A few years ago, my school’s faculty read Carol Dweck’s Mindset, then took a quiz in one of our faculty meetings to determine how growth-minded we were. A growth mindset is favorable because it means you believe yourself capable of learning from mistakes and making positive change. In contrast, a fixed mindset means that you don’t believe yourself (or other people) to be capable of growth. On my quiz, I scored in the “very growth-minded” range, likely because my family is comprised of educators who believe in life-long learning. It’s one of my core values.

In case you couldn’t tell from Facebook, Instagram and blog posts, my latest hobby is baking bread. I have come to love it much more than I expected. And one of the things I love most is how growth-minded bread baking is.

Consider the language of bread! There’s “feeding” the sourdough starter– making sure that the dough has enough to nourish it. There’s “proofing”– giving the bread time to grow and enrich itself. And of course, there’s “rising”– giving the bread space to reach its full potential. Oh, how I love that vocabulary!

If a lump of flour and water can rise, all on its own, to take up more space in the world, think of what we, as complex humans, can rise to do.

If bread can enrich itself, think of how we, through self-reflection and growth-minded exploration, can grow richer inner lives.

As bread requires regular care and feeding, it’s a good reminder that we, too, must nourish ourselves in order to grow.

What’s growing inside you today? What nourishment do you need to make it rise?