T: 01283 795000 E: Enquiries@whitemoorlakes.org.uk
T: 01283 795000 E: Enquiries@whitemoorlakes.org.uk
Have you ever considered the power of a mindset shift? Most people will face this shift when adjusting a behaviour in their lives. For example, someone might change the phrase ‘I’m bad at cooking’ to the phrase ‘I’m still learning and practicing how to cook.’ This subtle shift in internal thoughts can subconsciously change your behaviours and routines. Instead of accepting the fact that their dinner might not taste great or might be burnt around the edges, this individual might research recipes, take a cooking class, or follow a tutorial for their next meal. You might have heard the saying ‘Dress for the role you want, not the role you have’ – this is a fantastic example of a mindset shift! The shift does not directly cause the result (getting the role you want) but subtly encourages you to take the steps needed to achieve your goal.
Back in September 2025, Whitemoor Lakes welcomed thirteen individuals into our Firm Foundations training programme, a 12-month action packed challenge that takes regular citizens and turns them into confident and qualified activity instructors. These individuals come from all walks of life, from across the globe, so you would not think we could have one consistent mindset shift in all of them by the end of the programme. After all, with so many backgrounds and personalities, how could you achieve this?
But year after year our Firm Foundations volunteers come and go, and year after year there is one consistent mindset shift that they all experience and encourage others to focus on as well.
Changing the phrase ‘I can’t do this.’ To ‘I can’t do this YET.’
For some of these individuals, this might be referring to their fear of heights and current inability to reach the top of the climbing wall, and for others this might be leading a group on their own and finding their ‘instructor voice.’ Throughout the 12-month programme we encourage each of them to continue to try, and practice the skills they are struggling with, and in all cases these individuals finish the programme feeling more confident, and able to tackle anything thrown their way.
Recently, we caught up with some of our volunteers who have just passed the six-month mark of their training year to see how this mindset shift is helping them succeed. Let us see what they had to say!
Alexandra discovered our Firm Foundations training programme through our partnership with New Ventures Worldwide who assists young adults (age 18-30) in finding volunteer placements across the globe. Our programme interested her because of the wide variety and number of qualifications she could gain in only 12 months. When she started on the programme, Alex had no experience in some of our activities, including archery which she now says is the accomplishment she is most proud achieving over the past few months. In fact, not only has Alex become a qualified archery instructor through Archery GB, but she now leads taster sessions for our guests all on her own. She has enjoyed discovering new hobbies (like playing nine-square on our purpose-built structure!), forming new friendships, and getting creative in the kitchen.
When asked what her advice was for someone looking at potentially joining the programme, Alex commented; “Do it! I think this program is forming and growing you without you even noticing.”
Nele from Germany also discovered our programme through our partnership with New Ventures Worldwide. After having a call with our Assistant Chief Instructor, Nele decided our programme was a great fit for what they were looking to experience during their gap year and when she was offered a place on our programme, she accepted. Nele has been working hard to step outside her comfort zone and improve her confidence and spontaneity, which we are so pleased to say she certainly has achieved both these goals. This shows the importance of that mindset shift we mentioned earlier. Nele was not confident YET when she joined the programme, but with hard work and lots of practice, Nele is now a shining role model for our guests! Nele also wanted to connect with others who were also on their gap year adventures and new people from the United Kingdom. Nele has now been able to connect with people from more than seven different countries who have come together here at Whitemoor Lakes because of their passion for releasing potential in all.
When asked what her experience has been like so far this year, Nele mentioned one memory was her favourite; “Getting stuck in London on a Sunday night because all the trains were cancelled. It was really fun because of the other trainees, and we made the most of it.” What an adventure that must have been!
Marius wanted to do something meaningful as his gap year experience, and so he was matched with our Firm Foundations programme which was a perfect fit for his interests in working with children. Like many, it took some time for Marius to find his feet in the programme – the challenging tasks, many skills, and being away from home push each volunteer to leave their comfort zone. But just because Marius could not do somethings YET, he was not going to give up. Through perseverance, Marius has been able to gain confidence with his public speaking skills, and take on leadership roles as he begins to lead sessions of his very own. His Senior Instructor, Paul, mentioned the huge improvements he had seen over only six short months; “He has learned lots about himself and being responsible for himself and others. Marius has done well in learning how to run safe and engaging activity sessions for young people giving them opportunities they often don’t get anywhere else.”
Michel joined the Firm Foundations programme with the goal of gaining a different sort of experience after school, stepping away from daily theory learning. He wanted to do something practical, ideally outdoors and abroad – Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Sure enough, Whitemoor Lakes and our training programme were a perfect match! The practical skills learned during the programme were a pleasant change of pace to Michel’s normal routine, and getting to work with children brings a smile to his face every day. With his mother tongue being German, there was a bit of a learning curve to get started. Though he could speak English well, there is an enormous difference between normal everyday conversational English and the complex terminology and advanced level of English he would need to confidently lead sessions by the end of his training year. But as you have seen throughout this blog post, all he needed was a mindset shift. Instead, “I can’t communicate in English well.,” Michel needed to shift his mindset to ‘I can’t communicate in English well YET.”
And shift he did! When asked what he was most proud of achieving over the past six months, Michel commented; “I am proud to have already greatly improved my English and to have seen quite a bit of the country.”
Instead of thinking what is not possible, start thinking about what IS possible. We hope you can be inspired by the stories of these four individuals and begin to imagine everything you could achieve by the end of 2027.
