Two Coaching Principles From Nephi

My kids and I compared Nephi’s response to arriving in Bountiful to Laman and Lemuel’s response (1 Nephi 17:1-6, 17-22).  I figured we’d talk mostly about how Nephi’s response was another ‘we’ll go and do’ and Laman and Lemuel murmured, but my children went beyond that.  Adam commented that Laman and Lemuel were focused on Jerusalem.  They kept talking about how cushy their life was in Jerusalem and that they shouldn’t have left.

In coaching, we call this being past focused.  They are stuck in the past, having idealized how great everything was.  When we are past focused, we cannot only move forward, unable to dream and think about the future, but it distracts us from opportunities to grow and change.

Nephi is present and future focused.  He dwells little on the trials of the wilderness, but feels blessed in the present as they explore Bountiful and the amazing blessings that this place provides.  He looks to the future as he prepares and builds a ship to sail them forward to the promised land.

When we focus on the present, we are mindful and intentional about our actions; we can find joy.  When we focus on the future, we can find hope.

Along similar lines, we find the second coaching principle in these passages.  Nephi is preparing to build a ship.  What do Laman and Lemuel tell him?  They tell him he can’t possibly build a ship, he has never done such a thing before (“they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord” v.18).

Nephi has a growth mindset.  He knows that with the Lord’s help, he can learn how to build a ship, even though he has never done this before.  Laman and Lemuel, laugh and mock, doubting that Nephi can build a ship because he doesn’t have the knowledge.  This is a fixed mindset (for a good video comparing and contrasting the two mindsets, click here).

How interesting to learn that cultivating a present/future focus and a growth mindset leads to a positive outlook (and less murmuring).  It seems kind of obvious when we think about it, but instructive when we see Nephi demonstrate such attributes.