For the past year or two, I’d been only doing the regular blanks—the four red sections. I usually tried to finish it according to coach Shane’s recommendation-within 30 minutes. It became a comfortable routine, something familiar and predictable. But this morning, December 1st, something felt different. I opened the new month’s dictation files as usual, but when I glanced at the options, I noticed an advanced version sitting there—quiet, almost saying hi to me. I caught myself thinking, “Why not try the advanced one?” It wasn’t the first time that thought crossed my mind. I’d hovered over it before, even imagined clicking on it… but I always backed out. Even the regular blanks were challenging enough; the advanced version felt like a door I wasn’t ready to open. So why did I open it today? It wasn’t about testing how much my listening had improved. What I really wanted was to figure out what blue sections I kept missing or mishearing.— Afterall, these parts we also practice in live classes— If I could spot those weaknesses, maybe I could strengthen them in the future. It was a quiet shift in mindset, but a powerful one: “I’m not here to test myself. I’m here to improve.” And with that shift, everything changed. When I heard gibberish and had no idea what George was saying, I didn’t spiral. I didn’t blame myself. I didn’t ask the usual painful question: “Why haven’t I made more progress after studying for so long?” Instead, I thought, “Oh, so that’s what George said. I can follow the story, even if I can’t catch every word. I’ll understand the details when coach Shane shares the answers.” This mindset didn’t appear overnight. It had probably been growing quietly inside me for a long time. I’d typecast myself without realizing it—I just kept myself inside a small box because I thought that’s all I could handle. But here’s the thing: even while staying in that box, I never stopped learning. My dictation results over the past couple of years were hit-or-miss, but I kept going, little by little. Whenever I felt like “ Oh, my listening was finally improving, the next passage would completely stump me. And that’s normal. That’s part of learning. It doesn’t mean I’m incompetent.”