Socrates said, “Wisdom begins in wonder.” Those who never ask, never will be, yet it is a question every athlete or business person should want to know the answer too! So, aren’t you Curious?
What does it take to be good at anything?
Here’s a hint. We must reengage the child in us which takes more than just blurting out the answer, ‘YES.’ According to the book, “Born to Win,” we all have three ego states; Parent, Adult, and Child.
I call them choices because we get to choose how to react or respond. Here’s an example.
Picture viewing a piece of modern art
- Parent: Good grief! What’s it supposed to be!
- Adult: That costs $350 according to the price tag
- Child: Ooo, what pretty color!
Wouldn’t you agree these Parent and Adult ego responses are not much different than
- The athlete who claims they are not playing or doing well because they are too small
OR
- The corporate sales staff who refuse to make one phone call, claiming the competition or incumbent has an edge
Our ability to wonder, our Child ego, is blocked with preconceived excuses. Excuses that justifies mediocrity versus ever taking a chance and wondering what it takes to be good at anything. Excuses we are comfortable with because everyone else is.
So how is it, that a 5’6” 170lb shortstop with a total of 35 homeruns in his 10-year career, a David Eckstein, was able to become the 2006 World Series MVP on the same team with a 6’3”, 240lb Hall of Famer Albert Pujols who hit 49 homeruns during the 2006 season (He has 614 homeruns over 17 years)?
We fail to see the pretty color in the modern art!
My guess, as fans, WE chose to see the size difference, but David Eckstein and Albert Pujols only saw themselves as teammates. Both who wanted to be GOOD and both who wanted to WIN the World Series!
I challenge everyone to be in awe of the things around us and add “wonder, sensation, curiosity, inquisitiveness, awareness, responsiveness, reaction and answer” to our thought process. Then, and only then will we become passionately curious and find the answer To what it takes to be good!
Until next blog,
Al McCormick
