset from which I can break through merely hard work and perseverance. Indeed, it is impossible to escape through any way, except by the power of his life, death, and resurrection. Looking back on my past twenty-some years, I have to say that his work - his Father's work - his Spirit's work, are the most important and dare I say only real part in my pulling through thesis/antithesis - not only that, but it is the only thing that can give me hope, strength, and a future.

Sounds lovely right? And I hold to this firmly. Yet I do not boldly share this with others who would listen, and though I wish to encourage others to look at this for themselves, I do not nearly as often as I wish.

I only wrote up a nice little blog post about it, see?

But after writing this, even while thinking of writing this, I realized how empty and meaningless our world really is without it.


I am but a work-in-progress... and works-in-progress in the agile cycle are iteratively thrown into the fire.


Lord, throw me in.