23 Feb Try, Try Again
A new kind of escape room just opened near our house. There are six games, each with multiple levels. After entering a room, you have only two minutes to solve the physical or mental challenge and try to get to the next level. The admission ticket gives you two hours of play, and during that time you can try any room you want as many times as you want.
Our family entered the “Under the Sea” room. It was empty and dark except for colorful, glowing fish covering the back wall. When we touched the fish, each played a different sound. One sounded like a cymbal, another a harmonica and another a piano. The first few times we went inside, we ran around the room, bumping into each other and touching different fish, trying to make sense of the fish-sound madness.
We thought we might need to touch each fish in order of size. The buzzer sounded, letting us know we were wrong and indicating our turn was over. We walked back through the door and waited for another turn.
The next time, we thought it might be about pitch, so we played the fish sounds from low to high. BUZZ.
…then high to low. BUZZ.
…then clockwise in a circle. BUZZ.
…then all at the same time. BUZZ.
Over and over, we stayed determined to figure it out.
Our family must have gone in this room 20 times. We were nearing the two-hour time limit when our fun with these games was coming to an end. As we were walking toward the room’s exit, defeated once again, I happened to glance up and notice something I hadn’t seen before. There was a cutout of a whale’s tail dangling from the ceiling. We had dodged it each time as we ran straight to the fish along the back wall (and again as we trudged out in defeat). As we entered the room again, the girls jumped up to touch the tail. A song began to play. The notes sounded just like the individual sounds the fish made. Once played in the same order, the door to the next level popped open.
Life isn’t often like this. We usually don’t get the chance to practice over and over and over again under identical circumstances. Yet it is this process of trying things repeatedly (and getting feedback) that helps us get better at any skill. And when we maintain our commitment to this process of improvement, doors do tend to open.