"I failed again."
Kaito held his head. Apparently, he got nervous during a presentation and couldn't say even half of what he wanted.
"It happens to everyone," Sora consoled.
"But I'm always like this. Weak under pressure."
Leo approached quietly. "Not weak under pressure, perhaps too hard on yourself?"
"What do you mean?" Kaito looked up.
"You demand too much perfection. You think if it's not 100 points, it's 0 points."
Sora nodded. "All-or-nothing thinking."
"Dichotomous thinking," Leo explained. "One of the cognitive distortions."
Kaito pondered. "True, even with small mistakes, I think everything is ruined."
"That's the problem," Leo continued. "In reality, there's a gray zone. Even 60 points has value."
Sora wrote in her notebook. "The perfectionism trap."
Leo supplemented. "Perfectionists fear failure so much they avoid challenges. Or small failures cause major depression."
"That's me," Kaito admitted.
"But it can be changed," Leo said. "It's a matter of mindset."
"Mindset?"
"The framework of thinking. A psychologist named Carol Dweck researched this."
Sora explained. "Fixed mindset and growth mindset."
"Fixed mindset believes ability is determined from birth. Growth mindset believes effort can develop it."
Kaito asked. "Am I fixed?"
"Probably. Saying 'I'm weak under pressure' implies you think it's an unchangeable trait."
Leo suggested. "Try rephrasing it as 'I'm not used to pressure yet.'"
Kaito repeated. "Not used to it yet..."
"Right. The word 'yet' suggests future growth."
Sora added. "Failure isn't the end, but a chance to learn."
Kaito's expression softened a bit. "Thinking that way might help."
Leo continued. "Self-acceptance is also important. Accepting yourself with weaknesses as you are."
"Accept weakness?" Kaito asked anxiously.
"Acceptance isn't giving up," Leo emphasized. "Recognizing the current state, then moving toward improvement."
Sora gave an example. "Admit 'I'm weak under pressure,' then continue with 'so I'll practice' or 'so I'll prepare.'"
"I can make countermeasures," Kaito understood.
"Exactly. Denying weakness prevents making countermeasures."
Leo shared his experience. "I couldn't speak Japanese at all at first. But accepting it as a weakness allowed me to study."
Kaito looked surprised. "Even you had that?"
"Everyone does. No one is perfect."
Sora said quietly. "Admitting weakness takes courage, but that's where growth begins."
Kaito took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm weak under pressure. But I can improve that with practice."
"Good rephrasing," Leo acknowledged.
Sora smiled. "That's self-understanding, not self-criticism."
Kaito laughed a little. "Somehow I feel lighter than before."
Leo explained. "Self-acceptance protects self-esteem. Constantly blaming yourself exhausts the mind."
"Self-compassion," Sora said.
"Compassion toward oneself," Leo translated. "Being kind to yourself, as you would be to others."
Kaito thought. "If a friend made the same mistake, I wouldn't blame them."
"Then why are you hard on yourself?" Leo asked.
"...I don't know."
"Thinking about that is also part of self-understanding."
The three sat quietly. Facing weakness involves pain. But without facing it, there's no real growth.
"I'll try hard at the next presentation," Kaito said.
"Without aiming for perfection," Sora added.
"Yeah. Even 60 points is fine. I'll start from there."
Leo nodded. "That's the growth mindset."
The day of acknowledging weakness. It was the first step toward strength.