We tend to view the world in a fragmented way, so much so that our minds create dichotomies where there are none.  Back in September 2008, I shared my frustration at how Olympians’ achievements were oftentimes chalked up to luck; Usain Bolt’s success, for example, was apparently downplayed because of the genetics that gave him a body designed for running.

I can’t help but wonder how this attitude affects our children.  If my child has a knack for playing the piano, I wouldn’t downplay the hours of practice that make her an advanced, skillful piano player, would I?  Quite the contrary, we are often encouraged to praise the effort that our children put into learning, and not focus on the result itself.

Similarly, Usain Bolt’s success might have begun with a genetic predisposition to running well.  But to downplay the hours that he put not just into training, but also into developing the discipline required in all related areas of his life, just might stain more than just his success.

{ Sahar’s Blog is all about being in a constant state of learning.  So it only made sense for me to go back to all my previous posts and see how my thoughts on certain topics have changed over the last nine years.  In this new, ongoing series of posts, I’ll be rereading some of my older posts and reflecting on the same topic in light of what I’ve learned since then.  It’s going to be very interesting to see how things have changed! }