Failing or growing?

What if I fail? Oh, but what if you fly?

On April 1st, 1921, JL. Moreno set a stage in Vienna, Austria, with a throne and a jester’s hat, and invited the audience of over a thousand people to step up and psychodramatically take on the role of the king or the fool, to opine about the future of post-World War I Austria. The audience was horrified at his audacity.

Someone professing to be the King of Austria? In their eyes that amounted to blasphemy, and they wanted no part of this improvisational experiment. While the jester is often viewed as the wisest person on the court, that night the audience thought Moreno was the fool. He basically fell flat on his face.

Many would say that that night was a complete failure. But was it? It really depends upon how you look at it.

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

The concept of a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset was first identified by Stanford University psychologist and researcher, Carol Dweck. In her book Mindset, she defined the difference between the two as follows: A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and practice, while a fixed mindset is the belief that these qualities are innate and unchangeable.

After his defeat that night, Moreno could have stayed with the belief that his ideas weren’t any good and that no matter what he did, they weren’t going to get better. They weren’t going to change. But instead, rather than be defeated by the experience, Moreno focused on what he had learned.

For example, Moreno discovered the importance of warm up, or helping a group to become ready, willing, and able to move into action, which eventually became the first stage in the triadic system of psychodrama. In other words, if you don’t warm people up, they won’t feel safe enough to participate.

Moreno not only didn’t shrink from his desire to challenge norms after his big failure that night, but by staying with a growth mindset, he continued throughout his life to question those norms through his actions. When other therapists were seeing clients individually within the confines of their office, doing analysis, he was out in the world, working with groups of people no one else would: Sex workers, refugees, patients with psychosis, prisoners, runaway girls.

He continued to challenge what was normal and acceptable time and time again. And in so doing, brought together communities of people that healed each other. His growth mindset led to him be the creator of group psychotherapy.

Risk Taking

Like many of us who have taken a big leap, Moreno was somewhat stunned at his own behavior that night. And he’s quoted as saying, “As I look back on that night, I am amazed at my boldness.” His audacity got me thinking about how often I have not taken a risk or shared an idea because I was afraid I might look like a fool, or that I might fall flat on my face.

For example, I had been wanting to do a podcast for years, but the inner critic in my head said, “No one cares what you think, no one will listen.” But if I had stayed with that fixed mindset, then I would have never taken the leap to create the Action Insights podcast.

My growth mindset says that even if only one thing I talk about helps just one person, then it will be worth it. It got me thinking about the importance of courage, which from the French -coeur – means heart. It got me thinking how important it is to follow my heart when my inner critic says, you can’t.

It got me thinking about the meme I’ve seen so many times that says, “What if I fail?”With the response of, “Oh, but my dear, what if you fly?” 

Moreno’s willingness to stay with his growth mindset to risk and potentially fail continues to inspire me. And what I do know is that when I have taken risks and failed – which I have done many times in my life – if I could focus on what I’d learned rather than what I did wrong, or on the outcome, or spend time beating myself up for taking the chance in the first place, I could transform the experience into lessons and opportunities. I could out the other side better for having taken the leap. After all, it is the jester who knows that laughing at herself for her failures and learning from them will only make her wiser.

What if you fly?

So I would invite you to ponder that meme’s question. “What if you fly?” How has your fixed mindset gotten in the way of you taking a leap? And who or what can help you step into your courage, step into your heart, to put one foot in front of the other, to help you move in the direction of your dreams?

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About Jean:

Jean Campbell, LCSW, SEP, TTP, TEP has been bringing together groups of people to heal for over 30 years. She blends her extensive experience in psychodrama, sociometry, group psychotherapy, somatic healing and trauma resolution to offer training for helping professionals, personalized intensives, clinical consultation, and trial preparation consultation. You can find her at theactioninstitute.com, on Instagram at @actioninstitute, and on Facebook at @actioninstituteofcalifornia.