It has probably happened to you that you started something, but it didn’t go the way you wanted, and you gave up halfway through. For example, learning math, music, or a programming language. Then you told yourself: “I don’t have the talent or ability to learn this.”

This is actually a clear sign of perfectionism.

But the reality is different. Our mind works just like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes — but in the beginning, you have to tolerate a lot of pain.

A perfectionist mindset sees that initial pain and gives up, while in reality, with time and practice, things gradually get better (and not by accident).

So let’s change one belief in our minds:

Instead of saying “I’m not good at math, so I should quit,” say:

“I’m not good at math right now, but with effort and practice, I can get better and better.”

You don’t need to be the best.

You just need to keep trying to improve.