Effort is what makes you smart.

This cat believes in online learning (I do too!). The quote is from Carol Dweck's Mindset. Here are more quotes in the Carol Dweck Collection.

 Effort is what makes you smart.

I am inspired by my friends.

I was prompted by a graphic from Farsley Farfield Primary School to make this cat:

I am inspired by my friends. 

Made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

Be a Vulcan! Not a Vulcan't.

I was inspired by a Spock meme to make today's growth mindset cat! You can see the Spock meme below.

Growth Mindset Cat says:

Be a Vulcan! Not a Vulcan't.

Study to learn

Inspired by this quote from Carol Dweck's Mindset: They were studying to learn, not just to ace the test.

Study to learn, not just to ace the test.

(cheezburger)

Learners stretch their skills every day.

We were all "kittens" once... connect with your kitten spirit again! The quote is inspired by Carol Dweck's Mindset: "Infants stretch their skills daily."

Learners stretch their skills every day.

The image is from Cheezburger.

Connect with others to reduce stress.

This cat was inspired by a useful article about stress: How Harnessing the Positive Side of Stress Can Change Student Mindsets by Katrina Schwartz.

Growth and other challenges can sometimes lead to stress, but there are ways to cope! This advice comes from the first item in Katrina Schwartz's article; read more:

1. Caring for others builds resiliency against stress. To help people reset their mindsets about stress, encourage them to care for others. The biological reaction to stress naturally includes a desire to connect with others. Nurturing that inclination can dramatically reduce the harmful negative effects of stress.

Connect with others to reduce stress.

(cheezburger)

Study something new.

I was inspired by a quote from David Dockterman to make this new cat:

Study something new.

The image is from cheezburger. Here's the quote that got me started: If we only did things that were easy, we wouldn't actually be learning anything. We'd just be practicing things we already knew. Via David W. Lowell at Twitter.

It takes time for potential to flower.

The quote is from Carol Dweck's book, Mindset: "People with the growth mindset know that it takes time for potential to flower." More cats inspired by this book: Carol Dweck's Mindset.

It takes time for potential to flower.

(image is from cheezburger)

Empathy reduces stress.

This cat was inspired by a useful article about stress: How Harnessing the Positive Side of Stress Can Change Student Mindsets by Katrina Schwartz. Reducing stress and connecting with others are both great ways to grow your awareness and learn about the world.

Specifically, today's meme is from the first recommendation in the article:

#1 Caring for others builds resiliency against stress. To help people reset their mindsets about stress, encourage them to care for others. The biological reaction to stress naturally includes a desire to connect with others. Nurturing that inclination can dramatically reduce the harmful negative effects of stress.

The other recommendations in the article are good too: #2 Purpose in life reduces stress ... #3 Focus on how stress can help students grow. Read the article for details! Here are some more cats inspired by Katrina Schwartz's article.

Empathy reduces stress.

(cheezburger)

Where there is no path...

Do not go where the path may lead;

go instead where there is no path,

and leave a trail.

Although this quote is widely attributed to Emerson, that is probably not correct (see Wikiquote discussion). No matter: the words are very wise ones, no matter who said them first.

I made this for the MemeGallery with an image from Cheezburger, and here's the graphic that inspired me:

The emotions of learning: surprise, awe, interest, and confusion.

Today's cat is inspired by a great article by Linda Flanagan at MindShift: How to Spark Curiosity in Children Through Embracing Uncertainty. Here is a quote from the article; "Holmes" is "Jamie Holmes, who has just written a book on the hidden benefits of uncertainty." — Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing.

“The emotions of learning are surprise, awe, interest and confusion,” Holmes said. But because confusion provokes discomfort, it should be discussed by teachers to help students handle the inevitable disquiet. “Students have to grow comfortable not just with the idea that failure is a part of innovation, but with the idea that confusion is, too,” Holmes writes. Teachers can help students cope with these feelings by acknowledging their emotional response and encouraging them to view ambiguity as a learning opportunity.

The emotions of learning:

surprise, awe, interest, and confusion.

(cheezburger)

OK, I made a mistake.

Today's growth mindset cat is learning from mistakes:

OK, I made a mistake.

I'll do better next time.

The image is from cheezburger.

Find joy in learning.

I was inspired to make this cat by an infographic from Ideaphora (see below).

Find joy in learning.

The cat image comes from Cheezburger.

Here's the infographic:

I can accept failure; I can't accept NOT trying.

For today's cat, I started with a Michael Jordan quote and graphic (see below):

I can accept failure;

I can't accept NOT trying.

The image is from cheezburger. Here is the Michael Jordan quote I started with: I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

Find inspiration in the success of others.

Today's cats come from a slide in this slideshow by Emily Magruder: From Mindset: The Psychology of Learning and Achievement; see the slide below.

Find inspiration in the success of others.

(image is from cheezburger)

Here is the specific slide: success of others!

Make glorious, amazing mistakes.

You can find more advice from Neil Gaiman in this Brain Pickings piece by Maria Popova: Make Good Art: Neil Gaiman’s Advice on the Creative Life.

"So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make new Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life." 

Make glorious, amazing mistakes.

Cat made for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

There are far far better things ahead than any we leave behind.

Today's cat was inspired by a quote from C. S. Lewis (see graphic below). For C. S. Lewis, the words referred to the Christian afterlife, but cats are much more about the here-and-now, making sure the now is good without regrets about the past.

There are far far better things ahead

than any we leave behind.

I made this for the MemeGallery with cheezburger.

Here is the graphic I started with:

Not sure what to do next? Ask your teacher.

At Pinterest, I found a link to a nifty poster: I Don't Know What to Do Next; you can see the poster below. That's what inspired this cat: use the Internet... to find an example!

Not sure what to do next?
Ask your teacher.

The image is from cheezburger.

Don't know what to do next?

Dig deep and stick with it.

Look in a book or use the Internet.

Can you find an example?

Keep calm and read it again.

Remind yourself not knowing is okay. 

Work together and ask a friend.

Pause a moment and just think.

Still not sure? Then ask your teacher.

With my skills I express myself.

Today's cat is inspired by Maria Popova's review in Brain Pickings of Janna Malamud Smith, An Absorbing Errand: How Artists and Craftsmen Make Their Way to Mastery.

Whether by design or by accident, many of us seem to find enduring gratification in struggling to master and then repeatedly applying some difficult skill that allows us at once to realize and express ourselves.

With my skills I express myself.

(image from cheezburger)

Can't be done? That's your limitation, not mine!

Can't be done?

That's your limitation, not mine!

(image from cheezburger)

I was inspired by this graphic that I found a Twitter:

When someone tells you it can't be done, it's more a reflection of their limitations, not yours.