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hi everyone I'm Kell ooro and this is
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adaptable Behavior explained hi
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everybody thank you for tuning in today
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to adaptable I'm so glad to have you
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here I'm really excited to discuss the
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topic of mindset specifically a growth
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mindset today it's a really important
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concept to understand because it really
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shapes and affects so much about how we
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interact in the world and I'm especially
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excited to have with us our guest today
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Jaden OKO who uh is going to tell us a
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little bit about herself hi Kelly thanks
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for having me yeah so my name is Jaden
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and I'm 20 years old I'm currently a
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student at ASU I'm super excited to be
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here and talk about growth mindset and
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how I use it in different Avenues of my
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life awesome thank you so much and she's
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being quite modest because she is a
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fascinating young woman I've known her
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for about seven years she uh one of my
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neighbors and she is at the barretts
1:03
honor college and uh has just been a
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hardworking overachiever and part of why
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I chose you to be on the show is because
1:12
it's evident that a growth mindset has
1:15
been part of the outcomes that you've
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experienced however there's a broader
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Spectrum related to mindset that I
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wanted to discuss especially as it
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relates to people in their early 20s uh
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I think that you have a lot of
1:27
challenges and I wanted you to share
1:29
some of the things that have helped you
1:30
to become uh successful and overcome
1:33
obstacles and helped get you to where
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you are today absolutely thanks for
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being here so Jaden you have been
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described as a gifted child and someone
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who has met or exceeded many
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expectations that Society might have for
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you and I just wanted to know a little
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bit about how you would describe mindset
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for yourself yeah that's a really good
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question I would have to say like we
1:58
could really simplify my personal
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mindset for life like literally into the
2:03
phrase why not um I feel like I've been
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able to do so many things and things I
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never in my wildest dreams thought I was
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going to be able to get to do and
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especially so young in my life but just
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having the why not mentality it really
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eliminates any limitations you would put
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on yourself because if you're presented
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with an opportunity and you're like oh
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I'm too young oh I don't have a degree
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yet oh I'm not qualified for this but
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the why not mentality is just so
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empowering because it's like okay well
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so what like just try it like you could
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get a no and that's okay and a no is
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never forever and so really just having
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that mentality makes me super Fearless
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in the pursuit of my goals and it really
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eliminates any limiting factors that I
2:45
could put on myself or that Society
2:47
could put on me because when you're like
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well I have nothing to lose and
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absolutely everything to gain um you
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just go for anything and everything and
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it's opened so many doors for me and
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honestly it's been a domino effect
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because saying yes to something that was
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out of my comfort zone something that I
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wasn't sure if I was capable of doing
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led to the next thing that led to the
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next thing and just never holding myself
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back has been so incredible and it's
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been really cool to see and all
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everything come into fruition but yeah
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to answer your question my personal
3:18
mindset is why not I think that that's
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awesome in an ideal world but a why not
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mentality without guard rails could
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potentially create problems or danger or
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things like that depending on how you
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pursue the why Nots or how you're you
3:33
know given why given opportunities about
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which you would say why not so what
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values would you say help you to have a
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filter in how you make your decisions so
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that it's not why not jump off the cliff
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or why not do this other drug or
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whatever else for for you how do you
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implement some guard rails with values
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yeah absolutely it's super important to
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not be Reckless or careless everything I
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do um is very thoughtful and with
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um and so I do have values that I almost
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use as like a rubric to kind of measure
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opportunities against that I'll say yes
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or no to and still having why not there
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you know is really important to me to
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making sure I'm not letting like an
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insecurity hold me back um but if I say
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no to something like it's just because
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it didn't align with the value and
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that's okay so to answer your question I
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guess I would have to say two really
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important values in my life would be
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ambition and advocacy um I think is so
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important especially as a young woman in
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today's society to be super fearless and
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going after things and so I'm a very
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ambitious person and I I do work super
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hard and then also tying in advocacy to
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my work because I think when you're
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given opportunities it's so important to
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bring people with you or to advocate for
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people who maybe don't have the stage
4:51
that you're on um and I pair all of that
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with my third value which would have to
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be my faith um I'm a very Christian
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person and so if I feel like an
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opportunity doesn't align with my
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personal morals and values then of
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course I will I will always respectfully
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turn it down but I try to carry ambition
5:09
and advocacy with me and then just to
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make sure you know it's not a dangerous
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choice you know of course I'm being
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super intentional about what I'm saying
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yes to I'll use my faith as like a
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metric for that awesome so it's clear
5:21
that ambition drives you and can be the
5:24
fuel that's that you know perpetuates
5:26
your fire and and your outcomes have
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demonstrated tremendous ambition how
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would you say in a world where things
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are so fast-paced which is an incredible
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uh you know I think disadvantage in a
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lot of ways that you incorporate
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mindfulness as part of how you how you
5:43
manage not letting ambition turn into
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exhaustion yeah that's so important
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burnout is so real and I think we do
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live in a really fast-paced Society you
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know I work in social media and you know
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your feed is just filled like there's
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not even Gap apps between the videos it
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is just scrolling and scrolling and
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everything can feel so fast and so it is
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so important to find those moments of
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mindfulness um and I think for me that's
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like car rides I love listening to music
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um and having my windows rolled down and
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I am in the car a lot going from point A
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to point B and so sometimes it's hard to
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like add to the schedule like I'm going
6:21
to journal today so I really like to
6:24
find moments that are already in my day
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and then integrate gratitude and
6:28
mindfulness into those so whether it's
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saying like a quick prayer at a red
6:32
light or just listening to music I
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really do find like the car is a really
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good space for me to be mindful but also
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in my other jobs that don't really
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involve screens I'm a baby gymnastics
6:44
coach and obviously I'm not on my phone
6:47
when I'm doing that and so working with
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the kids being super Hands-On and just
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being away from my phone is like really
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good for me throughout my week to just
6:55
have those moments of really important
6:57
human connection I would say just
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finding spaces where I'm already going
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to be at work or I'm already going to be
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in the car and then incorporating
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mindfulness into those moments is really
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cool that makes sense do you ever have
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moments where there's just Stillness of
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just being without an objective like
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even you know prayer is great for quiet
7:15
space going within but um what about
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anything that's just completely void of
7:20
an action attached to it good question
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you have any of those times for yourself
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I mean I am 20 and I am a college
7:26
student so I I do take naps nap time is
7:30
great I'm a I'm a big advocate for nap
7:32
time um in between classes highly
7:35
recommend do 20 minute power nap um and
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I I let myself rest and I don't let
7:40
myself feel guilty about it I will
7:42
schedule rest into my day it will say on
7:44
my schedule in between meeting and in
7:46
between Class 20 minute power nap that
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does not surprise me you it's so cool
7:50
because when I check that off my list I
7:52
feel productive you know I it's not
7:54
something I feel guilty about um so
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moments of complete Stillness I'm a big
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napper awesome that would be my
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authentic answer to that uh can you
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describe a time where you were able to
8:06
incorporate something that was really
8:07
Mindful and the outcome that it
8:09
presented for you yeah so I'm a really
8:12
big reader I love to read books I think
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it's so important it works on your mind
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and it's fun cuz sometimes I have to
8:19
read like no offense for really boring
8:22
stuff for my classes and so getting to
8:24
read books that I enjoy just for leisure
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is super important to me and so I really
8:29
wanted to spread that I was like how
8:32
could I spread my love for reading with
8:35
others and so um after I read a book I
8:37
would take notes on it because I wanted
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to remember that story and I'd been I
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did that for like a year read a book
8:43
take notes on it and that was a mo that
8:45
was an opportunity for me to be mindful
8:48
um and then I was like well wait why
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don't I like create a journal based off
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the template I was organically doing and
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why don't I like release a reading
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Journal so I worked super hard for like
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oh my gosh it was a project I spent 6
9:01
months on but I created designed and
9:03
manufactured a reading Journal um that I
9:06
sell on Amazon and that has been so cool
9:08
and it was 6 months of like really
9:11
intentional mindfulness like every
9:13
detail in that book had so much purpose
9:15
in it versus like something to the
9:18
smallest detail of the font or the color
9:20
I chose or the graphics on the page I uh
9:22
there's a lot of like nature on the
9:24
notes pages and that was so important to
9:26
me because I truly do feel like reading
9:28
was an escape it can be anything that's
9:31
too much that pulls us out of our
9:32
present reality can can work like that
9:34
so I think it's great that you're aware
9:36
of that and so um that was an
9:38
opportunity where I was so mindful about
9:40
everything that went into my book and
9:42
the the outcome was absolutely
9:44
incredible and the feedback I received
9:45
was amazing and it was so cool because I
9:47
released it around Christmas time and
9:49
then I saw on social media people were
9:51
buying the book and giving it as
9:52
Christmas gifts and that that made my
9:54
heart like so happy that was such like a
9:56
personal win for me because truly that
9:58
was the goal was to spread love for
10:00
reading um but I that was an opportunity
10:02
for me where I was so mindful about
10:04
everything that went into that book and
10:06
then the outcome of getting to sharing
10:07
sharing it with people that's awesome
10:08
you must be so proud of yourself such a
10:11
cool accomplishment so it's clear that
10:13
you have a lot of ambition and I love
10:15
that you have advocacy as part of your
10:17
values I'm curious how you address
10:20
things for example limiting beliefs we
10:23
have um we all have limiting beliefs and
10:26
overcoming them and having sort of a
10:28
plan to overcome those limiting beliefs
10:30
or maybe a mantra or things like that
10:32
are often times helpful so what are some
10:35
things that you Embrace when it comes to
10:37
overcoming limiting beliefs while there
10:40
have been so many like just incredible
10:42
wins like it's not like that it's not
10:44
like they didn't come at a cost and it's
10:46
not like it didn't take a lot of hard
10:47
work to get there and so especially
10:50
being a gifted child and growing up in
10:52
gifted prechool all the way to now being
10:55
in Barrett the Honors College it's been
10:57
an absolutely incredible experience but
10:59
it did come with kind of some like
11:02
harmful self-perceptions I would say I
11:04
think one of the labels we put on gifted
11:07
children is that they're attention
11:09
seeking and that is such a negative
11:11
connotation to it you know it's
11:13
associated with the idea that like oh
11:14
like we just want praise we just want
11:16
accolades we want your attention we want
11:18
to show how smart we are and so
11:21
something that's been really crucial and
11:22
overcoming that limiting belief that was
11:25
something I held about myself you know I
11:27
had been called an attention seeker I
11:29
internalized that and to like a negative
11:34
of myself um so something that's been so
11:38
like critical for me and overcoming that
11:40
was changing my mentality from I was an
11:42
attention seeker to no I was a
11:45
connection Seeker um and when you see
11:48
gifted children as connection seeking
11:50
your entire Viewpoint of that child
11:52
changes um because with attention it's
11:55
so negative it's like requires another
11:57
party we want the praise we want the
12:00
accolades versus connection seeking it's
12:02
like it's mutual it's like wait I want
12:04
to understand you I want to learn more
12:06
like gifted children are such empaths
12:09
you know we we we seek that human
12:11
connection um and so your your entire
12:13
Viewpoint of that child changes and that
12:15
really helped me change how I saw myself
12:17
um and I also think when you when we
12:21
think of receiving attention that
12:23
requires another party that requires
12:25
somebody else validating you that
12:27
requires somebody else praising you and
12:30
being the source of your confidence and
12:32
with connection seeking I think one of
12:34
the most important connections you can
12:35
have in your life is the one you have
12:37
with yourself of connection seeking
12:39
eliminates that other party and it's
12:41
like wait like not that like I need
12:43
somebody else to validate my
12:45
intelligence or my gifts or my
12:46
capabilities like I know I'm smart and
12:49
that's the only thing that matters and
12:51
I'm connecting with myself and it's so
12:53
much more positive um and so I would say
12:56
switching my mind frame from attention
12:58
to con connection seeking has been
13:00
really cool I think that's so very
13:01
important because you know as humans we
13:04
are hardwired for connection and I think
13:06
that children absolutely need approval
13:09
and praise and I think that Pride
13:11
motivates future Behavior so I think
13:14
that that external uh implication of
13:16
seeking attention versus the internal
13:20
hard wirring that we all need praise and
13:22
connection and we all need that as part
13:24
of our development of self and security
13:26
and attachment and who who am I as a
13:28
person I I think there's another
13:30
important concept to just put out there
13:33
because in all parenting whether you
13:35
know your child is gifted or not when
13:37
they have behavior that appears to be
13:40
attention seeking I think that a lot can
13:42
be missed because ultimately all
13:44
Behavior bad or otherwise is the result
13:47
of an unmet need and so if we can change
13:50
that lens and look at Behavior as
13:52
something that is needing to be
13:54
addressed and then think about it
13:56
through terms of Conn connection seeking
13:59
which is totally lifegiving I think that
14:01
is a beautiful piece of advice so thank
14:03
you for that I think you know that what
14:05
you internalized so intuitively can help
14:08
a lot of people and maybe even change
14:10
that frame of reference from how we view
14:13
you know uh attention seeking behaviors
14:16
with anyone exactly and I think seeing
14:19
it as connection seeking is so
14:21
humanizing because it's like you know
14:23
gift to children they're more than a
14:25
mind they're more than a test score
14:27
they're more than a data point to like
14:28
brag about they're they're a human being
14:31
and they have those same needs
14:32
regardless of IQ every human has this
14:35
intrinsic need to connect and when we ex
14:37
deide exactly and when you extend that
14:40
Grace to gifted children it humanizes
14:42
them and it's like there's so much more
14:44
than like their grades they're a human
14:46
being and they genuinely seek connection
14:48
with others and that is beautiful it's
14:51
it's it's really incredible yeah and it
14:53
it must be hard when you think about you
14:55
know and we don't need to get into this
14:57
too deeply but just something that
14:58
occurred to me me is when we are ex you
15:02
know if if we accelerate or if we excel
15:04
at something you know such as yourself
15:07
there is a lot of Praise that tends to
15:08
come from it and there's also a lot of
15:11
accolades that are given and then
15:14
coupled whether intentional or not
15:15
expectations around those accolades and
15:19
the and the Excellence that that is
15:20
achieved so I think that it can be a
15:22
little bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy
15:24
and that you do so well with something
15:26
and then get a lot of Praise because we
15:28
want to see people do well and we want
15:30
to praise and and that it's hard for
15:32
that to not turn into an external cue to
15:34
motivate future Behavior so I think it's
15:36
really insiteful that you kind of caught
15:38
that piece and were able to course
15:40
correct it how you think about it
15:42
because with connection seeking you're
15:44
really focusing on the connection you
15:45
have with yourself and not necessarily
15:47
the outside praise right so there's a
15:50
lot of Buzz around positivity toxic
15:53
positivity and and the power of positive
15:55
thinking because our thoughts do fire
15:57
and wire data together and the and the
16:00
focus that we put on our daily thoughts
16:02
really does impact perpetuated future
16:05
thoughts so how would you describe uh
16:08
positive thinking for you and and how
16:10
does it impact you yeah so we're talking
16:12
about mindset today and so I definitely
16:15
think the ability to have a positive
16:17
mindset is such a personal victory for
16:19
anybody and so I would say I use
16:22
positive thinking to reclaim personal
16:24
autonomy over situations I didn't have
16:26
any control over because when you're
16:28
going through through a hard time or
16:30
when something unfortunate happens to
16:31
you like you can't change the situation
16:34
but one way to take back some of your
16:35
power is changing your mindset and your
16:38
perspective on that issue because it
16:40
really is you saying like yes this hard
16:42
thing happened um and it would be
16:45
impossible for me to not be changed or
16:47
affected by it but I'm not going to be
16:49
defined by it and so you utilizing and
16:52
leveraging a positive mindset can allow
16:54
you to reclaim some of your power that
16:56
maybe a hard situation took away from
16:58
you because you're able to see like well
17:01
I and not to be toxically positive and
17:03
you can be like I'm not grateful for
17:04
that I don't have to be grateful that
17:06
that happened but I can be grateful in
17:08
that moment I don't have to be grateful
17:10
for that moment but I can say or even
17:12
furthermore what that moment taught me
17:14
or I learn from or the Triumph that I
17:16
got to feel for the overcoming of and so
17:20
it's almost like the I ran the marathon
17:23
and even though at you know mile 28 or
17:26
hold on I ran the marathon and at Mile
17:28
23 think I can't get through this the
17:31
Triumph you feel when Crossing that
17:32
Finish Line uh I don't have to be
17:35
grateful for the fact that everything
17:36
hurts right now as I'm running but I can
17:38
be grateful that I overcame and exact
17:40
and feel that Pride yeah goal setting is
17:43
a of Paramount importance when it comes
17:46
to getting anywhere we have to know
17:48
where we want to land in order to
17:50
achieve the things that we want to do uh
17:52
and we want as far as outcomes in our
17:54
lives so can you tell us a little bit
17:56
about for you how do you implement goals
17:58
goal setting into your life and what
18:00
does that look like yeah so I definitely
18:03
rely on my why not mentality and I like
18:05
to set really big goals for myself
18:07
because even if I don't fulfill the goal
18:10
well wow look at this amazing outcome I
18:12
still was able to reach because I set
18:14
the finish line so far away but more
18:17
often than not what I found is that when
18:18
I set super high goals for myself um I
18:21
truly do all I can so God can do all I
18:24
can't I really do feel like I put 110%
18:29
to everything I do but God really does
18:31
orchestrate so much magic behind the
18:33
scenes to put the other people I meet or
18:35
the other doors that are going to open
18:37
for me like to be in the right place at
18:39
the right time to open for me um and so
18:42
I would say when I do set those really
18:44
high goals I often surpass them because
18:46
I have the Lord in my back corner
18:47
cheering me on and so I would say with
18:49
goal setting I'm not afraid to go big um
18:52
because I know God's only going to make
18:53
it bigger that's awesome and if you get
18:55
knocked down there's a lesson there
18:57
exactly right that's that's great so we
19:00
can't talk about how a person turns out
19:02
without talking about our upbringing and
19:05
um adaptable it's all about the human
19:07
experience and how our histories inform
19:11
what happens for us today and so when
19:13
you think about your upbringing and you
19:16
know we had talked before about your
19:18
your um parent influence as positive
19:20
reinforcement and coupled with high
19:22
expectations can you talk a little bit
19:24
about how that has impacted your goal
19:27
setting strategies and the way you think
19:30
about that yeah absolutely and so I was
19:32
raised by a mom who grew up in rural New
19:35
Mexico and so she did not have access to
19:38
the incredible teachers I got to learn
19:40
from the you know amazing accelerated
19:42
learning programs I had available to me
19:45
and so you know it was really why she
19:47
moved me out here was because she'll and
19:49
she'll tell you this to her face she
19:51
said that when I was born I was just
19:53
looking around I just observed
19:55
everything and she said the moment I saw
19:58
you know your little baby eyes I knew
19:59
there was something special about you
20:01
and she felt like God had given her like
20:03
not to brag about myself but this
20:04
Incredible Gift of a child and she felt
20:07
so convicted to do whatever she needed
20:09
to do to give you know this baby girl a
20:12
platform to share her gifts with the
20:14
world and so when we moved out here I
20:16
was put into accelerated learning
20:18
programs which was absolutely incredible
20:19
because it was something my mom didn't
20:21
have the opportunity to pursue and she
20:23
wanted to give me a life that she um
20:25
couldn't have when she was younger and
20:27
so what that meant moving out here was
20:29
that well you're going to go to school
20:30
in the most academically competitive
20:32
District in the state does I feel like
20:34
pressure at times for you when you think
20:36
about the the um the bar being set so
20:41
high and like you're going to do all the
20:42
things that I didn't have a chance to do
20:44
when you think about how you feel about
20:46
that does it does it send any like you
20:49
know I haven't thought about it that way
20:50
in in the way of pressure like I really
20:52
need to outshine because I was given so
20:54
much opportunity I do not see pressure
20:58
as a burden I see it as a privilege
21:01
because wow how lucky am I to have
21:03
somebody that wants me to be my best
21:05
self and is going to push me to get
21:07
there and so something that was really
21:09
interesting was that my mom never
21:10
demanded Perfection that that was never
21:13
the expectation the goal was always you
21:15
are going to be the best version of
21:17
yourself because you deserve that like
21:19
everybody deserves to be the best
21:21
version of themsel and so it was so
21:23
important to my mom that I was given the
21:25
resources to fulfill that and you know
21:27
not so she could live vicariously
21:30
through me and not that she had a
21:31
vendetta against um you know her
21:33
childhood but just that she truly
21:35
thought there was something so special
21:37
about me and she thought she would be
21:39
doing me a disservice if she didn't help
21:41
me do everything I could possibly do to
21:44
be the best version of myself and so yes
21:46
the expectations were Skyhigh like I
21:49
will not lie I would there was a lot
21:51
demanded of me um but pressure is a
21:53
privilege because it means there's
21:55
somebody who believes in you and
21:56
believes in your potential to succeed
21:59
and I especially if it's coupled with a
22:01
lot of praise and a lot of accolades and
22:03
it's not just where you fell short if it
22:05
wasn't perfect no and so the
22:07
expectations were Skyhigh but I was
22:10
literally never told like okay fly like
22:13
go do it like grow wings you don't have
22:15
my mom really did help me build a ladder
22:17
um and that's something we've talked
22:19
about before and so I was always like
22:21
you are going to be the best version of
22:23
yourself no questions asked but I
22:26
believe in you but I think you're
22:27
incredible you're so smart and you're so
22:30
hardworking and let me make sure you
22:31
have access to tutoring and let me take
22:33
you to the library as many times as you
22:36
want me to in a week so you can read
22:37
every book you want but let me make sure
22:39
you have fun so if you want to hang out
22:41
with your friends and you want to do
22:42
other opportunities I'm going to make
22:44
sure we have time for that and so it was
22:46
it was so holistic um and I was able to
22:49
explore anything I wanted to but it was
22:52
just so important to my mom that you
22:54
know this this child she felt she had
22:56
been given from God was giving was never
22:58
held back that was so important to my
23:00
mom it's clear with ambition advocacy
23:03
support from your family system all of
23:05
those things are in you know in your
23:07
favor no question but I think there are
23:09
some things that are just hardwired
23:11
related to our personalities and our
23:14
epigenetics and everything our family
23:16
line has been through and our stories of
23:18
overcoming and that leads us to talking
23:20
about resilience and ultimately grit so
23:23
when you think about those two concepts
23:25
resilience for yourself and grit can you
23:28
tell us story of overcoming where
23:30
resilience was at the at the base of
23:32
everything and where you needed to rely
23:33
on some grit to move through so when
23:37
you're doing incredible things and
23:39
you're truly feel like you're living in
23:41
a movie um people will bring you back to
23:44
reality very quickly and it is so
23:46
important to never forget that you can
23:48
never make everybody happy and there are
23:51
always going to be people to have
23:52
something to say to say about what
23:54
you're doing and they're going to try to
23:56
bring you down and it's really important
23:57
to just remember remember that and so a
23:59
specific story of where I had to really
24:02
rely on resilience was like I would say
24:05
I kind of always experienced bullying
24:08
growing up you know I told my mom when I
24:10
was 8 years old I wanted to be on Disney
24:12
Channel and she said okay let's do it
24:14
and so I signed with a modeling agency
24:16
and I worked in the entertainment
24:17
industry for like 5 years and it was
24:19
incredible but with that came like
24:21
bullying at school and um and that that
24:25
never went away it evolved into body
24:27
shaming as I got older and then you know
24:29
eventually the source of my bullying was
24:31
coming from adults wow yeah and so um I
24:34
played two sports in high school and my
24:36
tennis coaches were absolutely amazing I
24:38
love them so much but uh a coach for
24:41
another sport I played you know was
24:43
caught um in a very public manner saying
24:47
really hurtful and horrible things about
24:50
me and I was not there and it it was
24:54
such a weird experience to be bullied by
24:59
because you know such a betrayal it is
25:01
such a betrayal and you know especially
25:02
like you feel like um coaches and
25:04
teachers and mentors in your life
25:06
they're supposed to be like trusted
25:07
adults people you respect and people who
25:10
you know you can count on and it was
25:11
such a betrayal to hear um just the
25:14
really nasty things that were said about
25:16
me because I was still a child how did
25:18
you handle it um that was really hard um
25:21
because you just don't know if you're
25:23
worth speaking up about and so in
25:27
conversations with my mom and with my
25:29
family we were like do we speak up about
25:32
this do we cause a problem and I think
25:35
that's that's that's so wrong and
25:37
sometimes when I don't you know I truly
25:40
like to see myself as like a survivor of
25:42
a lot of situations but I think when
25:43
you're in the middle of it a lot of
25:46
don't say what happened because of this
25:49
fear like oh I don't I don't want to
25:51
bother anybody I don't want to be a
25:52
burden no I'm okay it really wasn't that
25:54
bad minimize your experience you want to
25:56
minimize your experience and that really
25:58
takes away from like the severity of
26:00
what happened like an adult said really
26:02
horrible things about me and that's not
26:04
okay and so ultimately what it came down
26:07
to was like there are so many other
26:10
people that have been in this position
26:12
that was a child and had an adult say
26:14
horrible things about them and they
26:16
didn't get a voice and they didn't get
26:18
an opportunity to speak up so there
26:20
comes your advocacy so I'm going to
26:22
speak up in this situation if not for
26:24
myself for every other little girl that
26:26
had something nasty said about them
26:28
happen I was 16 or 17 at the time you
26:31
know very I was that was those are very
26:32
formative years and that you know one
26:35
comment can stay with you for a long
26:37
time and really influence how you see
26:38
yourself and so I was like and you know
26:40
what I'm also going to speak up because
26:42
I'm going to contribute to a culture
26:44
that says bullying is never okay from
26:46
another child from another adult and I
26:47
had been bullied for like 8 years at
26:50
that point and it was like I I want to
26:53
be somebody that said this wasn't okay I
26:55
wanted to be somebody that had the cycle
26:56
end with me this really vicious cycle
26:58
because hurt people hurt people and I
27:00
didn't want to let this change me and I
27:02
didn't want to grow up to hurt another
27:04
person because of unresolved conflicts I
27:05
had in myself and so I did speak up I
27:08
did say something about it and people
27:10
were held accountable and Justice was
27:12
served and that was so important to me
27:15
and that was such a little victory for
27:16
me when it taught you that your voice
27:17
does matter and that your experiences
27:19
matter and that's such a beautiful thing
27:21
to have be part of your resilience story
27:24
and and your grit for sure and the fact
27:26
that you had family to support it I
27:27
think is really critical yeah uh as well
27:30
so um you can hopefully see why I
27:32
invited this young lady to be on our
27:35
show she's just a bright light and I
27:37
feel so lucky to know you um we do have
27:39
more for you from Jaden and uh that'll
27:43
be in another episode but I wanted to
27:46
just thank you so much for being with us
27:48
and um hopefully you shed some light on
27:51
other people uh of similar stories or
27:54
can provide an example to be uh you know
27:56
a beacon of light to be you know to
27:58
point toward and have uh young women
28:01
feel inspired by the person that you are
28:04
I know that I certainly am and I think
28:05
that you're just a lovely human and she
28:07
she is not just beautiful on the outside
28:09
She is totally beautiful on the inside
28:11
so she has she has all of it she's an
28:13
incredible person so thank you so much
28:15
for being with us and you can get that
28:17
journal on Amazon we'll put the link in
28:20
in the comments below but uh until then
28:23
make sure that you lead with love it'll
28:25
never steer you wrong