Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers 2025-2026 by Laura Sass

Fantastic, eye-opening start

2025-10-25 03:01:32 UTC

This prologue has already opened up my mind to so much that we are unconsciously trained to believe about ourselves. Boaler writes that the limits we give ourselves about our potential and the lengths we are capable of reaching are simply untrue. I was especially taken aback by the explanation of Ericsson's "deliberate practice," where the key takeaway is that when you hit a barrier, it is advantageous to develop a new approach and come at the problem from a new perspective. This may seem like an obvious solution, but I find that I often will give myself limits to what I am capable of doing when I hit long-term obstacles. Ericsson respond to this by saying "It is surprisingly rare to get clear evidence in any field that a person has reached some immutable limit on performance. Instead, I've found that people more often just give up and stop trying to improve." In addition, Boaler writes "Those who study remarkable feats performed by seemingly ordinary people find that none of the people have a genetic advantage; instead, they put in a lot of effort and practice." Oh, the inspiration and hope that this sparks in me! - Zara Scaccio

2025-11-05 23:54:48 UTC

Many of our "identified" students identify as someone who isn't smart or good at school. The introduction is inspiring. I am excited to read more and learn how these 6 keys will benefit all of our students, but especially the ones who struggle more.

2025-11-06 01:03:52 UTC

I found the brain training to be very fascinating. It is exciting to learn how much the brain can continue to grow and build new connections. I also enjoyed reading about the impact of tracking students and the data associated with it.

Great Opening

sknisely — 2025-11-21 14:16:24 UTC

The introduction really got me hooked. I liked that Jo Boaler opened with talking about her own life instead of heading straight into research and facts. I also really liked the chart with the fixed praise vs growth praise. I have always heard of a fixed mindset and growth mindset but I haven't heard about it with praise. What really stuck with me in the introduction was "praise what they did and not them as people." I have never really thought about what I say to the students when I praise them, but after reading this I really do try to give them growth praise and focus on what they did that was good.

Myths Within Life/School

sknisely — 2025-11-21 14:22:50 UTC

I really enjoyed reading about the monkey study. I also liked that Jo talked about how for a long time our society has built the idea of "some people can and some people can't." When I was younger in school I often felt as if I just wasn't meant to be good at certain subjects. But as a grew older, with more practice, I started understanding more in school and catching on to things quicker. I agree with Jo that this myth of some people just aren't good at something needs to be eradicated. I think it builds anxiety within students and has students putting themselves within a box instead of exploring all the possibilities they have.

High expectations- Kubala

2025-11-29 12:00:17 UTC

I really enjoyed this chapter. One of the pieces that resonated with me was the student who struggled in front of the class and the teacher told her to keep going. The student expressed that that made her feel believed in. She received the teacher’s action as a vote of confidence. It can be very hard for me to watch students struggle, I want to jump in and help. This is especially true for my highest need students, but they are entitled to the struggle as much as their peers. I need to support the struggle not remove it.

Mind Set

2025-11-29 12:30:50 UTC

This is an area that I can really relate to. I let things “into my head” and it directly impacts my performance. I have to be mindful of who and what I surround myself with because of how sensitive I am to my mind set. One of the priorities I have for working with students and writing IEPs is being strength focused.

Multidimensional Learning

2025-11-29 17:48:23 UTC

The majority of my career has been working with students who are neurodivergent and require instruction to be delivered in multi modalities. It has afforded me a lot of opportunities to be creative and I really enjoy that.

Speed

2025-11-29 18:14:13 UTC

I liked timed test in math when I was little. The fact fluency skills helped me to enjoy math more and attach real world meaning to it. Perhaps because it was an area of strength for me. Just an interesting perspective compared to the book.

Collaboration

2025-11-29 18:23:10 UTC

I understand the value of collaborating within math but how do we get students who are significantly behind their peers to engage in the discussions meaningfully?

Freedom

2025-11-29 18:29:43 UTC

Being limitless is about “freedom of mind and body, a way of approaching life with creativity and flexibility”. I really like that!!!! It reminds me of how valuable resilience, time, and fresh opportunities can be to living and learning.

Mistakes and Struggle

2025-12-01 14:45:18 UTC

I like this chapter because I regually, throughout my counseling career, have outlined to students/clinets/parents the importance of struggling. Many people want to avoid struggle but the struggle is invaluable. A person can learn more from a difficult situation than they can from something being easy. People can learn grit, perserverance, and strengths in situations that challenge them or have not gone the way they planned. Difficult situations develop tools on how to approach dissapoinments which can be used throughout life, in any situation. When people learn to adjust to disappointments at a young age, they are strengthening their skills and resiliance for later in life as they will know how to handle a mistake or disappointment the next time it arises.

Changing Your Thoughts

2025-12-01 14:51:39 UTC

This chapter aligns with the theraputic modality of Cognative Behavior Therapy (CBT) in which a person's thoughts form their behaviors. If students/staff/parents are operating from a negative and defeatist mindset than the student's behaivors will portray that same message. If interactions with a student/students self interactions are framed in a positive way than the student will begin to reflect the positive and desired traits that will ultimately help the student in life. A more yoga approahc is it manifest positively and gratitude and the individual will begin to see positive and grateful actions and experiences in life. As humans, we see what we look for and if we can help students look through an uplifting lense than their view and behaviors in the world will be uplifting.

Brain Activity

2025-12-01 14:57:55 UTC

I cannot stress the importance of the saying, "neurons that wire together, fore together". The repetition of working wholey to create the desired outcome is a powerful tool and vision. The amount of research that has, and continues, to be conducted in this area is widespread and aw-inspiring.

A person's mindset is everthing in any situation. This concept is woven throughout histroy and the present day. Pick up any book from a Holocuast survivor and the message is clear. Viktor Frankle's Man's Search for Meaning and Eddir Jaku's The Happiest Man on Earth are the truest examples of mindset and gratitide.

Students need to be taught this concept and it needs to be woven into their daily experience.

Missed Moments

2025-12-01 15:00:12 UTC

When people (students, teachers, parents, etc.) speed through life and activities they miss the process. The process of self-discovery. The process of learning, being proud, the ah-huh moments. These are the things that make and develop a life. Rushing to get to the next task or get through an assignment only lets the students see a small part of the educational story.

Time is necessary.

Conclusion

2025-12-01 15:02:29 UTC

Students need to be introdcued to the concepts and the overarching meaning needs to be fully supported and woven into daily life during the school day. When students live this type of mindset/life during the school day, they can bring it into their personal life and really transform themselves, or the workd around them.

Real World

2025-12-01 15:04:04 UTC

As I mentioned throughout my posts, these are theraputic and yogic concepts that I work at using in my personal life (for myself and my own family) along with planting the seeds with students and their families when I interact with them. This is something that I have done during my whole career but know that there is always space to improve, change, and implement differently.

Roadblocks

npaparone — 2025-12-01 16:49:49 UTC

Boaler comments on how everyone struggles with roadblocks in their lives. As an educator, I am unable to remove some roadblocks and can only do so much. In a collaborative setting, how can educators limit or eliminate roadblocks for students from a diverse background? Leveling the playing field for students with learning disabilities, emotional challenges, unstable home environments, and social challenges seems impossible at times.

Necessary Speed

npaparone — 2025-12-01 16:55:12 UTC

I struggle with some of this chapter because speed and automaticity are massive parts of learning. For all courses, prerequisite fluency is essential. For example, students need to multiply before solving equations. These learning gaps need to be addressed but we have limited time to do just that. Speed may not be everything, but the advantages are huge. As students advance into the work force, we cannot ignore that speed is often required.

Struggle

npaparone — 2025-12-01 17:07:35 UTC

Productive struggle is an essential part of learning, but it is very hard to get this concept across to students. Students are very quick to give up. This may be a trained response or something related to a different challenge. I would like to know some strategies to build resiliency for my students who tend to struggle to a point of giving up.

Making Mistakes Improves Learning

2025-12-02 18:16:27 UTC

I really enjoyed this chapter. I think it is important that students understand that making mistakes and productive struggling is a part of learning. It is difficult for students to understand this at times, especially in a day and age where information and answers are so easily accessible. I also agree with giving students less problems to complete, but are more thought provoking and challenge the student as a learner versus helping students setup problems and having them complete a lot of them.

Mindset

2025-12-02 18:21:39 UTC

I always knew that it was important to have a growth mindset, but the data showing how much more successful people were just by believing they could do something was impressive. After reading this chapter, I challenged myself to try out this approach. I have a student who is extremely bright and capable, but always second guesses himself or needs reassurance that he is correct. When he was working on an assignment the other day, I made sure to include phrases like, "You can do this," and "I believe in you." I saw that he lit up with confidence. Truly, it is amazing how much our words impact one another.

Diamond Map

2025-12-02 18:25:42 UTC

I enjoyed learning about the diamond map. I am going to try this approach in my own classroom. I think this would be a great way to review multiplication.

Great Introduction!

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 22:08:09 UTC

The introduction to this book had me hooked in to learning about the 6 keys, and the benefits each of them will provide for our students. Hearing that students are normally excited, but then believe they are not as "smart" as everyone else. Also, how this same thinking can follow into adulthood, into careers. I also really enjoyed the table they provided on fixed praise and growth praise. Trying to stay away from saying "you're so smart" and changing it to something along the lines of "I am so happy you learned how to do that", can help students think more positive when they then hit an obstacle. I was excited to learn how to go into these obstacles and change the perspectives.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 22:15:58 UTC

Many times, special needs students present with anxiety, especially when it involves math or reading, that they cannot do well because they feel they are not strong in something. They say that they can't do it and shut down. I hate that this thought process has been placed in their minds.

Brain Growth

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 22:16:06 UTC

You always hear that your brain stops developing in your 20's. I never thought that it continues to grow far past that. Reading about the brain training and how it is in a constant growth was very fascinating. Especially, when they said that we are not born with the brains we need for a particular subject. We just have to learn and practice that subject to have growth. I also enjoyed reading about the tracking of students and how teachers tend to group students based on their abilities and how that can affect how they think. Students will start thinking they are not good enough at a certain subject if they begin to recognize the different groupings.

Mistakes & Struggle

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 22:20:19 UTC

I enjoyed reading this chapter and learning how we are supposed to make mistakes and that it helps build neural connections. When students make mistakes, they think it is such a bad thing. They eventually give up if they continue to make mistakes. I want to teach my students that mistakes actually help us, and to not give up. My favorite part of this chapter though, was seeing the Learning Pit. While I was a building substitute last school year in Solon, we actually had implemented the Learning Pit. They encouraged the students to use the term "I am in the Pit" and it seemed to help them have a better understanding and be more okay with struggling.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 22:29:51 UTC

I was horrified to read the passage about Jennifer and her grad school professor. That was extremely unprofessional of him to accuse her of cheating or memorizing answers when all she did was put forth more of an effort. Our brains can be taught, but some topics require more effort, like in Jennifer's case. That professor stole that joy away from her, but I'm so glad that she had someone (her mother) to support her and show her that the professor was wrong.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 22:37:31 UTC

I loved how it talked about mistakes being okay. I always tell my students to do their best, and if they make a mistake, it is okay. I tell them that it allows me to see how their brain operates, as each person is different and so is their brain. My students relax then and start to have more confidence in what they are doing, as they are no longer worrying about simply getting the correct answer. Some of the best learning comes from making mistakes. It causes us to think about something differently and reflect on how we would approach it the next time. Sometimes students are so upset and worried about making mistakes that it causes them to stumble over something that they normally wouldn't have stumbled over. Mistakes are life and are necessary for learning.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 22:42:45 UTC

The section about David Yeager and Carol Dweck's research really spoke to me. I have seen firsthand the aggression of those with a fixed mindset when presented with something they view as outside of their ability level. I have seen the hatred they have shown towards a topic or idea that they felt was outside of their ability. They did not like the challenge, and it took quite a bit of convincing at times to even get them to consider trying it.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 22:50:00 UTC

I enjoyed the part when the author was talking about the overuse of homework in her daughter's 4th-grade classroom. I love that the author shared her concerns with the teacher in a calm and collected manner, which allowed for the creation of an alternative approach to how homework would be provided. I loved the idea of only having a few problems, but having the students look at them from different perspectives. It gets their brain looking at it beyond what their brain is instinctively telling them to do.

tpyles1 — 2025-12-02 23:00:31 UTC

I absolutely HATE timed tests. Even as an adult, I get anxiety about not finishing on time. You get anxious because you only have so long to complete the task, so you rush. Those who get this anxiety feel it increases when they see those around them finishing, when they might only be halfway through the test. As a teacher, I get that we are trying to teach the students fluency skills, which are, in themselves, a life skill. However, each child learns differently. If we push kids too hard and too fast, they can get lost. We have to meet them on their level and build the mastery from there. It may take longer, but "slow and steady" does indeed "win the race" in my opinion.

Mindset

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 23:16:30 UTC

I enjoyed learning about mindset and how if we believe in ourselves, our brains will function differently. We want to encourage our students and show them that they CAN do things, and hopefully they will understand they really can. This can help change the students mindsets. I frequently hear, "I can't do this", or "I am not good enough at this". We need to change that for students. Letting them know that their past mistakes does NOT mean there is something wrong with them. They were just obstacles.

Multidimensional Approach

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 23:22:38 UTC

I really enjoyed reading and learning more about multidimensional approaches, and how learning new knowledge requires different pathways in the brain. Using a multidimensional approach in any subject area can bring out higher engagement from students and success. When students engage in this approach, it helps grow more neural pathways and help them communicate within different parts of the brain. Students that can see subjects in different ways, begin to accept struggles. They learn that there are other ways to approach problems and helps them gain more confidence.

Speed

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 23:26:11 UTC

When I was in elementary school, I always had to complete the timed multiplication tests. I loved math, so of course I thought they were fun and challenging. Though, after reading, speedy work does not allow room for deep and flexible thinking. This gives the students the idea that speed is needed to be successful. I see this issue daily within my classes. Some students are always rushing to be the first one done with their projects. While this also does not allow the student to put in their best work and effort, and can end up hurting their grades. By rushing through school work, students are missing the actual learning process needed to succeed.

Collaboration

cvollman2 — 2025-12-02 23:29:58 UTC

In my classroom, I am heavy on working in pairs or groups. I enjoy seeing the collaboration between students and how successful they are together. I normally choose groups for them, so that way students that are in friend groups are in separate groups. This allows me to see the different collaborations we can have. When students work alone, they may face challenges and maybe even give up. When working in groups, if they are all struggling, they can come up with solutions as a team. They are able to share their ideas among the group as well.

Struggle=Growth

sknisely — 2025-12-03 01:44:36 UTC

I really enjoyed reading about the science of what happens when we make mistakes. I found it surprising that during one of their studies, when the people made a mistake during their test, their brains became more active and focused. Overall, I enjoyed the section and the illustrations. I have been trying to emphasize in my classroom that mistakes are okay, and even as a teacher, I make mistakes too. I am going to try to add the facts about what happens in our brains to encourage a growth mindset environment even more!

Changing Mindsets

sknisely — 2025-12-03 02:06:27 UTC

This chapter really made me think about how I praise my students in class and how I can do it better to encourage them. I really enjoyed reading about the research where they had one group where they praised the students by calling them "smart," and they praised the other group by saying, "You are working really hard." I find it interesting that with the different praises, the students chose different activities to do next. I have always known that teachers' words carry weight, but this sheds light on how important it is that teachers choose their praise wording carefully. I also found it helpful that when students choose to stop working through a problem because it is challenging, they have a fixed mindset; this will definitely help me in the future when I run into this situation with students.

Great Ideas!

sknisely — 2025-12-03 02:33:51 UTC

I really enjoyed reading and seeing the different ideas and approaches teachers used in the math classroom. I think the diamond method with folding the paper and having the students explain/solve the problem in 4 different ways is an amazing way to deepen students' learning and also give them a chance to have productive struggle even if it is with basic arithmetic operations. I also liked the 7-dot activity they talked about in the chapter. It is an interesting and engaging way for students to see how many different images can come out of just 7 dots.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 14:44:11 UTC

I've heard about a fixed and growth mindset but never really thought about it was linked with praise. I really liked this introductin because it made me think about how this can follow us as students through school and then into adulthood. It made think about the praise that I give to students and making sure that it is focused on growth.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 14:46:02 UTC

I enjoyed learning about how the brain continues to grow and learn, by building new connections. I had a reading training based off of this as well and how our brain adjusts to learning a language. It's so important to track student data and growth over time to see this change.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 14:48:47 UTC

This made me think about my students who I watch struggle. It hurts my heart sometimes to watch them struggle and I have to stop myself from jumping in to help. In small group I put alot of focus on making mistakes is okay, we learn from it, its part of the process. I think that if we give students a safe space to do this we see growth and they gain independce and perseverance skills.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 14:51:30 UTC

I related to this chapter alot. I often can be affected by what I am surrounded by and need to reset to come back to a calmer state of mind. I've learned that reseting throughout the day is very beneficial for me and remembering that no matter what is happening around me, I can control how I react to it. My priority is to have a calm mind and space for my students and focus on growth.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 14:53:59 UTC

As an IS, I focus on teaching in multiple modalities and being creative in how students are learning. I love this about my job, because I can create learning opportunities that are successful for students and that are often out of the box.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 15:03:46 UTC

I did not completely agree with this chapter. I think that flexibility and speed should both be taught since it is needed after students leave school. My goal is always to set up my students to succeed after high school into adulthood. So providing them with opportuniities to learn and apply both skills I think is beneficial.

Chadwick

2025-12-03 15:18:32 UTC

I think that collaboration is a great opportunity for students to work together and learn from each other. This also helps build social and group working skills. I struggle with this at times when students don't have the basic skills necessary for this type of collaboration. How can we scaffold collaboration to support students who need supports with behavior, social skills, executive functioning, academcis etc. to make sure they are getting the most out of this experience and their voices are being heard?

Conflicting Thoughts

sknisely — 2025-12-03 18:55:12 UTC

Reading this chapter I kept going back and forth with the idea of speed vs flexibility/creativity. When I was younger I HATED the speed math fact quizzes, they brought me a lot of anxiety as a child when I was others moving faster than me and I felt like I wasn't smart in those moments. I completely agree and understand that in math we should not be causing anxiety and stress for our students. On the other hand though I do think that in some areas of life you do need to operate on speed and memorization. At HS/college job as a cashier, I needed to scan items at a certain rate and to help with that speed I had to memorize produce codes. I think that having flexibility and having different ways of working throughs math problem are important. But so is speed and memorization at times.

Intrigued

2025-12-03 19:44:18 UTC

I was very intrigued by this chapter in learning about the neuroplasticity of the brain...that we can continue to grow our brains throughout our life and that with some training those with deficiencies or injuries can retrain their brain and overcome barriers that once may have hindered their learning potential.

You Gotta Go Slow To Go Fast

2025-12-03 19:55:56 UTC

I really liked the idea of number talks. Bridges allots time during lessons for students to share strategies. I think that helps with students' number sense and flexibility with numbers.

Collaboration

2025-12-03 19:57:26 UTC

It is important to collaborate with peers, but I do find this challenging at times for some who would rather work alone. However, I try to encourage students to work with a partner for half of the problems before trying a few independently.

Choice of Words

2025-12-03 19:59:21 UTC

I have been very aware of making sure I choose words carefully. Instead of saying, "Great job," or "You're so smart." I am trying to compliment their process and hard work/effort. Also, showing them even more that I'm an advocate for them.

Reasoning Collaboration

sknisely — 2025-12-03 20:08:40 UTC

I think that Jo included some really great stories and evidence to why collaborating works. I think that when introduced properly and students know the WHY behind collaborating with others they can produce great products. When I started high school, we often worked in groups on projects, notes, worksheets, etc. But we were never taught how to collaborate well or why we were doing the things together. I especially liked learning about Shane's idea of finding everyone a club where they feel welcome and feel like the can collaborate. Sometimes collaboration can be hard because some don't pull their weight in the group and I think that is a common frustration for students. How can we handle these students who don't pull their weight while also having them collaborate with others?

Positivity

sknisely — 2025-12-03 20:23:34 UTC

Overall, the 6 keys that Jo talks about leads to people living a more positive life and having a more positive outlook. I think that throughout reading this book I have found myself trying to look at the more positive side of things and I have also been trying to spread the positivity to the students. After finishing the conclusion and book I have felt more freedom in my mindset.

Praise

sknisely — 2025-12-03 20:26:36 UTC

I have really tried to specify my praise when doing it with my students. Instead of the basic "good job", I have tried to praise exactly what they are doing well. I think they genuinely enjoy the specified praise instead of basic praise.