Wrestling Mindset (www.wrestlingmindset.com), developed by Gene and Jeff Zannetti, recently shared their “7 Cardinal Sins of Mindset in Wrestling”. Since I believe wrestling has countless life-lessons to offer, I want to share these here as a brief series. The second of these is:
Stubborness. According to Wrestling Mindset, “uncoachable wrestlers become unsuccessful wrestlers.” Likewise, one who knows all and is unteachable is sure to be unsuccessful.
If I have learned anything in this life, it is that the more I learn the less I know. Education is an oxymoron. One who is truly educated has come to realize how ignorant he/she really is. Jimmy Buffett summed this mindset up well when he said: “Is it ignorance or apathy? Hey, I don’t know and I don’t care.” Stubborness is just a progression of the indifference and apathy about which I wrote, yesterday. The coachable wrestler wants to get better. To want to get better means that he/she knows there is room to grow—to improve. A well-centered fitness mindset seeks constant growth and improvement (kaizen). There is no room for a stubborn mindset, which leads only to stagnation and, ultimately, failure (not the good kind of failure that one finds on the path to growth).
“There’s a fine line between stubbornness and the positive side of that, which is dogged determination” (Jeb Bush). The stubbornness to which the Zannettis speak is that uncoachable attitude of “I know it all.” This is not to be confused with the stubbornness that won’t allow one to quit trying. One can entrench himself, or one can dig in, gain traction, and press forward. Coachable gets help and goes to work.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!