A little allegory

Here’s a little allegory for you.

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful woman who couldn't swim.

She had a deep desire to jump into a wild river because there was something irresistible on the other side, something deeply desirable and fulfilling.

So the wonderful woman who couldn't swim got herself a coach.

The coach said 'Oh, wonderful woman, the secret to success is to believe - and to believe completely in yourself. If you do that, you will be able to achieve anything'.

The coach taught the wonderful woman how to change her mindset, how to build her new self-concept as a successful swimmer.

The wonderful woman worked on her self-belief until she felt confident.

She walked up to the river and, without any hesitation, plunged into the wild waves.

The waves and currents quickly pulled the wonderful woman under.

She drowned.

Luckily, she was reborn - and rather than cursing her coach and finding someone else to help her cross the river, she decided the problem was with her mindset.

That the fact the she drowned meant she didn't believe hard enough.

So she went back to her coach, and together they worked on her self-concept and solid belief for many months.

Until she felt supremely confident - and even more desirous of what was on the other side.

So she jumped again.

And drowned again.

Sound pretty idiotic, right?

Yet I see this cycle repeat itself in real life again and again (albeit with less lethal results).

People who buy into the idea that mindset is the magic solution to getting where they want to be.

Building belief rather than doing the - admittedly slow and sometimes boring - work of acquiring new skills.

So they drown.

Again, and again.

If this is you, you may want to reconsider.

Yes, mindset matters.

But you also need to learn how to swim.