on negging yourself

it always strikes me when people say they’re “not good” at something, because most of the time, when you probe and ask “have you tried improving” the answer is actually no! maybe it’s my unbridled optimism about the human condition, but I really believe that most people could be ‘good’ at most things, at least to a level they’re comfortable with themselves, by just trying, or having the right teacher, or environment.

it feels defeatist to say “I’m not good” and I have tried very hard for 20 years to eliminate this from my vocabulary because I strongly believe that it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. how am I doing? I am confident that I could get ‘good’ at most things if I just put in the right energy and give it some time.

it tracks so well - I’ve always been ‘better’ at stuff I enjoy! and I also like Richard Feynman in highlighting this point: “there’s no miracle people, it just happens they got interested in this thing and they learned all this stuff.” it bleeds through in his glowing enthusiasm when he talks about physics. tangentially, I would strongly recommend this to anyone reading this interested in anything about nature.

to bring another great scientist in - Carl Sagan: “Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.”