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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”

#11

Post by jimbob45 »

ardit33 wrote: 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…

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.

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

#12

Post by secondbreakfast »

irjustin wrote: post #7

I disagree with the author's premise that you have "grit" only when it can be applied in any direction. To me, "grit" requires adversity instead of simply overall breadth. It's quite easy for us humans to do something if everything is going well. What about when it's not going well? Do we have enough to persevere through all times, including hard ones? Your startup is failing? Your research is yielding no fruit? You…

I agree with you that grit means pushing through adversity.

Specifically in my life, I've pushed through adversity when I cared more about trying than I did about the outcome.

It's hard to quantify, but I've only recently enjoyed running. For years, I tried to run consistently and always gave up. Then, I moved to Sun Valley for a ski season. As the snow melted, I started running outside each morning. I looked forward to the cold air, the quiet mountains, the snow-capped scenery. Nothing changed in how I understood the importance of exercise. I just enjoyed getting outside more.

Reflecting on areas where I've been told I "showed grit," they've really been areas where I naturally was interested - regardless of the outcome.

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

#13

Post by llamataboot »

jimbob45 wrote: post #11
ardit33 wrote: 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…

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.

I find it's much better to always do whatever I want to do, and if I find out I'm not doing what I want to be doing even if I'm doing whatever I want to do, inquire into what sort of crazy thing led me to believe I wanted to do X while I was doing Y because I wanted to do Y.

Conscious hedonism is the only way to live, but you better be willing to be conscious, cause doing what you "want" sucks until you get good at it.

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

#14

Post by ardit33 »

jimbob45 wrote: post #11
ardit33 wrote: 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…

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 your 'gains'. (too much cardio is a 'gains' killer).

On the other side, while 'cutting', to be leaner, you are running on a calorie deficit for multiple weeks, or months, and your soccer performance will suffer since you are so glycogen depleted.....

You can be good at both, but not the "best you can be" at both disciplines at the same time as optimizing for one, will hurt your other one, and that's just physics.

Hope that makes sense....

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

#16

Post by watwut »

jimbob45 wrote: post #11
ardit33 wrote: 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…

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.

> everyone else in your life will try to steal your earmarked time and complain that you never want to do anything.

That is good phase. The bad phase is when those people eventually disappear and you have hard time to connect with anyone new.

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

#17

Post by watwut »

> When I was a college runner, I had teammates whose drive and determination seemed almost boundless on the track, and nearly absent in the classroom, and vice versa. Instead of asking whether someone is gritty, we should ask when they are.

This makes sense to me. On the personal level too. The trick is not to push harder, but to figure out how to make it so that you want to do it.

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

#19

Post by talliedthoughts »

irjustin wrote: post #7

I disagree with the author's premise that you have "grit" only when it can be applied in any direction. To me, "grit" requires adversity instead of simply overall breadth. It's quite easy for us humans to do something if everything is going well. What about when it's not going well? Do we have enough to persevere through all times, including hard ones? Your startup is failing? Your research is yielding no fruit? You…

That definition would push people into local maximums, always continuing the grind towards the initial goal instead of stepping back and reassessing if the goal still makes sense. There has to be a balance between these actions.
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