Day 63: YET

Alright, it's 05:43 in the morning and I'm staring at this blank page thinking, "What on earth possessed me to write about growth mindset at this ungodly hour?" But here we are, me typing away, you reading, and somewhere between us lies this thing called 'yet' that's apparently powerful enough to warrant an entire blog post. (Is it though? Let's find out.)

The Tyranny of "I Can't"

Have you ever caught yourself saying something like, "I'm not good at maths" or "I can't draw to save my life" or my personal favourite, "I'm not a morning person" (says the bloke who woke up at 3 in the morning)? We all have these little labels we slap on ourselves, these prison cells we willingly lock ourselves into.

But what if I told you that there's a tiny word that could blow these prison doors wide open? A word so simple yet so profound that it could completely transform how you see yourself and your abilities?

That word is 'yet'.

"I'm not good at maths... yet." "I can't draw to save my life... yet." "I'm not a morning person... yet."

See what happened there? Suddenly, the full stop became a comma. The end became a beginning. The prison became a pathway. Mhm...

From Saul to Paul: The Biblical Growth Mindset

The Bible is absolutely chock-full of growth mindset stories, isn't it? Take Saul, for instance. Here's a man who's literally hunting down Christians for sport, thinking he's doing God's work. Not exactly what you'd call prime apostle material. But then, BOOM! Road to Damascus, blinding light, and suddenly Saul becomes Paul, one of the most influential figures in Christian history. In fact the founder of Christianity if you would.

In Romans 12:2, Paul (the former Saul, mind you) writes, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (NIV)

Hang on, "renewing of your mind"? That sounds suspiciously like what psychologists today call a growth mindset, doesn't it? Paul wasn't saying, "I'm a rubbish apostle because I used to persecute Christians." He was essentially saying, "I'm not the apostle I could be... yet."

The Science Bit (Because We Need to Sound Proper Smart)

Now, I could bore you with loads of scientific studies about neuroplasticity and how our brains physically change when we learn new things, building new neural connections wara wara. (Fancy that! Your brain actually grows new connections when you learn the advanced trigonometry and algebra. Maybe that's why my head feels heavier after each practice session... or maybe it's just the frustration.)

Dr Carol Dweck, who's basically the guru of growth mindset, spent decades researching this stuff. In her book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," she argues that people with a growth mindset, those who believe their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, are more likely to achieve their goals than those with a fixed mindset. (Revolutionary concept that, isn't it? Working hard at something makes you better at it. Who would've thought?)

But here's where it gets interesting. It's not just about putting in the hours; it's about how you think about those hours. It's the difference between saying, "I've failed" and saying, "I'm learning."

The Tortoise and the... Tortoise?

Remember that old fable about the tortoise and the hare? The one where the slow, plodding tortoise beats the naturally gifted but complacent hare in a race? It's a classic growth mindset tale.

But here's the thing: in real life, we're not racing against hares. We're racing against ourselves. It's not about being the fastest tortoise in the race; it's about being a faster tortoise today than you were yesterday.

I tried learning Hebrew last year. (Why Hebrew, you ask? Why not? The Bible was primarily written in Hebrew.) For weeks, I stared at those bizarre symbols, feeling like my brain was made of porridge. But then, gradually, something clicked. I went from thinking, "I can't read Hebrew" to "I can't read Hebrew... yet." And lo and behold, I can now read approximately seven Hebrew words. בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ, it's read from left to right by the way. Translation;

בְּרֵאשִׁית (Bereshit): "In the beginning"

בָּרָא (bara): "created"

אֱלֹהִים (Elohim): "God"

אֵת (et): A grammatical marker indicating the direct object

הַשָּׁמַיִם (hashamayim): "the heavens"

וְאֵת (ve'et): "and"

הָאָרֶץ (ha'aretz): "the earth"

(Progress is progress, people!)

The Power of Rubbish First Drafts

You know what holds most people back from starting something new? The fear of being rubbish at it. We look at the masters in any field, the Picassos, the Mozarts, the Mary Berrys of the world and we think, "I could never do that."

And you know what? You're right. You couldn't. (At least not yet.)

But here's what most people miss: those masters were once rubbish too. Every expert was once a beginner. Every masterpiece started as a blank canvas or a blank page. (Like this blog post did at 05:42 this morning.)

In Ecclesiastes 9:10, it says, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." (NIV) It doesn't say, "Whatever your hand is already brilliant at doing, do that and only that." It's an invitation to throw yourself into things, even when especially when you're not yet an expert.

The Growth Mindset Playlist

If you're anything like me, you need a soundtrack for everything. So here's my unofficial growth mindset playlist:

1. "Try Everything" by Shakira (from Zootopia, and yes, I'm a grown adult who watches animated films, judge me)
2. "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus (because it's not about how fast you get there, it's the climb... deep stuff from Ms Cyrus)
3. "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen (because sometimes you just need Freddie Mercury to remind you that you're having a good time)
4. "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (cliché? Yes. Effective? Also yes.)

Music has this incredible way of shifting our mindset, doesn't it? One minute you're feeling like you can't possibly write another word, and the next you're dramatically singing into your hairbrush, convinced you could conquer the world. (Or is that just me? But well currently blasting Eminem Kings never die now and I can tell I can feel new neural pathways building now.)

The Daily Yet Challenge

Right, so now that I've convinced you (have I? I hope so) that adding "yet" to your vocabulary is basically like taking a magic pill for personal growth, let's get practical. Here's a little challenge for you:

For the rest of this week, every time you catch yourself saying "I can't" or "I'm not good at," add the word "yet" to the end of that sentence. Just 2 days guys, well 3 including today. 

"I can't speak Japanese... yet." "I'm not good at public speaking... yet." "I don't understand cryptocurrency... yet." (Does anyone, really?)

And then here's the crucial bit take one small step toward changing that statement. Download a Japanese learning app, Duolingo (my friend Wandy is actually currently doing that, very weird if you ask me).  Join a Toastmasters club, watch Ted Talks. Read a "Cryptocurrency for Complete and Utter Beginners" article.

The Last Word (For Now...)

Look, I'm not promising that adding "yet" to your vocabulary will suddenly transform you into a polyglot marathon-running rocket scientist. Growth takes time. It takes effort. It takes resilience.

But I am suggesting that it might shift something in how you see yourself and your potential. It might open doors that you thought were permanently closed. It might just might be the beginning of something remarkable.

Because that's the thing about "yet," isn't it? It's full of possibility. It's pregnant with potential. It's brimming with hope.

And in a world that often feels like it's spinning too fast for us to keep up, a little hope goes a long way.

It's now 06:09 and I'm off to draw the 5AM sketch for this blog or should I say 6AM. 

So what can't you do... yet? Because This is What we do NOW!