Discussions of the importance of having a ‘yet’ attitude or a growth mindset abound, including on this blog. I am very much in favour of the ‘yet’ thinking, as proposed by Carol Dweck.
Basically, it means that we don’t consider our ability to learn as finite. We believe our potential to be constantly expanding. We may not know or be able to do something ‘yet’, but we can work at it and with each attempt come closer to achieving it.
The resolve to maintain a growth mindset can be challenged at times when the going gets tough and there is no obvious solution. It can be difficult knowing when enough is enough and it’s time to move on; or if success is hiding just around the corner or on a slight detour.
I often debate with myself about how to interpret the truth in the messages the universe seems to be sending, weighing up giving up against exerting just a little more persistence and patience. Consequently, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the unplanned theme in my response to the flash fiction prompt at the Carrot Ranch this week.
Charli Mills challenged writers to In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that includes colonnades. It can be natural, architectural, or a metaphor. Take a stroll and go where the prompt leads.
What could colonnades possibly have to do with a growth mindset you might think, as would I. But when I sat at the keyboard, without a clue of what to write, this is what developed. I hope you like it.
Never Give Up
The solid grey wall stretched without end, both left and right —impenetrable, no way around, no way through. Perhaps a way over? Even from that distance, it appeared unscaleable.
He removed his backpack and rested his head upon it as he lay, gazing upward. He sighed heavily. He’d trekked so far believing this was the way. How could he have been so wrong?
He closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep. Refreshed, upon awakening, he decided to continue rather than retreat.
As he drew closer, the wall separated into columns spaced perfectly to allow an easy passage.
…
Do you see what I saw emerge? A story about not giving up? Of the importance of adjusting focus when it seems a dead end is reached, when there’s nowhere else to go and nothing else to try? Or is the theme significant to only me as I try to find a way through the colonnades in my path?
As I was writing this story, I was reminded of one I wrote for children using the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty as a stimulus. In a similar way to Charli’s prompts, I was prompting children to think about possible reasons for Humpty Dumpty to be sitting on a wall and causes for him to fall.
Of course, I couldn’t do the prompting without writing a story of my own: The Accident – Humpty Dumpty’s Fall.
In the story, ‘Humpty looked at the wall. He couldn’t see through it. He couldn’t see over it. And there was no way around it.’ He thought it was ‘no use’. Fortunately, his friend Pomble wasn’t one to give up quite so easily and found a way for them to see over the wall. It was what occurred when Humpty was looking over the wall that caused him to fall. I won’t tell you what happened but, unlike the nursery rhyme, my story has a happy ending.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts.
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I never understood humpty dumpty Rhyme this way😂… Thank you for sharing💛.. Check this out https://swhyteescribe.home.blog/she-can-do-more-2/ you’ll love it
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Thanks for your comment. I wish you well on your blogging journey.
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Thank you
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So motivating, Norah! The “not yet” makes sense because then a person still has hope for what they can achieve in the future. Plus, your flash is great. And as for your comment on my post about having more exciting things to do than stop by here, my answer is: NOPE!! 😀
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post, Christy. You’ve made my day. I really think planning a wedding would be more exciting! 🙂 Thank you for a smile, a big one!
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This is a wonderful story, Norah. The traveler stayed open to possibilities even when things looked impossible. When he relaxed and kept going, the path opened up for him. Fantastic!
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Thanks so much, Molly. You’ve interpreted the story just as I hoped. 🙂
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Thanks Norah – a powerful word, allowing for other possibilities. Makes me think of saying ‘yes’ to the ‘yet’ …
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Thank you, Susan. I’m pleased you enjoyed the post.
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I like how you put this together. I have a lot of ‘yet’ moments, but i admit i also have my moments of giving up too early.
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It’s knowing when to hang in there and when to let go that’s the problem. Thanks for reading and commenting.
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Loved how this story turned out to be in tune with the title. 🙂
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Thank you. I appreciate your noticing. 🙂
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You introduced me to Carol’s idea of “yet” and I fully embraced the growth mindset thanks to you. It has had a profound impact on me when I face those gray walls of doubt. I appreciate how you pushed into the story and make a discovery that resonates with many. Ah– I never thought about why Humpty Dumpty was on that wall in the first place!
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Well now, I’d like to know why you think H. D. was on the wall. I can think of a very topical reason. But, who knows?
I do like all the slightly different ways readers have interpreted my flash. It’s very affirming.
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This would make a fun prompt! I think H.D. was a spy against the King, and his fall a ruse to distract his horses and men. Perhaps, metaphorically, H.D. was a dreamer, and vulnerable to falls from great heights.
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Next year’s rodeo? 🙂
Those are both fun responses to the question. While there is a suppos-ed meaning to the rhyme, it’s not one I share with children. I think the rhyme is wonderful for getting them to use their imaginations – and to think behind the text. We need to learn to question the hidden meanings and not always take what we are presented with as telling the whole story. 🙂
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Excellent! I really like how you took that prompt and walked right through the obstacle. I really enjoyed what you wrote!
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Thank you, Patricia. I feel very affirmed by your comment. Quite often the prompts do feel like obstacles I have to battle my way through.
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Good connection, Norah. My ‘yet’ moments seem to become gateways to never quitting, even when I wish I could. It’s a blessing and a curse!
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Oh how I agree with you. I think we also need permission to ‘give up’ when we’ve given it our best shot without feeling we’ve somehow failed ourselves, that we didn’t give enough, or weren’t enough.
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The only mental picture I got from the prompt was those steel girders being erected on the southern border, and I really didn’t want to jump into anything political, but your fiction addressed it well without ever making it political. Well done, Norah. I really liked this. ~nan
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Thanks, Nan. I never want to be political either (in the sense of ‘politics’ anyway), but I’m pleased my message was clear.
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I am always amazed at when I read about folks over 80 going back to school and getting degrees or becoming fluent in another language. I remember reading about an older gent to chose to learn Japanese. When we continue to learn I think we keep our minds young. Yet another reason to appreciate Literary Art!
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Those octogenarians are amazing, aren’t they? I don’t know about going back to school but I definitely want to keep learning until the day I die. Maybe I’ll get something right by the time I reach the end. I’m not there yet! 🙂
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Inspired and inspiring. Keep putting your head down on the backpack.
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That’s D. I do! 🙂
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Well done, Norah! A favorite song in my classroom is, “It’s the Power of Yet” performed on Sesame Street. We sing this when children are struggling to do something. The catchy tune reinforces their power to keep trying.
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I like the sound of that song, or think I would – it won’t load for me – yet! I think I’d be using it if I was still in the classroom too. 🙂
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I went to Google and typed in The Power of Yet, and it came right up with the singer, Janelle Monae, singing to one of the Sesame Street characters. Is that what came up for you? It’s very catchy, the kind of song that sticks in your head.
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It did come up for me eventually, Jennie. I’ve been experiencing internet issues the past few days, which was the problem with loading, and now I’m miles behind in reading and commenting. Oh well, that’s not unusual. Yes, the song is delightful. Thank you. 🙂
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I know exactly how you feel, Norah. Technology problems put me so far behind that I feel like I’m climbing out of a deep well. Maybe I need to sing that song more often! 🙂
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I think singing is a wonderful thing to do when we find ourselves at the bottom of a well, regardless of what got us there. 🙂
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Yes!! 😀
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The amazing workings of the unconscious mind! Isn’t it lovely when our own fiction can surprise us?
I’ve enjoyed your previous posts on the growth mindset and it seems particularly pertinent to education. But I am uncomfortable with the assumption that there’s always a way through. And of course taken to the extreme anyone can see the illogic: people die before their time, awful things happen!
While my post today doesn’t mention “not yet”, I’m musing on similar themes regarding the way forward. I’m not giving up and I hope you won’t either but “I’ve given it my best shot and I’m not wasting any more energy” is an admirable mindset too.
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I share your discomfort with the assumption that there’s always a way through, that things happen for a reason, or that they always work out for the best. It hasn’t been so in my experience. It’s a tough statement to live up to as it means if they don’t work out, we haven’t tried hard enough or the gods aren’t smiling on us for whatever reason.
I like your mindset that “I’ve given it my best shot and I’m not wasting any more energy”. It’s just knowing when to ‘hold ’em and when to fold ’em’ that’s the difficult thing. 🙂
I’ll be over to read your post as soon as I can. 🙂
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I remember the ‘yet’ concept from a while back on your blog and loved it then. the moral of your flash is perfectly pitched too.And I’m with Edison about failure being 10000 ways where its doesn’t yet work. Keep trying and keep looking for ways round rather than road blocks
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I think that’s good advice, Geoff – both yours and Edison’s. I’m pleased the flash worked as I intended (even if I dropped hints). 🙂
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What a great message, and I loved your story!
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Thank you, Chelsea. 🙂
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Great stuff Norah! For all of us it is a fact of life that learning, practising and patience will always get us from I can’t to I can…. and that is embodied in the ‘yet’ philosophy. And one of the lessons I’ve learned – often the hard way – is that even when I think I’ve failed, I find I’ve stepped onto a path that carries me somewhere else. Usually a place I didn’t know I wanted to be in until I got there 🙂 The wall, as you point out so well in your flash, is just an illusion.
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Yep, the wall is just an illusion, Pauline. I’m pleased to hear that your detours got you where you were meant to be after all. What an admirable philosophy!
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It’s not even a philosophy Norah – for me it’s just a fact of life . When I finally twigged that things got so much more enjoyable 🙂
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That’s wonderful, Pauline. Go with the flow – wherever it goes. 🙂
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delightful interpretation … never give up and the wall will part … didn’t the Bible have a similar story 😉
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I’m pleased you enjoyed the interpretation, Kate. I hadn’t thought about a Biblical story …
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the waters parted to let them thru 🙂
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So true! 🙂
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Great post and prompt! Nothing is impossible if you believe.
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I think you’re living proof of that. I hope others check out your inspirational story. https://mandyinspires.blog/
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Thanks for the kind words!
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You are welcome.
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You made great use of the prompt word, Norah. I really liked your flash.
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Thanks, Robbie. I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
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