It is counted a loser too soon.
"Can't win, don't try" is not necessarily the anthem of the slothenly or the mantra of the downtrodden,
What if this way of thinking is actually wise?
This is how I see it. To refuse to compete in an area where one is most weak (and has no desire to become strong) is just common sense. An olympic figure skater - physically strong and disciplined - would not enter the olympic luge event. Wouldn't win and wouldn't try. Makes sense, no?
To know one's strengths and choose to operate within them is not an unwillingness to compete. It's efficient to work within my strengths. This is why you won't see me playing high pressure shout-it-out games like Buzzword. My mind goes blank under the pressure and I lose the ability to speak. My tongue hangs out and I wonder what kind of brain trauma must have caused this. But I just need time and space to think and can't function without it. That's okay.
And, there's a humility in this attitude -a down-to-earth knowledge of oneself. A proud, independant person might have great trouble with what I'm saying - that we should just relegate ourselves to a limited skill set. Should we not work through our weaknesses? Should we not develop and work harder and become better? My response is, should we become better at everything? How is it realistic to compete with everyone at everything? That's insane. The world is small and options are wide and we must choose.
I know, I know. Some people really are truly lazy. Some people decide that they can't win at life, so don't try. I'm not talking about those people. And, some people have the Midas touch and are naturally awesome at everything. They would not understand normal people like me who have weaknesses. They would not understand that techy jargon is martian speak to me, or that I would rather pull out my eyelashes than do a science experiment.
Even if the 'Can't Win, Don't Try' attitude is misused by some as an excuse, (and there is admittedly a fine line here), we should not throw the whole thing out with the bathwater. It's a useful attitude when rightly used.
It's efficient. Why waste time doing what we can't?
It's humble. One has to accept his limits before he can consistently work within them.
It's community-minded. One who thinks this way will easier work with others to accomplish a goal.
It's knowing and accepting self. If we think we can do it all, we are dillusional. To know oneself is, in itself, a strength.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs. It's one of my strengths.
How about you? What weakness of yours has brought you to relying on others' strengths?
"Can't win, don't try" is not necessarily the anthem of the slothenly or the mantra of the downtrodden,
What if this way of thinking is actually wise?
This is how I see it. To refuse to compete in an area where one is most weak (and has no desire to become strong) is just common sense. An olympic figure skater - physically strong and disciplined - would not enter the olympic luge event. Wouldn't win and wouldn't try. Makes sense, no?
To know one's strengths and choose to operate within them is not an unwillingness to compete. It's efficient to work within my strengths. This is why you won't see me playing high pressure shout-it-out games like Buzzword. My mind goes blank under the pressure and I lose the ability to speak. My tongue hangs out and I wonder what kind of brain trauma must have caused this. But I just need time and space to think and can't function without it. That's okay.
And, there's a humility in this attitude -a down-to-earth knowledge of oneself. A proud, independant person might have great trouble with what I'm saying - that we should just relegate ourselves to a limited skill set. Should we not work through our weaknesses? Should we not develop and work harder and become better? My response is, should we become better at everything? How is it realistic to compete with everyone at everything? That's insane. The world is small and options are wide and we must choose.
I know, I know. Some people really are truly lazy. Some people decide that they can't win at life, so don't try. I'm not talking about those people. And, some people have the Midas touch and are naturally awesome at everything. They would not understand normal people like me who have weaknesses. They would not understand that techy jargon is martian speak to me, or that I would rather pull out my eyelashes than do a science experiment.
Even if the 'Can't Win, Don't Try' attitude is misused by some as an excuse, (and there is admittedly a fine line here), we should not throw the whole thing out with the bathwater. It's a useful attitude when rightly used.
It's efficient. Why waste time doing what we can't?
It's humble. One has to accept his limits before he can consistently work within them.
It's community-minded. One who thinks this way will easier work with others to accomplish a goal.
It's knowing and accepting self. If we think we can do it all, we are dillusional. To know oneself is, in itself, a strength.
Maybe I'm splitting hairs. It's one of my strengths.
How about you? What weakness of yours has brought you to relying on others' strengths?