I used to think you were good at maps or bad at maps (good at art, bad at art; good at math, bad at math), until I read Carol Dweck, who says most people fall into one of two mindsets. Those with a "fixed mindset" believe talent is innate and this limits growth. "Growth mindset" is the idea that you "grow your understanding step by step," as Dweck was quoted saying in an essay in Education Week.

It wasn’t until I started biking that maps became important to me. When you are planning to physically exert yourself, the map is your friend. I want to know how many miles I’ll travel; how many hills I must climb.

As I pump my legs up the long incline of the Brooklyn Bridge, I can now see the NYC Bike Map in my mind. I'm on a thin green line amidst a spidery web of purple, red and green lines. I am proud to say I’m developing a map mindset.

I am a recovering fixed mindset-er when it comes to maps, directions, writing, art and, well, most things.

Chris may not know the jargon, but he clearly falls into the growth mind-set camp when it comes to maps.

When we moved to the city he took walks on his lunch hour in concentric circles from our apartment, marking his progress by making red pencil dashes on a map. Exploring together on the weekends, I was cowed by his seemingly effortless ability to find his way round. A fixed mindset-er, I decided I was bad at directions. He was born that way. I was not.

Why did it take me so long to see what’s right in front of me—that his facility with directions is not innate? It’s a learned skill he’s honed his whole life. The maps on our walls, the maps stuffed into a basket by the door, and the atlases lined up on the bookshelf are testament to the hours and hours he’s spent pouring over maps.

He was no more born with a map implanted in his head than I was. He not only checks maps, he frequently draws the route before we leave the house, cementing it in his mind.

Now thanks to biking, I, too, check the map before I leave the house. I, too, can distinguish an avenue from a street.

As Dweck says, "the path to a growth mindset is a journey..."

That said, when I emerge from underground I’ll still ask someone which way is uptown or downtown, if I can find anyone without earbuds.

It may take me longer with my non-linear, stranger-asking ways but I get where I’m going in the end.