By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School teacher Are you unknowingly limiting your child’s potential? Photo by Benjamin Manley on U nsplash I have yet to meet a parent who will stand up and say that they don’t care what their child’s future looks like and I don’t know a parent who is content raising a child who quits when things get tough. The reason for this is nature. It is because regardless of your childhood experiences, background and mindset, once you become a parent, human programming activates and you naturally want the best for your child, no matter wh ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School teacher THE MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU SHOULD BE GIVING YOUR CHILD. Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash Did you know that Bill Russell, one of the greatest players in NBA history (winner of 11 championships in 13 years), often vomited before big games due to nerves and anxiety? Or, that Adele (Grammy Award-winning artist) vomits before nearly every concert due to stage fright and fear? When we think of confident people, we often think of our leaders, our stage performers and our sports stars. The truth is many of these people ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School teacher Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash Depression. Unemployment. Anxiety. Divorce — it’s dark, isn’t it? This is the sad reality of experiences written into the history books under the banner of ‘economic recession’. And, it is safe to say that the world is scared right now. Australia is the latest of a long line of countries to confirm that in 2020 they are entering a recession; it’s first in almost 30 years. Typically characterised by a significant rise in the unemployment rate, a recession is a per ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School Teacher Self-belief and self-confidence are two topics that are often lumped together. Not here. I like to separate these two concepts because they each have a place, a purpose, and a vital role to play in helping our children achieve their true potential. To understand the separation and distinction between the two concepts, consider these questions: Have you ever thought about starting a business and had the self-belief that you could do it, but lacked the self-confidence to start? The doubt probably crept in because ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School Teacher As a Secondary School Teacher, I have stood in countless classrooms, desperately trying to motivate students just to put in a little bit of effort! The kids I am referring to are ones who will try every-trick-in-the-book to avoid doing any work. They will turn up to class with no pen, no book and no electronic device. Why? Because despite the best efforts of teachers, having no equipment makes it extremely difficult for them to complete any truly productive work! The action of turning up to class without the neces ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School Teacher If you have school-age children, you’ve probably heard the term ‘growth mindset’ a lot in recent years. These words are the educational ‘buzz words’ of the current generation of kids! If you graduated from secondary school before 2013, and don’t work in the education field, you may not be too familiar with the growth mindset teachings. The most you may have heard about growth mindset may be that you place a big ‘YET’ at the end of every sentence… “I can’t do this, YET.” Photo by Jukan Tateisi on Unsplash We ..read more

By Jess Burnett Founder of Mind Traction, Mum of 3 and Secondary School Teacher Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash “I try to encourage her to study, but she’s not very good at it.” “He’s never been good at maths.” “She can’t spell” “Science is not his subject area.” “He didn’t read the novel because he’s a bad reader.” As a teacher, you hear a lot of different things during parent-teacher interviews. When I listen to parents say phrases like the ones above, my heart breaks for that child, and I can’t help but wonder what other limiting beliefs these children have placed on them. I used to t ..read more