Not always as clever as I want to be

A few years ago, I took an online course on creativity through Coursera. I even have a certificate of completion!  There were at least two take-aways that I remember. The first was we limit ourselves when we think of creativity as only something “artistic” people possess. The second was Carol. S. Dweck’s chart on two mindsets — fixed and growth.

A fixed mindset “leads to a desire to look smart and therefore a tendency to avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as fruitless or worse, ignore useful negative feedback, feel threatened by the success of others.”

A growth mindset “leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism, find lessons and inspiration in the success of others.

With descriptions like that, who would ever want to admit to having a fixed mindset?

I’m here to confess that, at times, my mindset can start out sadly fixed.

I came to this realization, again, by taking a couple of art classes, not just because I still fall into the trap of marrying creativity to art, but also because I really wanted to learn about Ikebana flower arranging and about printmaking. It helps that I have access to classes through my city’s excellent set of programs and Fine Arts Center.

Me and my very clever printmaking classmates and instructor. One major benefit of taking classes is meeting people outside your usual circle.

Despite my enthusiasm when signing up for the classes, there was a lot of teeth gnashing when the classes began. In a matter of seconds I was sure that everyone else in each class was a) more creative, b) smarter in general and c) already knew way more than I did about either method of artistic expression.

All of those things were probably true and made me uncomfortable to the point where I was ready to give up. Fortunately the only thing I hate worse than appearing unintelligent to others is having to admit to myself that it’s my mindset that’s fixed. So I kept going.

Ikebana flower arrangements are very hard to photograph without a studio setting. Trust me, they look better in person.

I realized that my many more decades of life experience than my classmates’, while good for some things, doesn’t translate to picking up new skills right away. On the other hand, it did keep me from quitting. In the end, I not only had some flower arrangements that made me (and the instructor) happy and an etched print that I am pretty proud of. I also got that wonderful rush of accomplishment just by sticking with the classes. It helps when your instructor and classmates are cheerful and kind.

“Humility is openness to new learning combined with a balanced and accurate assessment of our contributions, including our strengths, imperfections, and opportunities for growth.” — Brené Brown in “Atlas of the Heart”

There are still plenty of opportunities in my life for humility and for growth, and that, to me, is graceful aging.