“If you want to be an Olympic champion, then choose your parents wisely.”—Per Olaf Åstrand
There is a tendency to blame our parents for…well…everything. Truth be told, we owe more gratitude towards our parents than they often receive. If we are not succeeding, perhaps we are looking at what they didn’t give us rather than what they did.
I’ve been (re)reading The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein. A fascinating read (especially for an exercise physiologist, like myself). The chapter I am currently reading discusses the results of the “Talent of Trainability” (including the results of studies such as the 1992 HERITAGE—Health, Risk factors, exercise Training And Genetics—Family Study). Discussed is the reality of “high responders” and “low responders” to training. I will leave it to the reader to read the book for him- or herself. My point today is not to discuss this research, per se. Rather, it struck me that in exercise we have to do what works for us. We also have to understand that we all have inherent talents. Our level of success in anything we do is individualized.
I teach my children that “Can’t never did anything.” This does not, however, mean that “can” will always be easy. Nor does it mean that one will be able to do something at the same level as another. We all start from different points and respond differently to “training.” There is (are) certainly something(s) we can do better than others.
I doubt there is a person who never dreamed of being exceptional at something—sports, art, music, academics, etc. Unfortunately, we too often dream of things that are less aligned with our natural giftedness. As a result, we get frustrated. Now, this is not to say we shouldn’t dream (Rudy Ruetigger of the movie Rudy comes to mind). We have to realize, however, that some things are not going to come easy sometimes. Remember, though, some people who perform better at the onset may not improve nearly as much as we potentially can. So, don’t be easily discouraged.
Dream practically. Set your goals, however, that are “not reasonable by normal expectations” (Coyte Cooper). Dream bigger than you think you are.
My son has a friend who dreams of playing in the NBA. The thing is, he is one of the smallest kids in the class. (I find it a bit humorous that it is my son—one of the tallest in his class—who is wrestling, while his friend—whose father is a high school wrestling coach, by the way—is playing basketball.) As long as both boys are willing to work hard in their respective sports, who should try to derail their dreams? For my son’s friend, he likely has a long road to the NBA. I might suggest that he didn’t pick his parents wisely, but who knows?
There may come a point in the pursuit of our dreams that we realize that we “picked the wrong parents”. If the passion remains, keep pursuing. If the passion is waning, perhaps a change of goals is warranted.
If you are not succeeding, it is by no means cause to blame your parents. We, alone, are responsible for our lack of success. (Feel free to thank your parents for their contribution to your success, however.) There are countless things at which I am not very good. There are, however, things that I am quite good at. Do I pursue the things for which I lack a predisposition? I can, but the effort is probably misapplied. Better that I pursue that for which I have some level of giftedness. That said, there is nothing wrong with pursuing a goal to our own standards rather than “world-class” standards.
Whatever you choose to do, give it 100% effort one-hundred percent of the time. Nothing less. Be your best today; be better tomorrow. Carpe momento!