The mindset strategies we give children might just be the missing piece for your own personal growth and emotional resilience
As I sat and reflected on my own personal growth recently, I had a realization that kind of stopped me in my tracks. So much of the growth I’ve experienced lately hasn’t come from setting out on a personal development journey specifically for me – it’s come from studying how to help kids grow emotionally and mentally.
In fact, my transformation started as I was creating resources to teach kids about things like emotional regulation, positive attitudes, growth mindset, and helpful habits. I thought I was helping them, but in reality, God was using those same tools to help me.
I Didn’t Know I Needed Mindset Tools for Adults
As I researched, read articles, watched positive parenting trainings, and followed uplifting social media accounts, I began writing about these concepts – often through poetry or children’s books like my books Growth Mindset Poems for Raising Confident Kids and I’m the Thinker of My Thoughts. It was all designed to help children understand that they can choose their thoughts and manage their feelings. But along the way, I started to apply those same mindset principles to my own life and the results were undeniable.
Looking back now, I realize that I didn’t even know I needed these kinds of mindset tools for adults. I didn’t know that I could actually learn how to handle my emotions in a healthy way. I didn’t realize how much my own self-regulation skills were lacking.
I had no idea how deeply I needed to develop a growth mindset – not just for success, but for emotional healing and resilience.
Like my husband often says: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” And I didn’t.
I didn’t know that my inner struggles, bad habits, and emotional blocks weren’t character flaws – they were simply areas that hadn’t yet been cultivated with the right tools.
Trying to Fix Myself From the Outside In
For years, I tried to improve my life through external effort – getting more organized, starting new routines, staying busy. But nothing lasted because I hadn’t yet renewed what was happening in my mindset and inner beliefs.
I didn’t know how to build healthy emotional habits. My style of positive thinking meant pretending everything was fine and stuffing my feelings down. I buried my head in the sand because facing things head-on felt overwhelming, mainly because I didn’t think there was any solution.
Yet, when I began to learn about emotional regulation strategies, habit formation, and how to build resilience as an adult, I realized something: I wasn’t broken. I was just under-equipped.
God Answered My Prayer in an Unexpected Way
I remember crying out to God in frustration. I asked Him to fix me, transform me and help me stop being stuck. I wanted an instant miracle. Instead, He handed me the tools for slow, steady, but lasting change.
Through writing for children, God introduced me to simple mindset tools that slowly began reshaping the way I think, react, and live. He led me into a journey of Christian personal development without me even realizing it.
And suddenly, I found myself…
- Feeling calmer and more capable in emotional situations
- Building positive habits I could stick to
- Thinking differently about myself, my abilities, and my future
- Feeling hopeful again
This Was the Miracle I Had Been Asking For
It turns out, the miracle I wanted – instant transformation, was actually delivered in the form of tools and growth, over time. Just like a seed needs the the rain and the sun, God gave me the environment to thrive: the right information, the time, the Scriptures, and even the mistakes.
He gave me the ‘miracle of maturity’.
And now, I can honestly say: I’m growing and changing. I can feel it in action every day as I see seeds of new mindsets and attitudes taking root and growing fruit! Not perfectly, not instantly, but intentionally.
Some Thought Seeds for You
If you’re like I was – overwhelmed, stuck, and unsure of how to move forward, maybe it’s time to stop looking for big answers and start looking for small, but effective tools. The same tools we use to teach children about mindset and emotional health? They’re some of the most powerful strategies you can apply as an adult.
You don’t have to keep repeating the same patterns.
You don’t have to stay stuck.
You just might need some mindset tools for adults that help you reframe your thinking, manage your emotions, and start building the life God created you to live.
I made a helpful mindset tool based on things I started implementing in my own life. It’s called 7 Steps to Managing Your Mind – A guide to managing your life by improving your thought habits and mindsets.
If you haven’t got one yet, you can download it for free now.
Here’s some good questions to ask yourself:
- In what areas have you tried to fix your life from the outside?
- Which mindset tools or emotional skills are you realizing you never learned?
- What would change if you truly believed growth was possible for you?
- Have you invited God into your personal development journey?
Scripture to Reflect On:
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2
Let’s keep growing, one renewed thought, one deep breath, and one small step at a time.