WEBVTT 00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:05.049 Hi. For sure, growing up is difficult. Not just 00:00:05.049 --> 00:00:08.630 because life is hard, but because we have to 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:12.269 take ownership of it. We cannot always blame 00:00:12.269 --> 00:00:16.609 others. At some point, how we think and respond 00:00:16.609 --> 00:00:21.390 becomes our responsibility. I found that the 00:00:21.390 --> 00:00:25.010 same is true in math. There came a point when 00:00:25.010 --> 00:00:28.769 I realized I had to take ownership of how I think. 00:00:29.609 --> 00:00:32.490 And if I had to describe that process in one 00:00:32.490 --> 00:00:37.890 word, it would be struggle. Let's face it, most 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:41.270 of us do not enjoy struggle. When something is 00:00:41.270 --> 00:00:44.950 difficult, confusing, or frustrating, we want 00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:48.390 a quick answer. We look in the back of the book. 00:00:48.869 --> 00:00:53.450 We want relief. And when it does not come, we 00:00:53.450 --> 00:00:56.969 start to wonder. Maybe I'm not good at this. 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.920 Maybe this just is not for me. But it helps to 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:05.140 step back and see the bigger picture. When you 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:08.180 study something like calculus, you're stepping 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:13.140 into ideas that took hundreds, sometimes thousands 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:18.120 of years to develop. And yet, you're asked to 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.079 begin understanding them in a matter of months. 00:01:22.239 --> 00:01:25.719 That perspective changes how I see struggle. 00:01:26.349 --> 00:01:29.670 It is not a signal that I'm failing. It is part 00:01:29.670 --> 00:01:34.189 of the process. Okay, I enjoy running, but for 00:01:34.189 --> 00:01:37.810 a long time I avoided hill workouts because they 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:41.609 were so difficult. Then I learned how much they 00:01:41.609 --> 00:01:46.069 improve strength and endurance. What felt like 00:01:46.069 --> 00:01:49.590 something to avoid became something valuable. 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:54.689 And the same is true in math. Research shows 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:58.640 that our brains grow the most when we struggle, 00:01:58.819 --> 00:02:02.359 when we make mistakes, when we wrestle with something 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:07.120 that does not immediately make sense. Confusion 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:10.039 is not a sign that your brain is not working. 00:02:10.300 --> 00:02:15.360 It is often a sign that it is. Struggle is not 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:20.560 a verdict. It is training. I love this line from 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:24.830 the Danish poet Piet Hein. Problems worthy of 00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:29.610 attack prove their worth by hitting back. Isn't 00:02:29.610 --> 00:02:33.289 that beautiful? If something pushes back, it 00:02:33.289 --> 00:02:36.689 does not mean you're incapable. It may mean the 00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:40.930 problem is worth your effort. And over time, 00:02:41.270 --> 00:02:46.009 something begins to change. What once felt confusing 00:02:46.009 --> 00:02:50.569 begins to make sense. What once felt impossible 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:55.990 becomes familiar. And when that happens, it's 00:02:55.990 --> 00:02:59.509 not just that you've learned something new. Something 00:02:59.509 --> 00:03:04.849 in you has changed. The way you see, the way 00:03:04.849 --> 00:03:08.789 you think, the way you respond to difficulty. 00:03:09.669 --> 00:03:12.250 Growth does not come from having the answers 00:03:12.250 --> 00:03:15.030 handed to us. It comes from discovering that 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:18.289 we can stay in the struggle and move through 00:03:18.289 --> 00:03:21.599 it. Because struggle does not just solve problems, 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:26.860 it reshapes us. It creates new patterns, patterns 00:03:26.860 --> 00:03:30.620 of thinking, patterns of responding, patterns 00:03:30.620 --> 00:03:35.120 of believing what's possible. What once felt 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:41.120 like a fixed limitation begins to shift and confidence 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:46.840 starts to grow. So my question today is, where 00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:50.979 might the struggle I'm facing Right now, be shaping 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:56.419 me, preparing me to see or become something different.