Structure doesn’t just appear all of a sudden. It involves a step-by-step building process to make it happen. This principle also applies to your confidence in math. You just do not wake up one morning with full assurance about tackling any mathematical problem. No, it isn’t voodoo or magic. You must go through a step-by-step process of building your confidence. So, with that in mind, channel that apprehensive energy into discovering ways of building your self-confidence in math. This article apprises you of several paths to confidence in math.
How Do I Build Self-Confidence In Math
Below I discuss several techniques that can build self-confidence. How about falling in love… with math! Love is a powerful motivator. Or discarding math myths? Well, this article discusses these and more.
Fall In Love With Math
The first way of getting started in building confidence in mathematics is by falling in love with it. The question on your mind might be how do you fall in love with math? Here’s how… Think of mathematics as a person. A person with traits you’re yet to discover. In order to learn more about that person, you study them closely and spend more time with them. Make notes about the amazing traits of that person, especially those that are extraordinary and even rare! You naturally see yourself gradually getting attached to that person until you find it impossible to pass a day without having a word or two with that person. During this process of discovery, you get to know lots of hidden things about that person as well as become so acquainted with the person that it becomes very difficult to feel the apprehension you once did. Mathematics is that person! Try it! Allow yourself to fall in love with math and watch as your confidence grows.
Discard Mathematics Myths
There are lots of myths and superstitions about mathematics. Well, and like myths and superstitions in other subjects, we can debunk these as well. Myths such as mathematics are the most difficult subject. Only a few persons are born with the talent and brains for it. Men are better at math than women. Math is not creative, there is the best way to do math problems. Sound familiar? These misconceptions and even some not listed here have to be corrected. Everyone is born with a potential that just needs to be unlocked. You can wield a great level of confidence, it’s just a matter of choice and a conscious decision to practice. So, you have seen that the second step in building self-confidence in math is by discarding those mathematics myths you have always held unto. Instead, give math a try, have a first-hand experience, and don’t rely on assumptions without actions. Do this and you’d find out that mathematics is not as difficult as people have painted it to be.
Normalize Making Mistakes
What do you do when you make a series of mistakes when solving a mathematical equation? Do you give up and tell yourself that mathematics is for a specific set of people and you’re not one of them? Really? No, you shouldn’t have that mindset, it isn’t right at all.
Speaking of mistakes, who doesn’t make mistakes? Even the great Albert Einstein quipped, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
You should see making mistakes as a normal part of your building and development process. In fact, if you don’t make mistakes, then you haven’t started. Yes, you haven’t. What you should do when you keep making a series of mistakes is neither to relent nor to quit but to keep trying. In so doing, you’d eventually get that particular problem tackled, and your confidence in that level also gets boosted, as a result whenever you encounter a similar problem, you’d spend little time solving it.
Engage in Math Related Games
Games are said to have the ability to stretch our scope of thinking, broaden our horizons, and equally contribute to building a level of confidence. Engaging in math-related games goes a long way in changing your perspective of math. You tend to see yourself looking at math from a different lens altogether. You see math as easy, and fun. If this is the way you see math, how then would you not be confident about it? There’s certainly no way that can happen.
Give It Time
Time can do many things, including building confidence in math. Remember the point that a structure doesn’t just appear? It usually involves a step-by-step building process. And that process takes time. So, time and patience are the keywords here. Don’t just rush all these steps and start complaining a month later that it isn’t working, that you still lack confidence in math. Take your time, because skill building and confidence are gradual processes.
Conclusion
Having confidence in math is possible and worth building. Start with one of the techniques above, and then add more; Falling in love with it, Discarding math myths, normalizing making mistakes, engaging in math games, and lastly, giving it time are techniques that create confidence. Try out one, two, or all the techniques that have been given to you, and in a short while, you will see yourself swimming in the ocean of full confidence in math.
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Are you battling with mathematics confidence and you’ve been seeking ways to trade that fear in exchange for mastery? Then, this article promises to help.
