You might have heard the story about a professor who split his photography students into two groups. One group, named "Quantity," had to take as many pictures as possible. Their grade was based on the number of photos submitted: 100 photos for an “A”. And the other group, named "Quality," had to submit just one of their best photos. Their grade was based on the excellence of the photo, considering composition, technique, color, and so on. A nearly perfect picture will earn an “A”.
As you know, in the story, the professor was surprised that the best photo came from the "Quantity" group. And the explanation is because the "Quality" group was busy overthinking about perfection, while the "Quantity" group was busy taking pictures and actually doing the experiment. This story shows us that taking action is better than just planning. While planning is important, action ultimately determines your success.
(This story is taken from "Atomic Habits" by James Clear, who brilliantly teaches about habits.)
But this newsletter isn't about habit, action, or planning. It's about the growth mindset.
With the same story, I will give you another perspective I see and how you can learn from this story about a better mindset to grow your quality of life.
Now imagine you were in the "Quantity" group. Your task was to take as many photos as possible, with 100 pictures guaranteeing an A. What would you do? Surely, you'd go out and take as many pictures as you could without worrying about the outcome. You might photograph a dog walking, a car, shoes, your family, selfies, or anything that catches your eye. And nothing is wrong with that.
But imagine you have to submit those 100 pictures, and they'll be seen by your professor or even showcased publicly. Would you take a "bad" picture? (Hopefully, you're thinking no!). However, since the assignment is about quantity, you wouldn't be too worried about a perfect picture, right? As long as the composition is decent, the concept is there, and it's not a terrible photo, you might think it would suffice. Why?
Now, let's move you to the "Quality" group. What would you do here? You might spend more time thinking about the "perfect" photograph and how to craft it. You might discuss this "perfect" photo with your peers, research award-winning photographs, experiment with composition, color combinations, techniques, and so on. You might even lose sleep obsessing over this near-perfect picture. Remember, you only have one shot to submit for an A. How do you feel now?
Fear: False Expectation Appearing Real
Our minds have a defensive mechanism called “FEAR”. This fear protects us from negative feelings like judgment, failure, and humiliation. As humans, we naturally avoid these feelings. But too much fear can become a roadblock to personal growth. You might start overthinking everything, leading to low self-esteem. This negativity can lead your brain to seek "SAFE" options, doing what you've done before to avoid failure, or sticking to the average.
FEAR is an acronym for "False Expectations Appearing Real".
Everything you fear might not even happen. Those thoughts of failure, humiliation, or submitting an imperfect photo are just your imagination. In my experience (and probably yours too), these fears rarely become reality.
The "Quantity" group of students, had the least fear because their assignment was (by most people's definition) easier. The worst-case scenario: they take 100 burst photos with their phone while walking, and they still get an A. Without that fear, they could easily explore creativity, take unique pictures, and think outside the box. Or in short, they could create never-before-seen photographs without the fear of failure, humiliation, or judgment. On the other hand, the "quality" students lived in fear for a semester, worrying about which one "perfect" picture they should submit to the professor.
This is where you need to shift your mindset for growth by cultivating a "fearless" mind.
Making mistakes is human. Nobody is perfect in this world.
Fearlessness isn't about becoming reckless. It's more about self-awareness—understanding that we're human and allowed to make mistakes. Taking action will certainly have consequences, but that's true of any action, good or bad. Good results reward us, while bad results become learning opportunities for improvement. The key is to take action with a fearless mindset, setting the stage for growth.
Taking Action and Becoming Fearless
Becoming fearless takes practice. You need to reprogram your mind by asking yourself, "What would I do if I couldn't fail?"
Write down every possibility that comes to mind, like taking those 100 photos. But this time, you're listing 100 possible actions you can take without fear. Create a timeline for these actions and actually do them.
During this process, you might make more mistakes and encounter dead ends. But that's okay! Just keep taking action, just like the "Quantity" group. Not every picture they took was perfect, but some were the best the professor chose.
By doing these exercises, you're training your mindset to say, "It is alright to make mistakes. Don't just look for those mistakes, but learn more from them." With this kind of mindset, I truly believe you will grow and become a better version of yourself.
Until the next newsletter, and happy mistaking.