“Our vanity, our self-love, promotes the cult of the genius. For if we think of genius as something magical, we are not obliged to compare ourselves and find ourselves lacking … To call someone ‘divine’ means: here there is no need to compete.”
– Nietzsche
Do these sound like you:
- “You’re a natural! I love that!”
- “Well done! You’re so talented!”
- “That’s hard. Well, at least you tried!”
These sayings all have one thing in common – they praise/blame something that is beyond our control, such as talent (or lack of it).
In each case, what we don’t see, or choose to ignore, is the effort behind these achievements, because we don’t want to make ourselves look stupid.
It’s our ego trying to protect ourselves from the fact that we just didn’t work hard enough to deserve what we want.
By focusing on talent, we forget that success comes with a pricetag – and that is a hell lot of effort, sweat and tears.
If you’ve read Grit by Angela Duckworth, you’re probably familiar with this concept:
Conclusion: Effort builds skill, and at the same time, effort makes skill productive.
We are often dazzled by stunning achievements –“Gosh, she looks amazing in that bikini!” or “Dayum, he’s deadlifting 3 times my body weight!” – and then immediately attribute it to something beyond our control – “She was born with natural abs” or “He has a short torso and long arms”.
We even call Thomas Edison a ‘genius’ for inventing the light bulb, not a ‘hardworker’ for his 100 000 unsuccessful attempts.
In reality, successful people take more pleasure in making the little things right, than in the effect of the dazzling whole.
Sure, medals come in handy when you’re in a bragging mood, but it’s the chase, as much as the capture, that is gratifying.
Here at Enterprise Fitness, our wall of fame is constantly growing but that does not mean we are complacent. In fact, we’re constantly learning and have had a quite few seminars and courses recently. To name a few:
- Tony Doherty’s presentation to the Wolfpack
- Muscle Testing by Mark Ottobre
- Health and Nutrition Course with Clean Health Fitness Institute, and
- Mark’s very own Professional Mastery Course this past weekend!
Our members always come first, and we’re constantly improving ourselves in order to deliver the best for them!
So if you’re looking to improve your overall health, we’re here for you.
If you’re looking to compete, we’re here for you too.
If you’re a personal trainer looking to help your clients achieve better results and grow your business, we’re also here for you!
What are you waiting for? Call us at 1300 887 143 or email us at [email protected] today.
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