Okay, so I stumbled upon this book called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” and I thought, “Why not give this whole ‘growth mindset’ thing a shot?” I mean, I’ve always been a bit of a fixed-mindset person – you know, believing I’m either good at something or I’m not. So, I decided to document my little experiment.
My Experiment: Learning to Juggle
First things first, I picked something I’ve always wanted to learn but thought I was just naturally bad at: juggling. Seriously, I’ve tried before, and it was a disaster. Balls flying everywhere, me looking like a clumsy fool. Classic fixed-mindset thinking – “I’m just not coordinated enough.”
- Day 1: Total chaos. I grabbed three oranges (because why not?), watched a quick YouTube tutorial, and started throwing. Oranges were hitting the ceiling, the dog was freaking out, and I almost knocked over a lamp. I felt that familiar frustration creeping in – “See? I’m just bad at this.” But then I remembered the book. I took a deep breath and told myself, “It’s okay to suck at first. It’s part of the process.”
- Day 2: Slightly less chaos. I focused on just two oranges. I practiced the basic throw and catch, over and over. It still felt awkward, but I noticed I was dropping them less often. I even managed a few consecutive throws! Small victory, but it felt good.
- Day 3-7: Baby steps. I kept practicing every day, even if it was just for 15 minutes. I experimented with different throws, different stances. I watched more videos, paying attention to the jugglers’ hand movements. I dropped the oranges A LOT, but I started to see it as feedback, not failure. “Okay, that throw was too high,” or “I need to keep my elbows closer to my body.”
- Day 8: A breakthrough! I added the third orange back in. And… I juggled! It wasn’t pretty, and it only lasted for a few seconds, but I actually did it! I felt this surge of excitement and pride. It wasn’t about being naturally talented; it was about putting in the effort and learning from my mistakes.
- Day 9-14: Keep going. I still wouldn’t call myself a “juggler,” but I can now keep three oranges in the air for a decent amount of time. I’m still learning, still making mistakes, but now I see those mistakes as opportunities to improve.
I realized that it’s not that I couldn’t juggle. It just means I have to put more work in it. And this is coming from someone who is quite clumsy.
This whole “growth mindset” thing… it’s not magic. It doesn’t suddenly make you amazing at everything. But it changes your perspective. It makes you more willing to try new things, more resilient in the face of challenges, and more focused on the process of learning rather than just the outcome. I’m definitely going to keep working on my juggling, and I’m excited to see what else I can learn with this new mindset.
