BREAKING THE 4.0 MINDSET BY SOPHIA COSTANTINO

I’ve been a perfectionist my entire life. I’ve always felt the need to be the best at whatever I do. I knew that I was capable of high achievement, so I thought that I should never make mistakes – and, unfortunately, I didn’t make a lot of them. 

Now I am afraid of failure. I’ve trained myself to avoid it at all costs because I always thought that failure meant I was inadequate or a disappointment. If I made a mistake, it was just a sign of wasted potential. 

In school, I learned to do exactly what was needed to get the A. If a teacher told me what to do, I could do it to a T. I never had to venture out of my comfort zone or come up with my own solutions to problems. Risks weren’t worth taking because they might result in failure. 

I now realize the value of failure and taking risks. We don’t learn from always getting it right the first time. We do learn from taking risks that push our limits and then learning from the failures that naturally occur as a result. 

Even though I’ve learned the importance of failure, the 4.0 mindset is still ingrained in me. I find myself wanting someone to tell me exactly what I need to do in order for me to succeed or get a good grade. However, I am making a conscious effort to break this mindset, take more risks, and learn to embrace failure.