Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Character First

To develop as an athlete (or student, or businessperson, or parent), I have discovered one must develop character before developing skills

On the the trails, I find my performance increases when I stop focusing only on results.  To quote the famous  business philosopher Jim Rohn:   "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.  

I find speed and distance only improve when I stop focusing on...speed and distance...and instead focus on things like: stamina, discipline, resilience and gratitude.  If character is the foundation to creating and developing skills, I say focus on character and the results will ensue.

I think this approach applies on the track, in the classroom, the office and in the home.  Instead of focusing on earning the "A" in that Statistics class, focus on the discipline of working through a problem, focus on the stamina of spending one hour in thoughtful reading of the text--without the TV, internet or cell phone in reach.

So this week, when contemplating that big project or goal at school, at work or at home, make sure you are willing to develop the character traits that goal demands of you.

AMJ   

No comments:

Post a Comment