Unlock with PatreonThe Problem with CI
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I Wasn’t Good Enough
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6 thoughts on “I Wasn’t Good Enough”
Thank you, Ben.
Go find a violin. There’s one out there that needs you.
The rigorous, competitive ‘this is hard so it means you’re smart/talented’ mentality has to shift. All that lip-service to growth mindset when Carol Dweck’s work (book of that title) was just that…lip-service. People’s egos are wrapped up in the perception that what they do for a living is perceived as challenging. There’s constant judgement going on. He’s Dr. – he must be smart. He plays violin for an orchestra – how talented and persistent…
I can honestly say that now, when I go to workshops or conferences or classrooms, I’m looking for playfulness, broad smiles, small joyful gestures, to inform my ‘take’ on a teacher’s T/CI practice. Annik does this thing where she smiles from ear to ear then looks upward to the heavens, as if to say, ‘Can you believe how great this moment is for all of us here, together?’
There’s another great Mandarin teacher (I momentarily forgot her name! Aach!) who curtsies while she’s teaching – it is a most inviting and endearing gesture, and she looks so playful when she’s doing it, kind of like Peter Pan! It makes me want to eat up whatever she’s serving!
There was a time, I do admit, that I might have mentally ranked a teacher based on their control of the language, their creative lessons, their bag of tricks. But now, I just want to see them for what kind of human interaction and fun they can conjure up with the class…
This should be hanging on the walls of every language classroom in the country. It is because languages are so deeply human. And those super achieving perfectionist teachers are not going for the human element, but for the “I am the best!” element. Most people are not the best.
I’m so glad you wrote that Alisa. We are just peeps. Trying to get by.
Was the Mandarin teacher Linda Li?
I’ve been playing bass and guitar since i was 12. I am still not good enough… but in that there is hope–perpetual growth. Just this year i played my first gig as a bassist with a jam band. I got a lot of compliments. I must be doing something right at 32 years old.
It’s because it wasn’t held up to you as something you had to be perfect at.
You’re right Ben. No one in my family was a musician. My bro and i learned on our own. No pressure but little support. I took a long break and now im going all out focusing mainly on music production and mixing. Almost done with that invisibles song!