Bestselling US author David Shenk, in his book The Genius In All Of Us, maintains that hard graft and keeping your eye on the ball - rather than genetics - lead to achievement. So does that mean we all have the potential to become geniuses like Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton or Leonardo da Vinci?
Well, probably not. They don't just hit targets others miss - they hit targets others can't even see.True geniuses come up with ideas that are groundbreaking, that's what marks them out from the rest of us.
Without Sir Isaac Newton's law of gravity we wouldn't have been able to progress to air or space travel.
Leonardo da Vinci wasn't just a great artist, he was a musician, engineer, sculptor, architect and scientist who was so ahead of his time that he made sketches of helicopters centuries before they were developed.
On the other hand, it DOES mean we can probably achieve far more than we think we can - if we're prepared to put in the time and effort.
Scientists are now finding that our genetic material (DNA) doesn't just stay the way it was when we were born - our experiences have the power to switch the genes we do have on or off.
For example, when it comes to our health, certain genes may make us more prone to lung cancer, but it may take smoking to switch on those genes, triggering the disease.
In the same way, something we do may switch on a gene that allows us to develop a talent we didn't know we had, say for music, art or football.
Take David Beckham, one of the football geniuses of our time. He wasn't born with the ability to play football. He played avidly from a young age and, at the top of his game, he'd still spend hours at a time practising to improve his brilliant free kicks. Who knows how many others among us could have been such great footballers if we'd practised as much? So what separates Becks from the rest of us may be as much determination and single-mindedness as innate talent.
We also used to think that the effects of whatever we've done in life aren't passed on to future generations. Now, increasingly, research indicates that our experiences may alter our DNA, which is then passed on to our children.
So look out for David Beckham's sons doing well on the football pitch in a few years.
Find your inner brilliance
Ban phrases like "I'm no good at..." It'll stop you even trying. If you dismiss things before you've given them a chance, you'll never know how well you can do. It's always possible to improve.
It's good to have a big goal but don't dwell too much on the ground you need to cover to get there - it will make it seem too daunting. Instead break down what you want to achieve into small chunks and take it step by step.
The phrase 'practice makes perfect' is used for good reason - it's true! As a species we would have died out if our ancestors had given up hunting after coming home empty-handed the first time. They often had to go out four or five times before they came back with a mammoth steak.
No matter how much you love an activity, there will be times when you can't be bothered. But you'll get nowhere if you give up too regularly. That's why it's vital to develop self-control. Push yourself when the going gets tough - you can reward yourself afterwards.
Thinking of someone you admire gives you the impetus to keep going. My own heroine was Grace Darling, the daughter of a lighthouse keeper near Bamburgh, Northumberland, where I was brought up. She rowed out into a storm to save people who'd been shipwrecked which, considering the restraints put on women in the 19th century, makes her pretty remarkable.
Help your kids shine
The younger a child is when they learn a skill, the more likely they are to excel in it. So encourage your kids to try activities early on.
The more self-discipline your child has, the more they're able to work hard. There's a famous test for four-year-olds using marshmallows - but you can try it with any treat your child loves.
Tell them they can have either one treat now or two if they can wait for 15 minutes. In a study, the kids who waited scored higher in school assessments when they reached 18 than the instant scoffers.
Don't despair if your child doesn't wait. You can help them develop self-control by not giving in to demands for sweets, TV or anything else immediately. However, it's much more likely to work if you set a good example of self-restraint.
I always told my kids that effort mattered more than results. If kids believe that, not only will they always try their best, they won't be as devastated when they fail.
Don't tell a child they'll never be able to do something. Killing self-belief limits their achievements. Nothing can be accomplished without faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment