When you purposefully see a bad situation as a chance to learn something new, what mental skill are you using?

The mental skill you are using is called cognitive reappraisal. Cognitive reappraisal is a cognitive emotion regulation strategy where an individual deliberately reinterprets the meaning of a situation to change its emotional impact. Cognition refers to the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge and understanding, such as thinking, perceiving, and learning. By engaging in cognitive reappraisal, you actively re-evaluate a 'bad situation' as an opportunity for growth, understanding, or skill development, rather than perceiving it solely as negative. This process involves altering one's thoughts about an event, focusing on potential benefits or lessons learned instead of only the perceived negative aspects. For example, if a project fails, cognitive reappraisal involves reinterpreting the failure not as an absolute negative outcome, but as valuable feedback demonstrating what did not work, thereby providing specific information to improve future attempts. This skill is a core component of a growth mindset, which is the belief that one's abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work, rather than being fixed traits. Purposefully seeking to learn something new from a challenging situation through cognitive reappraisal transforms a potentially negative emotional experience into a constructive learning experience.