Mindset
A friend of mine approaches life with the affirmation, “If you believe you can, you can. If you believe you can’t, you can’t.” – JJ Ebarb
A related saying is, "you can’t expect to succeed if you set yourself up for failure."
I think these are both important ideas to hold, however, I think the words themselves don’t set the context. So what is the context? These ideas just came back to the forefront for me as I listen to/read Grit by Angela Duckworth. I think much of what is written in this book, explains what these two sayings mean and that they gain usefulness as the context behind them is expanded and clarified. This comes with time.
“Grit” is a better predictor of success, as opposed to talent, IQ, or academic achievement. If you are curious or passionate about something, grit can take you to high levels of skill and achievement. Coming back day after day, year after year, to deliberately practice in order, to be better than the person you were the day before is the key. Unfortunately, while people say effort is the most important trait, they tend to get fooled by the talent in the moment. As warriors, we need to learn not to be fooled by this. Talent can be built with effort, stamina, and grit, however the opposite is not true. When things come easy to someone, "easy" can become the expectation, and when things get hard talent can let us down.
When I hear students talk about Kuroda Tetsuzan sensei, they say that he is an alien, or that they could never be as good as he is. I don’t believe this is true. I can be as good as him, if only I put in the time and effort that he has. If I tell myself I can’t be that good, I have already closed a door on myself that I would have been better off leaving open to walk through. The same is said about Williams sensei. His skill is amazing too, yet it is also achievable with effort and grit. It is always important to believe and know that we can be as good or better than the person we admire or strive to be. Better yet, if I strive to be better than I was yesterday, I will not be chasing someone, I’ll be leading the way and get better quicker. With this attitude, I can continue to grow and gain skill indefinitely.
When this information is added to the knowledge gained from other books I have read……and recommend reading…..such as The Talent Code by Dan Coyle, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, and Inside Out Coaching by Joe Erhmann, I think we, anybody, can help better shape their own world and mentor younger students or family, in more authentic ways which can help them achieve personal goals and high potential.
“The way is in training.” – Musashi. If we look at how the Japanese train culturally, we can see what Musashi really means by this. Deliberate and intentional practice daily, as much as possible, to be better than you were. Always striving to be better. You can see it in the movie, Jiro Dreams of Sushi. This is an example of grit.
Books I am reading right now:
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Leadership and Training for the Fight by MSG Paul Howe (Ret)
The Book of Samurai by Antony Cummins
If you have questions about anything or would like to share your thoughts please feel free to give me a call or email.