Mindset: Lesson 2

The latest brain research tells us a lot about how humans learn and, it turns out, that we learn the most when we make mistakes. This is obviously not how many students view it, "Hey, Mom and Dad, I had a great day at school because I made lots of mistakes!" But your brain actually grows more when you make mistakes, and this is especially true if you focus on learning from those mistakes.

Video 1 (0:39): How do mistakes make you feel?

Video 2 (3:16): Every time you make a mistake in math you grow a new synapse.

Video 3 (12:18): Effort is the secret of life; effort is making you smarter, mistakes are an important part of learning. If you aren't being challenged, then you aren't learning to your full potential; we want challenge to be the new comfort zone.

This video is obviously a bit longer, but I think it's really worth your time as it shows clips from an interview from Carol Dweck, the Stanford psychologist who has led the research in this area. If you are pressed for time, the interview clips start at the 4:30 mark.

Video 4 (2:51): Sheer Persistence.

Neil Gaiman on Mistakes:

And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.