Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - What Are the Odds of Becoming a Black Belt? (Blog)

JBRU · 12-19-2006, 04:57 PM

I liked this blog entry and it reminded me of a few things.

The first was something I read earlier (perhaps even one of Steve's earlier posts!) about a way to look at one's life. At one time or another most of us have thought, "If I could relive my life with what I know now...." If you consider that we will live to be an average of 70-some years old, you can look at your life as consisting of the things you want to do by the time you get to be that age.

I looked at my current age (40 in March) and said to myself, "You know what? You can basically live your life over!" I've got a good 30 years left and, given advances in health care, probably 40 or more! I can treat the resources I've generated to this point as the starting capital for the new "baby" me. I can take the next 18 years to develop a new "adult" me. Further, I can begin anything I'd like and, if I dedicate myself to it with the knowledge that I have now, I'm certain to be successful!

So I've embarked upon a 40-year plan. The first element of that plan is that I'd like to learn to play guitar. I've told many friends that one of my ambitions is to be an 80-year-old blues guitarist. A few scant months into this plan, I can't play the guitar very well at all! I don't get down on myself for this, though, because the plan is be good enough to enjoy performing when I'm 80, not next week. I might make significant progress in five years or so, but if I don't, it doesn't matter. Who expects a 5-year-old to be perfect?

Persistance and hard work help you succeed, but so does having a realistic plan for success. As Steve pointed out, strarting a new endeavor and expecting instant success is like expecting a child to be an expert. Give yourself permission to learn in your own time.

12-19-2006, 04:57 PM	#24 (permalink)
JBRU Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 22	Planning for success I liked this blog entry and it reminded me of a few things. The first was something I read earlier (perhaps even one of Steve's earlier posts!) about a way to look at one's life. At one time or another most of us have thought, "If I could relive my life with what I know now...." If you consider that we will live to be an average of 70-some years old, you can look at your life as consisting of the things you want to do by the time you get to be that age. I looked at my current age (40 in March) and said to myself, "You know what? You can basically live your life over!" I've got a good 30 years left and, given advances in health care, probably 40 or more! I can treat the resources I've generated to this point as the starting capital for the new "baby" me. I can take the next 18 years to develop a new "adult" me. Further, I can begin anything I'd like and, if I dedicate myself to it with the knowledge that I have now, I'm certain to be successful! So I've embarked upon a 40-year plan. The first element of that plan is that I'd like to learn to play guitar. I've told many friends that one of my ambitions is to be an 80-year-old blues guitarist. A few scant months into this plan, I can't play the guitar very well at all! I don't get down on myself for this, though, because the plan is be good enough to enjoy performing when I'm 80, not next week. I might make significant progress in five years or so, but if I don't, it doesn't matter. Who expects a 5-year-old to be perfect? Persistance and hard work help you succeed, but so does having a realistic plan for success. As Steve pointed out, strarting a new endeavor and expecting instant success is like expecting a child to be an expert. Give yourself permission to learn in your own time.