Book I am reading: Mindset by Carol Dweck
Although I am not finished with this book yet. I appreciate the information just in the first few chapters. Theres a discussion about positive affirmations which seems to be a consistent trend in finding success with anything, finding happiness in yourself, and being able to develop and grow as an individual. There are specific studies referenced in this book with children, which I found interesting. You can tell children that they are smart as they develop and grow. Convincing them that this is why they are successful in their educational progression, 40% of those children will try to live up to those smart expectations and turn to cheating in school. While another group of children were told they are successful because they work hard and earned their grades. Longterm, this group whom learned to believe in consistent hard work was found to have more ambitious, educated, and “successful” lives.
My take away from this is, do not rely on the idea that you are not genetically inclined in a particular field of study or particular physical activity. I cringe when I hear self limiting beliefs, where others will identify with their limitations to something they never put in appropraite effort. We find reasons to make excuses for successes, failures, and reasons for why we never attempt new challenges.
Successes: If you worked hard to get the career, the car, the college degree, the diploma, the certifications, the house, the aesthetics of your body composition, the health, endurance, or strength that you have…; why give the credit to genetics or talent when without a doubt you also had to apply consistent hard work and effort to find success in any of these or other accomplishments.
Failures: We we fail at something, perhaps our mind goes to “I’m just not good at math.”, “I’m not built to run.”, “I’m not a good reader.”, “I don’t have the energy to do this.” are all negative affirmations. Like Issac Newton or Albert Einstein, they too had to study, learn and develop to be proficient in mathematics, the difference is they believed they could make a change and became obsessed with the idea of doing something great. Even Michael Phelps admitted that there are often days he did not feel up to doing his workouts, eating a specific diet, and staying on a specific regimen scheduled for you every day of his career. However because he believed he could be a great competitive athlete and knew that in order to do great things, somethings you have to go out of your comfort zone and work really hard at a goal to accomplish it. Thus setting world records and winning several gold medals in the olympics. Elon Musk was asked in an interview what he through if there were many more individuals like him, reflecting on how ambitious and creative his mind thinks. He clarified that most people would not want to be him or be like him because he constantly is doing tasks that can be stressful, overwhelming, and difficult. He believes if he does not contribute to the world, his creative ideas with “stones left unturned”, he will be doing a disservice to others.
The 10,000 Hours
If you never heard of this before, I hope to help convince you that this is an actual concept found in several studies. Between professional athletes, musicians, or the career path you choose to fill in the blank. I suggest reading Outliers by Malcom Gladwell as he gets into this concept far better than I can relay without purely paraphrasing his books. So before you become discouraged from anything or attempt to compare yourself to anyone, consider how many intentional hours of work/ study you might have put into developing your craft. Consider those you see on television or social media who do have contributing skills, they on average would have taken near 10,000 hours to develop with likely several set backs which would be or could be perceived as failures.
One thing I began telling clients and patients of mine: “The only way you will fail is if you give up and/or do nothing.”
Quote that cross my mind often:
This quote is powerful, when you continue to grow throughout your journey called life. We tend to limit ourselves by those around us, this could be subconscious influence of others. How often have you gotten advice from a family member or friend whom told you to try something safer or easier. Although they might have good intents, it is the unknown attempts of small actions that could take our life to the next level. How many times have you been inspired by an actor/actress, musician, or any person you look up to. Without taking daily actionable steps, you may never serve yourself, or those around you as well as you have the potential of doing.
A Quote I need to remind myself of:
“When I’m old, how much would I be willing to pay to travel back in time and relive the moment that I’m experiencing right now?” -Muneeb Ali
Finding a balance with life is challenging, I have had the pleasure of having great conversations with 14 year olds up to 99 year olds thus far. One thing I have realized is, no matter what we are all still figuring life out in relation to our own journeys. The one thing that is important to know, although planning for the future is essential, do not forget the moments we are having now. Do not forget to live and enjoy life now while we have the opportunities that are given to us.
Questions and Answers:
Questions: What is it that you would love to accomplish this year. Something that would make this year propel you into living the life you would want to live?
Actions: Write that goal down followed by the Most Important Next Step (MINS). The MINS would be the action you can do specifically today that will get you 1% closer to that goal.
Thank you for reading! Please share if this is something you have found any of this information interesting, entertaining, or useful. Have a remarkable day!
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