GTM Part 68

Commentary on frustration cont’d

c.  To my mind “You can be anything you want to be as long as you put in the hard work” is a half-truth.  As it is phrased, it is a typical child of the popular modern relativism philosophy that has as one of its commandments “Thou shalt not offend anyone, even with the truth.”  Other places we spot this same philosophy at work is in learning institutions today (especially those for children), where no one can fail, everybody passes.  And if you fail anyone, if you tell them they’re wrong or they can’t, then you damage their psyche irreparably.  [Rolls eyes] Watch Annex 68.

d.  But let’s not get side-tracked…  What’s the problem with the statement as it is?  Well what is not wrong with it is the ending.  The “hard work” part is perfectly acceptable.  (It is also the reason most people accept the whole statement as 100% true.)  So, yes! You should work hard!  And work smart also!  (That’s another pithy saying I have issues with “Don’t work hard; work smart!”  I think you should do both.)  The beginning of the statement (“You can be anything you want to be”) is what I have issues with.  I understand most people just need some encouragement in order to discover their potential.  And one way of encouraging them is to whisper such kinds of inspiring half-truths to them…  But you know… half true means half false…   And that’s just blegh :/

e.  What’s the issue with the beginning of the statement? Just one thing: it assumes you have the necessary preconditions or the necessary talents to build your skill on.  What does this mean?  For some physical and intellectual skills – especially highly sophisticated ones like fine art – it is clear that you need a pre-existing talent in order for you to excel in them. If I have no natural, innate talent in art, doesn’t matter how many hours I pump into it, my progress will always be painfully slow and my achievements unspectacular.  (This is precisely where the frustration comes from.)  For a person with the inborn talent however, just a little bit of effort will take them really far with spectacular results!  (Hope you now better appreciate just how important it is to know yourself really well [temperament and talents]).  In other words, what is true is that with hard work alone, you will make some progress or growth in a particular bodily skill or intellectual pursuit.  But if that skill or pursuit is not aligned with your innate talent, you will sooner rather than later, hit a ceiling.  And there will be no progressing beyond that for you. If, however, the skill or pursuit is in line with your active or potential talents, then you will keep on improving almost indefinitely.

To be continued…

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