You're a mindset shift away from glory

Welcome to Florafolly 🌸

Where stories bloom and lessons unfold. A journey inward, shared outward. And so it starts…

The story 📚

It’s a girls’ outing full of promise: my niece, my sister-in-law, my mom, and me, all piled into the car for a mystery activity. My sister-in-law is the mastermind, keeping the plan to herself.

My niece and I share a love for arts and crafts, so naturally, we start guessing. "It’s definitely something creative," we decide.

When we pull up in front of the shop, the surprise is revealed: ceramic painting.

"That’s amazing! I’ve always wanted to try this," I exclaim.

My mom, however, hesitates. "Oh, I’m going to be terrible at this," she says.

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve heard my mom say she’s not creative. She associates creativity with being “artsy” and thinks it’s something she lacks.

But to me, my mom is one of the most creative people I know.

She’s always coming up with solutions to problems, often with ideas I’d never think of—like crafting rain caps out of garbage bags so we could enjoy the amusement park in the rain. She’s tackled countless home renovations—on a budget—that turned out amazing. Or, when my niece asked for a horse for Christmas (obviously knowing she wouldn’t get one), my mom surprised her by building a life-sized horse out of wood pieces.

Despite this, she’s convinced her creativity doesn’t count, doesn’t exists. Maybe because it doesn’t fit the “traditional mold” or because she defines creativity as something else.

At the shop, we pick out our ceramic pieces. My mom chooses a large serving bowl and says, "I think I’ll paint a fish inside and corals around the outside."

You should have seen her—focused, meticulous, and completely absorbed in the process. She was loving it. (Mom I know you’re reading this—don’t say you weren’t!)

It made me wonder: how many times do we miss out on things we might enjoy, simply because we think they’re not “for us”?

The lesson 📝

Not only did my mom enjoy herself, but her bowl was beautiful—vivid and full of life. For someone who “isn’t creative” and had never tried this kind of activity before, it was truly impressive.

This reminded me of one of my favorite books of 2024: Mindset by Carol S. Dweck. In it, she explains the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset:

• A fixed mindset is the belief that you’re either talented at something or not, and there’s nothing you can do to change it.

• A growth mindset is the belief that you can improve at anything with effort and practice.

When it comes to art, my mom had a fixed mindset—she believed she wasn’t good at it and never could be. So she rarely tried. (hopefully she’ll change her mind reading this)

But as we polished our pieces, I turned to her and said, "See how beautiful it is? If you did this often, you’d get really good at it."

Later, she showed her work to the rest of the family. Everyone was impressed.

The goal isn’t to become an artist or the GOAT. The goal is to stop saying no to things because we’re afraid of being bad at them.

Your first attempt at anything will likely be messy, but that doesn’t mean you’re not good—it just means you’re learning.

The questions 💭

Life isn’t black and white.

It’s not as simple as having either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. Most of us live somewhere in the gray. I’ve worked hard to foster a growth mindset over the years, yet I know there are moments when my fixed-mindset alter ego shows up. I call her Meandy—because she’s mean to me.

What about you?

• Do you have a growth mindset?

• Do you catch yourself saying, “I’m so bad at X, I can’t do it”?

• In what environments does your fixed-mindset alter ego appear?

• Are there things you avoid doing because you think you’re “not good”?

The truth is, these beliefs don’t just affect us—they can quietly pass on to those around us. For instance, my brother is also convinced he’s not creative “like Mom”.

Adopting a growth mindset is one of the most freeing things you can do. It doesn’t mean you have to master everything.

It simply means knowing you could if you wanted to.

That’s where the real power lies.

Until next time, may your stories unfold.

Live, laugh, learn.

With love,

Flora

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