{"id":152,"date":"2017-10-12T21:46:17","date_gmt":"2017-10-12T21:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/?p=152"},"modified":"2019-02-20T19:27:20","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T19:27:20","slug":"i-think-i-can-isnt-just-a-kids-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/i-think-i-can-isnt-just-a-kids-story\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;I think I can&#8221; isn&#8217;t just a kids&#8217; story!"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-soundcloud alignright wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-soundcloud wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I Think I Can Isn't Just A Kids' Story by Prof. Suki\" width=\"660\" height=\"400\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=true&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F578576676&amp;show_artwork=true&amp;maxheight=990&amp;maxwidth=660\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Click here to listen while you read!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you know the story, &ldquo;The Little Engine That Could&rdquo;? In the story, a little steam engine has to perform what seems like an impossible job&hellip;.and through positive thinking he succeeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know that to a certain extent, this is actually real?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OK, right off the top I&rsquo;m going to admit that you can&rsquo;t become a superhero just by thinking you&nbsp;<em>are<\/em> a superhero. You can&rsquo;t walk upside-down on the ceiling just by trying really hard. You can&rsquo;t skip all of math and suddenly be able to get an A in Linear Algebra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/toontwins.deviantart.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/%C2%A92008-2015-ToonTwins-2-210x300.jpg\" alt=\"&copy;2008-2015 ToonTwins 2\" class=\"wp-image-156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/&copy;2008-2015-ToonTwins-2-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/&copy;2008-2015-ToonTwins-2.jpg 396w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>However, your <a class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;mindset&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;an attitude, disposition, or mood&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\" href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/mindset\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes=\"[{&quot;attribute&quot;:&quot;data-cmtooltip&quot;, &quot;format&quot;:&quot;html&quot;}]\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">mindset<\/a> actually can affect how well you do on pretty much anything that&rsquo;s actually doable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is <strong><a class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;mindset&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;an attitude, disposition, or mood&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\" href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/mindset\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes=\"[{&quot;attribute&quot;:&quot;data-cmtooltip&quot;, &quot;format&quot;:&quot;html&quot;}]\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">mindset<\/a><\/strong>? It&rsquo;s just the point of view that you enter a situation with. <a href=\"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/reframing-your-way-through-hard-times\/\">Read my piece of reframing bad events<\/a> to see one example of how <a class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;mindset&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;an attitude, disposition, or mood&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\" href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/mindset\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes=\"[{&quot;attribute&quot;:&quot;data-cmtooltip&quot;, &quot;format&quot;:&quot;html&quot;}]\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">mindset<\/a> works. <a class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;mindset&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;an attitude, disposition, or mood&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\" href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/mindset\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes=\"[{&quot;attribute&quot;:&quot;data-cmtooltip&quot;, &quot;format&quot;:&quot;html&quot;}]\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">Mindset<\/a> also works in a positive way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Lots of kids say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m bad at math&rdquo; and then go take tests and prove that they&rsquo;re bad at math. Kids who say, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to work hard on this math test&rdquo; actually do better on tests&mdash;even if they aren&rsquo;t better at math in general.<\/p><p>Athletes who focus on how hard a task will be don&rsquo;t do as well as athletes who focus on doing their best.<\/p><p>People who don&rsquo;t know that a task is supposed to be &ldquo;hard&rdquo; tend to do better at it than people who do.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How should&nbsp;mindset affect how you do things?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lena-hanyongin.deviantart.com\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/raven__teen_titans_fan_art_by_lena_hanyongin-da2ah68-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"raven__teen_titans_fan_art_by_lena_hanyongin-da2ah68\" class=\"wp-image-157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/raven__teen_titans_fan_art_by_lena_hanyongin-da2ah68-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/raven__teen_titans_fan_art_by_lena_hanyongin-da2ah68.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, <strong>try not to <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;dread&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\"  href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/dread\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>dread<\/a> things<\/strong>. I know, some of you might actually <em>like<\/em> to <a class=\"glossaryLink\"  aria-describedby=\"tt\"  data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;dread&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;to be reluctant to do, meet, or experience&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\"  href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/dread\/\"  data-gt-translate-attributes='[{\"attribute\":\"data-cmtooltip\", \"format\":\"html\"}]'  tabindex='0' role='link'>dread<\/a> things that you have to do, but this will lead you to do not as well on them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, <strong>focus on doing your best<\/strong>. Instead of thinking &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not good at math,&rdquo; remind yourself, &ldquo;I can get better at math.&rdquo; [<a href=\"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/learning-how-to-learn\/\">Read my piece about learning like a baby<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, <strong>reframe failure as partial success<\/strong>. Instead of thinking, &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t get an A on that test,&rdquo; think, &ldquo;I know I can do better next time&rdquo; and take positive steps to do better. [<a href=\"http:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/reframing-your-way-through-hard-times\/\">Read my piece on reframing here<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livinglanguage.com\/community\/discussion\/262\/what-is-gannbatte\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Ganbatte!&nbsp;&#38929;&#24373;&#12387;&#12390;<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vd-jgJOP-Ww?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It might sound corny, but &quot;The Little Engine that Could&quot; is sorta right: your <a class=\"glossaryLink\" aria-describedby=\"tt\" data-cmtooltip=\"&lt;div class=glossaryItemTitle&gt;mindset&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=glossaryItemBody&gt;an attitude, disposition, or mood&amp;lt;br \/&amp;gt;Click for more info about this word&lt;\/div&gt;\" href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/glossary\/mindset\/\" data-gt-translate-attributes=\"[{&quot;attribute&quot;:&quot;data-cmtooltip&quot;, &quot;format&quot;:&quot;html&quot;}]\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"link\">mindset<\/a> has a lot to do with how you learn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,6,4,3],"tags":[29,28,27,24],"series":[],"class_list":["post-152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-being-a-kid","category-learning","category-memory","category-the-brain","tag-challenge","tag-learning","tag-mindset","tag-psychology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/KidsLearn-UseYourTools.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ksqd-talks-music\/id1703111686","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/feed\/podcast","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7DuOuT1jXWSctSexcdC97s","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"tunein":{"key":"tunein","url":"https:\/\/tunein.com\/radio\/KidsLearn-p3854634\/","label":"TuneIn","class":"tunein","icon":"tunein.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mECGrb_UsoA&list=PLhcbiKBzJvJLnU2R4q1eSNuE_jBTCm6Iu","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/feed\/podcast\/kidslearn","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"p2pdDlMMBG\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/i-think-i-can-isnt-just-a-kids-story\/\">&#8220;I think I can&#8221; isn&#8217;t just a kids&#8217; story!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/sukiwessling.com\/kidblog\/i-think-i-can-isnt-just-a-kids-story\/embed\/#?secret=p2pdDlMMBG\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;&#8220;I think I can&#8221; isn&#8217;t just a kids&#8217; story!&#8221; &#8212; KidsLearn\" data-secret=\"p2pdDlMMBG\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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