An experienced wrestler is easy to recognize. He may be weaker than you because of injuries, wear and tear from years on the tatami. And rolling with him can be pleasant and a lot of fun. But one thing will reveal who he truly is. Once he takes a favorable position, an experienced wrestler will never give it back to you.
A beginner easily gets some unique chances. And then they just as easily slip out of his hands. He naively believes that such gifts will keep coming again and again. If not now, he thinks, then definitely later, but the success is just waiting for him behind the corner. Excess vitality poisons the beginner’s mind by the idea that the future can only be bright. The wealth of his present flies into the trash can.
The wealth of his present flies into the trash can.
On the contrary, a mature athlete (warrior, entrepreneur, investor) has long learned an important lesson “Tomorrow is defined Now”. He is grateful to any Fortune’s gift. Even if it is not what he was dreaming about. For him, any improvement in position is clear progress. Even if it is only one step forward. He can’t afford to fuck it up. Like a binocular magnification, even one X dramatically improves point of view. It adds new opportunities. Widens the perspective. Enhances the advantage. Shifts the moral edge to his side. From that point on, he starts playing a new, better game.
Therefore, a mature professional will do his best to take deep roots in the ground to protect a new frontier. This is explained by his humility on the one hand and gratitude on the other. He knows the limitations of his powers in comparison with the brutal force and unpredictability of the universe. But like a fisherman, he learned to live next to a chaotic ocean, capable of either providing him food or sinking his ship. It is necessary to play with the cards one got, to suck out all the marrow juice from the bone, as one never foresee how good the hunt will be tomorrow. He who knows how to appreciate the little will appreciate the great. However, he who is careless to the insignificant eventually will lose it all.
He who knows how to appreciate the little will appreciate the great.
Awareness of truth and change of behavior are very different things. It is necessary to physically rearrange the neural pathways in the neocortex. It takes some time. I see from my own experience in business and sport how painfully slow this process is. But is there any other way for a beginner to become a master than to take small conscious steps every day?
About the author: As a Business Therapist, I help entrepreneurs, investors and CEOs better orient, decide and act under high uncertainty and ambiguity. More information on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyadov/
