 |
| Image Source: brw.com.au |
There’s nothing wrong with positive thinking. It is a hell of a lot better than a wet blanket of negativity that stops you from trying or encourages you to see the worst in everyone. But unrealistic optimism and a belief you can do anything you put your mind to can have some nasty consequences.
Because life isn’t fair.
Despite the popularity of the idea that 10,000 hours of practice can turn us all into masters of our domain, we don’t all enter the world with the same potential. We have different strengths and weaknesses and, if we are lucky, we will discover what they are at an early age and have the opportunity to develop them.
We may even be able to make a living from those strengths and, with enough natural talent and dedicated practice, excel to the point of mastery.
But even if I had dedicated my life to dance, I would never have passed an audition for the Australian Ballet. Even with the best maths teachers in the world, I would have made a lousy actuary. I have no sense of rhythm and my joke that I can barely count has an uncomfortable ring of truth. The danger of believing we can achieve anything, if only we try hard enough, is that it presents an impossible target for almost all of us. (The exception being those with the natural talents, means and dedication to achieve goals they are suited to.)
When we don’t become billionaires by the age of 30 and are still struggling with a mortgage, or when we are still weekend rock stars at the local pub, rather than Madison Square Garden, we may blame ourselves for not trying hard enough.
We may feel that what we have achieved is not good enough, neglecting to give proper credit to the things we do very well.
Practice doesn’t always make perfect
Six years ago, author Malcolm Gladwell popularised the “10,000 hour rule” in his book Outliers .
It is a seductive idea for dreamers but was torn down by a Princeton University study that finds practice does not necessarily make perfect. “We conclude that deliberate practice is important, but not as important as has been argued,” say the authors.
The impact of that practice depends on the area or domain. The more structure-based the domain (chess, tennis and classical music), the more of an impact practice has.
You can study up to be the best. But there are no hard and fast rules to becoming a rock star or entrepreneur and the most unlikely people can be outrageously successful while the seemingly best qualified never make it to first base.
But even in highly structured areas, practice has a minor impact: 26 per cent of the difference in performance in games, 21 per cent in music and 18 per cent in sport.
Other factors that make the difference between stars and the rest include the age at which you start and your genes (which account for well over half the variation).
Despite the popularity of self-belief books such as The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, which states that your thoughts control the universe, even dedicated followers can find such exhortations ineffectual. You have to wonder what could have led the hosts of US motivational talk show The Pursuit of Happiness , John Littig and Lynne Rosen, to commit suicide with helium-filled bags around their heads.
A study by Joanne Wood of the University of Waterloo finds people with low self-esteem who repeat positive affirmations feel worse than those who don’t. However, those with high self-esteem did benefit.
“Repeating positive self-statements may benefit certain people but backfire for the very people who ‘need’ them the most,” says Wood.
Marc Accetta believes that to achieve personal goals, one must be able to shake off doubts and fears and improve self esteem. Follow him on Twitter for more updates about personal success.
