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I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

secondbreakfast.co

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Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#41
post #8

It is impossible to be really good at everything.... when I optimized for work, my fitness goals went through the window. When I optimized to get a project done, my reading (books) went down as well. When I optimized for fitness (working out and soccer), my work and side projects started progressing slower. It is very hard to work on your project at home, when you are in a intense bulking, or 'cutting' phase, and onc…

I have a "rule of 3". You can be quite good at 3 things (give or take). One of them will probably be your job. One will probably be your relationships. You have time for 1 more. If you keep changing your mind about what that last one will be, then you will only be good at 2 things. There are ways to be good at only 1 thing as well.... or even 0...

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#43
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not impossible...but it requires strict time management and everyone else in your life will try to steal your earmarked time and complain that you never want to do anything. Even then, I agree - I'm constantly accidentally over prioritizing and having to even back out.

yeah, it is physically impossible.... I gave you two disciplines: bulking up in the gym, or playing soccer... while bulking up, you gain both muscle and some fat, and your soccer performance will suffer as your weight will increase, and your larger biceps and pecs really wont help your soccer game much (there is a reason that pro soccer players don't look like body builders). Also playing lots of soccer will hurt you…

That's almost entirely broscience.

Being at a slight deficit won't hurt your soccer performance. You're not a top tier professional that needs to optimize for every tiny thing. Even if you are, Ronaldo is shredded and is a top 5 footballer. And most footballers are naturally very lean, so what you're saying doesn't even make empirical sense.

Should you expect to play the Champion's League finals while preparing to do poses at a bodybuilding show and do your best? No, but you could conceivably do these a few weeks apart.

Cardiovascular activity won't "kill your gains", there's no such consensus, you just have to be smart about your caloric intake.

There's no physical law involved here so saying it's "just physics" sounds very dismissive.

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#44

Grit = Just Do It (Nike Slogan). My easy definition: while(person_has_grit) { if(pivot) continue; if(give_up) break; } person_has_grit = false;

Grit is overrated. Determination is what matters. Grit implies you'd grind yourself down at a task you know probably won't go well for you, just because you'd never give up, even when you get zero enjoyment or satisfaction out of it.

I agree it is overrated. Was just defining grit. I think it matters to have a combination of traits, whether it be grit + determination + ....

For fun, my coded solution for determination:

  while(!found()) continue;

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#46
post #35

It is not important to work hard, it is important to be happy. Stop glorifying the act of working, please.

Do you think the two are causally related? (Either positively correlated or negatively correlated?)

They may or may not. Many people are happy when spending time with loved ones. You can live a happy life and never work "hard". Just do your job and be happy. There is nothing wrong with tbat.

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#47

I dont get this article. Is he blaming the school for complimenting displayed characteristics? Does he think an element of character is a superpowered attribute that works everywhere like a videogame? Take the complement and move on, your character is not the same as fixed biological attributes or abilities. You weren't "tricked".

I recently realized in the past I’ve had an inflated self-perception of myself specifically around work ethic and “grit.”

But I conveniently ignored areas where I have failed to put in the work and push through.

It may be okay to not have “grit.” I no longer believe I have any more or less grit than the average person.

I’m not sure what this realization necessarily means nor do I fault anyone else for this. It just is what it is!

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#48
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, it is physically impossible.... I gave you two disciplines: bulking up in the gym, or playing soccer... while bulking up, you gain both muscle and some fat, and your soccer performance will suffer as your weight will increase, and your larger biceps and pecs really wont help your soccer game much (there is a reason that pro soccer players don't look like body builders). Also playing lots of soccer will hurt you…

That's almost entirely broscience. Being at a slight deficit won't hurt your soccer performance. You're not a top tier professional that needs to optimize for every tiny thing. Even if you are, Ronaldo is shredded and is a top 5 footballer. And most footballers are naturally very lean, so what you're saying doesn't even make empirical sense. Should you expect to play the Champion's League finals while preparing to do…

Pro body building is built around taking insane amounts of roids which will get you caught during drug testing in pro soccer.

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#49
post #8

It is impossible to be really good at everything.... when I optimized for work, my fitness goals went through the window. When I optimized to get a project done, my reading (books) went down as well. When I optimized for fitness (working out and soccer), my work and side projects started progressing slower. It is very hard to work on your project at home, when you are in a intense bulking, or 'cutting' phase, and onc…

I've never thought of myself as being particularly "gritty" in anything; for me personally, mediocrity is good enough. I'm boring in that I get up and go to bed at reasonable times, in that I play video games for a couple hours at most, then I think I've had enough. I'm not trying to humblebrag, it's not something I do conscientiously, my main point here is that not excelling, not "doing your best" is also fine.

In agile methodologies the phrase "sustainable pace" is a recurring theme. You'll be in this life for 80 years if you're lucky, no need to burn through all that in a few years.

I've worked for nearly ten years at my previous company (consultancy), the most dedicated, hardworking people all ended up with burnout. I mean sure, I guess they earned a bit more money and stuff, but they also spent at least six months up to a year completely out of action, some went straight back into it and had to be put out of action again. And I hope they ask themselves "was it worth it".

Re: I was tricked into thinking I had “grit”

#50
post #8

It is impossible to be really good at everything.... when I optimized for work, my fitness goals went through the window. When I optimized to get a project done, my reading (books) went down as well. When I optimized for fitness (working out and soccer), my work and side projects started progressing slower. It is very hard to work on your project at home, when you are in a intense bulking, or 'cutting' phase, and onc…

This remind me of the Howard Marks 'Economic Reality' essay.

https://www.oaktreecapital.com/docs/default-source/memos/eco...

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