Practicing what I Preach

When I teach, I want my students to embrace a growth mindset. They need to know that my classroom is a safe place to try wild, creative ideas and that it’s alright to make mistakes. I often tell them that the hardest part of solving any problem is being brave enough to take the first step.

And yet, recently I realized that my own perfectionist nature makes me a bit of a hypocrite.

Here’s how it happened: I enjoy playing the daily puzzles in the New York Times and on LinkedIn. One day, while playing Zip, my double standard became clear.

Mathematically, Zip asks you to find a Hamiltonian path through a grid with constraints. In simpler terms: given a grid, start at cell 1 and create a path that visits each square exactly once making sure to pass through numbered cells in increasing order while avoiding barriers. The game records your time to complete the path and, crucially, the number of times you “backtrack.”

And here’s the rub: I hate backtracking. I would stare at a puzzle not touching finger to phone screen until I saw the final solution. Then, and only then, would I enter my solution. This resulted in zero backtracks but a total time considerably longer than the daily average.

But isn’t backtracking exactly what I encourage my students to do? To test an idea, discover it doesn’t work, and bravely try again?

After this realization, I consciously changed my approach to playing Zip. Now I start tracing a path immediately, even if I’m unsure where it will lead. And guess what? I usually finish much faster than the daily average.

So what is a better outcome: solving a problem perfectly with no mistakes, or solving it faster through trial and error? I think the answer is neither. The real value is in being willing to try—to risk the mistake, to backtrack, and to keep moving forward.

Maybe that’s the deeper truth: mistakes—whether in math class or in Zip—aren’t setbacks at all. They’re evidence of courage.

How about you? Have you ever noticed perfectionism sneaking into your own work, parenting, or hobbies? What helps you let go of the fear of mistakes and embrace a growth mindset? I’d love to hear your stories.