I began to tell her, “You have to strive for the best. You need to be flawless. You won’t be happy until you’re nothing.”. She beats herself up and tries to listen to the pretty voice. It consumes her and she begins to wonder, “Why am I telling myself this? I wouldn’t say this to anyone, so why do these rules apply to me?”. She is me. I am her. My mindset is fixated on this and others have told me it is stopping me from reaching my fullest potential. I haven’t been able to see that for myself because I am too scared that I will have to let go of a coping skill I have used for so long. The real question I have to ask myself is, “Will you decide to be comfortable in your ignorance? Or, will you go to discover that things beyond the cave are any more real than shadows?” This presents the idea of having a growth mindset. The thoughts I have are a perception of myself that I feel is forever set in stone. However, challenging those beliefs, with Plato’s growth mindset, I w...