Learning Mindset

I remember the first time I felt I owned my own learning. It was almost 10 years ago. I was studying piano at a local music conservatory, and I was assigned a program to learn during my first year. I wasn’t excited about most of the pieces, but that was what I was supposed to play. Right there I felt it was the opposite of what I had been doing before.

Before enrolling in the conservatory I had been learning piano on my own for 6-8 months. And I was the only one in charge. I decided which pieces I learned (regardless of the difficulty level or the period), how I learned them, how much time that would take, and when and where I would perform them. Everything was up to me. Until I started my ‘formal’ piano studies.

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The state of our mind has a lot to do with the results we see in the world. It’s not that our actions come from nowhere. They originate from our thoughts. Eventually, the thoughts become actions. Our actions involved in learning anything are thus connected to our thoughts and attitudes. Having the right attitude is key to have good learning results.

A good attitude

In order to be able to learn something, we need to believe it’s possible for us. Only when we believe we can do something we give it a fair try. Otherwise, we might not even give it a chance. Why would you spend serious time playing soccer if you think you can’t improve and get better? Or why would you commit to studying chess for hours if you think you don’t have any talent for that?

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Owning Your Own Learning

Attitude and Learning

A good attitude