I was always the last to get it, but I still topped the class

There is a myth that has been around for a very long time. The myth goes something like this: there are math people and others who are just NOT math people. This is no more true than saying that there are people who are car drivers and then there are non-car divers. It’s actually ludicrous. Now what we can’t debate is that at any given point in time there may be individuals who are performing at higher levels than others, but to say that some have an innate ability, while others don’t is just not true.

For most of my high school life, people would have classed me as a non-math person. I was failing at the subject dismally and I totally lacked confidence in my ability. However with the help of a private math tutor I began to understand key mathematical concepts on which more complex ones could be built. I ended up doing very well in high school math from about fourth form onwards.

But here is the catch, though my grades were now indicative of the so called math person, personally, I never believed that I was. Why? Because I was (even at university) always the last one to understand the topic that the teacher/lecturer taught. I would never understand everything that was taught in the class. This hindered my confidence as I observed so many others who seemed to ‘get it’ in the blink of an eye. However because I constantly obeyed the twenty-four hour rule (read about it here) I would consistently top the class in tests at university. I knew this because lecturers publicly posted the grades so that all in the class could view them.

It’s been said that the race is not for the swift, but more pointedly we could say, the race is not for the first who understands. Victory belongs to the disciplined. The persistent and the diligent. However, you must first of all get rid of the belief that you are unable to do math, that you are just not a math person. I know you may be saying you have tried in the past and failed. But the key to success is to reflect and see what you can do differently the second time around. I never started to do well the moment I got extra help. It was a gradual process, but I stuck to it.

Resolve never to quit and see where that decision takes you, you may be in for the surprise of your life!