Lessons on Growth Mindset from Dexter’s Laboratory

Growing up, Dexter’s Laboratory was one of my favorite cartoon shows. It is about a boy genius who, as you can imagine, has a giant lab of his own. Most episodes are silly, to the point of being ridiculous. But there’s one I recall with a profound lesson that even the revered Thich Nhat Hanh and respected Carol Dweck I believe could give a nod to!

The episode ‘Unfortunate Cookie’ sees Dexter and his older sister Dee Dee find a puzzle in a Fortune Cookie. But it turns out to be a Finger Torture device, an elastic tube stuck to Dexter’s and Dee Dee’s forefingers. The siblings aren’t the best of buddies and often fight with each other. So, obviously, they want to get rid of the tube and each other as soon as possible. But the harder they pull away, tighter the tube gets! Through the episode they trace the origin of the puzzle, visit Chinatown, and try umpteen ways to solve their problem while constantly bickering with each other. Finally, the maker of the puzzle helps them find the solution – the tube loosens when they (and their fingers) come close to each other!

Being compelled to be close to his sister was Dexter’s suffering and the elastic tube the cause of it, and he was keen on ridding himself of both. And when he learned more about the tube, got close to Dee Dee, and chose not to suffer, the cause of the suffering went away too. I think this tells us two things – One, the cause of our sufferings are there for a reason (be it other people, external situations, or our own selves), which is to draw our attention to the suffering. And the cause goes away, or we no longer see it as a problem, when we choose not to suffer. And two, the purpose of the suffering is to help us transform ourselves! The key is to build the capacity to choose, whether to see the suffering as a problem or an opportunity to grow.

Perhaps it is also worth acknowledging that the word ‘Suffering’ may seem a bit melodramatic, and not applicable to the logical and driven person. But it happens to many of us in the workplace too – suffering through horrible bosses, incompetent team members, over-competitive colleagues, etc. We may ask, what can I do to transform such suffering?

1. Reset my mindset from ‘why do I have to suffer’ to ‘what can I do in this situation’. This will require me to feel and process my unpleasant feelings fully so that there is no relapse along the way.

2. Explore and understand what’s really affecting me – such as, a. I feel overwhelmed when someone pushes me too hard, b. I feel frustrated when someone micromanages me, or c. I feel hurt when someone belittles me in front of the team.

3. Identify options basis my current realities and capacity – such as, a. Can I understand my manager better and partner with her, b. Can I be assertive with her and state my needs, or c. Can I leave her because I don’t have the capacity to deal with her now?

This is commonly referred to as Growth Mindset, and as you can see from above, it fundamentally involves emotional resilience, optimism, and mental clarity. Coaching is a powerful tool to develop this mindset, as it speeds up the process of identifying and processing emotions and focuses on developing clarity. It takes significant effort to build such a mindset, but it can be extremely rewarding, fulfilling, and get us closer to life.

Would love to know your experiences with Growth Mindset. And any other such popular media examples too! And if you want to know more about Growth Mindset or explore it for yourself, let’s talk.