Embracing the 'Yet': From Revolutionary Impatience to Evolutionary Growth

The Illusion of Instant Transformation

Maichin opens with a childhood memory of visiting New York City with his grandfather, always finding it in a state of construction. This image becomes a metaphor for life itself: a continuous process of building and evolving. He contrasts this with the desire for immediate results, what he terms the 'tyranny of now,' a concept echoed in Carol Dweck's work on fixed versus growth mindsets.

Core Principles: Embracing the Power of 'Yet'

The core insight here is the power of the word 'yet.' As Dweck's research highlights, those with a growth mindset believe abilities are developed through effort and persistence, viewing failure as a learning opportunity. Maichin's mother, a special education teacher, embodied this by adding 'yet' to her students' declarations of 'I can't do it,' transforming perceived limitations into future possibilities.

From Theory to Practice: Steps Toward Evolutionary Thinking

How do we apply this to our lives? Maichin shares his personal struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a battle fought one uncomfortable moment at a time. Therapy wasn't about a quick fix, but about rewiring his brain through practice and patience. This experience taught him that failure wasn't the opposite of progress; it was progress. Here are some actionable steps:

• Challenge the Urgency: Recognize the pressure for instant results and actively resist it. Remind yourself that growth takes time.
• Reframe Failure: Instead of seeing failure as a dead end, view it as a detour, an opportunity to learn and adjust your approach.
• Practice Patience: Cultivate patience with yourself and others. Understand that progress is often slow and incremental.

Shifting Perspectives: From Personal Growth to Societal Evolution

Maichin extends this concept to society, critiquing the allure of revolutions that promise instant change but often fall short. He argues that real progress comes from adapting and evolving, building upon the foundations laid by those who came before us. The founding fathers, he notes, were not just revolutionaries but evolutionaries, creating a framework for the nation to grow and adapt through amendments.

A Mindset of Continuous Improvement

Maichin's journey reminds us that growth is not a destination but a continuous process. It requires questioning our destructive urges, embracing curiosity, and cultivating patience. By adopting an evolutionary mindset, we can create a world that is always under construction but never stagnant, a world where we are unafraid of struggle, failure, or growth. This is not just a personal journey; it's a collective one, a shared commitment to building a better future, one step at a time. The challenge, then, is to embrace our roles not as revolutionaries, seeking to tear down and start anew, but as evolutionaries, committed to refining, adapting, and building upon the foundations we've inherited.