We deify willpower and self-control - and mock its absence. People who achieve through remarkable willpower are 'strong' and 'heroic.' People who need help or structure are 'weak.' This is crazy - because few of us can accurately gauge or predict our willpower.
Interpretation
This quote critiques society's view on willpower, suggesting that reliance on it is often misleading and unfair.
Marshall Goldsmith highlights the societal tendency to idolize willpower and self-control while stigmatizing those who struggle with these traits. He argues that such views are irrational, as they ignore the inherent unpredictability of human willpower and the complex factors that contribute to personal achievement. Goldsmith urges a more compassionate understanding of human behavior rather than a binary judgment of strength or weakness.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal growth.
Active questions are the alternative to passive questions. There is a huge difference between, 'Do you have clear goals?' and 'Did you do your best to set clear goals for yourself?' The former is trying to determine the employee's state of mind; the latter challenges the employee to describe or defend a course of action.
Treat every piece of advice as a gift or a compliment and simply say, “Thank you.
The only thing I don't think people don't understand about good leaders is that they're both good and lucky. A lot of it is timing.
Life is short. Do whatever you can to help people - not for status, but because the 95-year-old you will be proud if you did help people and disappointed if you didn't.
If we become aware of what's happening before we act, behaviour becomes a function of choice rather than a result of an impulse or trigger. You begin to control your world more as opposed to the outside world controlling you.
A leader who is self-aware enough to know that he or she is not adept at everything is one who has taken the first step toward being a great leader.
Ever-newer waters flow on those who step into the same rivers.
People used to say, "Ignorance is no excuse." Today, ignorance is no problem. After all, you have "a right to your own opinion" - and self-esteem to boot.
It seems that the right of freedom of speech that was enshrined in numerous constitutions is now under attack by religious institutions.
The gigantic tension before the shooting of an arrow, and the total relaxation seconds later, is my way of connecting to the universe.
...if you are overdressed, it is a comment on them. If you are under dressed, it is a comment on you.
To die will be an awfully big adventure.
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