Do you want to be great?

[palapiku]

Applied to go, the fixed mindset can be the idea that "the 9d is always right" and the "20k is wrong". But from a growth mindset, we can think, "the 9d may be ahead in skill right now, but the 20k can advance his skill, no matter who he is".

Hmm... I think there's a cartoon about that...

[RazorBrain]

...I'm reading a really cool book about mindsets and how they affect everything we do. Someday ...

Any chance the title of this book is "Mindset"?

...
I doubt this is actually true. I'm sure all great go players and anyone else who excels in a competitive field are very, very goal-oriented.

If he's talking about the book I'm thinking of, I think the author has a good point. Many people have what the author calls a "fixed mindset" - the idea that people are "smart at math" or "dumb at math" or somewhere in between. The author stresses the importance of having a "growth mindset": Some people surely start off with greater talent, but it's key to realize that this is only a starting point.

Applied to go, the fixed mindset can be the idea that "the 9d is always right" and the "20k is wrong". But from a growth mindset, we can think, "the 9d may be ahead in skill right now, but the 20k can advance his skill, no matter who he is".

I think that's what the gist is, anyway.

You and I are thinking about the same book. It is titled "Mindset." I think the author is a Carol Dweck. Good reading.

The point I take from this book as applied to my go is that we have to let go of needing to win or achieve rank to validate our go. But that seems to be what most of us do. I'm very guilty of this or was more so in the past.

The fixed mindset says I have a certain amount of ability in a given area (i.e intelligence, sense of humor, go playing, etc.) And while I can learn to play better, ultimately I will rise as far as my natural ability allows me to.

Often those with a fixed mindset fear that a failure uncovers their weakness or limitations. So, once they've achieve success at a certain level they would rather continue to win as a 9 kyu than try to make shodan if they've already tried for shodan one or more times and failed.

A growth mindset says, so I've failed to reach shodan a few times. No worries. I love a challenge. Let's have another go at it.

I'm definitely a fixed mindset guy according to this book. But the good news is that research shows we can actually change to a growth mindset. I want to do this!

The interesting thing that this book points out is that many of the 'great' people we look up to are growth mindset people.

[xDragon]

One of my problems is I tend to be content to just lose interest when I'm competent at something. I simply don't see the point in mastery. Well, I mean I do intellectually, it just doesn't translate into motivation.

I envy those have have the passion or neuroses that drive them to excel.

pretty much my viewpoint. due to it i have basically no ambition for anything

[Exologist]

Underwater Photography. The funny thing is I don't know much at all about scuba diving or photography, so it'll be a while yet. But the anticipation makes it better.

[sumiyaka]

Underwater Photography. The funny thing is I don't know much at all about scuba diving or photography, so it'll be a while yet. But the anticipation makes it better.

That sounds pretty awesome.

You picked one of the most demanding things I can think of in Photography...

Do you have any work about?

I batted the around idea of making some portraits underwater... priced a water-housing for my gear and realized that particular project will have to wait. Underwater housings aren't something I am comfortable renting, or I'd go that route.

--

My own ambitions are pretty simple. Get better everyday at the whatever I am pursuing. (currently I suppose that is only Photography -- it used to be Go and Photography and miniature painting -- )

[Stable]

I'm with you sumiyaka - I'm happy if I'm better today than I was yesterday and confidant I will be better tomorrow than I was today.

I don't really want to be the best, I just want to be really good.

[DrStraw]

I wouldn't object to being the best at something as long as no one else knew it. Fame and notoriety are guaranteed to bring lots of unwelcome attention and stress to your life. As long as my wife thinks I am the best for her then that is really all that is important.

[Marcus]

I wouldn't object to being the best at something as long as no one else knew it. Fame and notoriety are guaranteed to bring lots of unwelcome attention and stress to your life. As long as my wife thinks I am the best for her then that is really all that is important.

There's something to be said about this aspect. I want to be the best (not sure at what yet), and I would like to be recognized ... but the recognition doesn't have to be A-list celebrity fame (or even B- or C-list for that matter). Being respected and recognized as THE expert by a set of peers (could be of varying size, from 1 person to a few hundred thousand) is good enough for me.

[CnP]

these guys are great.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_eating

[mdobbins]

... I'd like to leave my mark on the world. ...

I would be afraid everyone would view any mark I leave as graffiti and be offended..

[Dusk Eagle]

I want to be among the best at everything I care about. If I don't care enough about some activity to put the effort into being one of the best at it, I generally will lose all interest in the activity very quickly. For instance, once I realized that I just didn't have the motivation to devote enough of my life to get good at video games, I stopped playing video games shortly thereafter. With Go, although I realize my chances of being achieving 9p strength are virtually nill, I still aspire to one day be among the strongest amateurs. Same with other interests of mine such as math: although I will never be "the best at math" (however that is defined), I still want to achieve a very high level of understanding in it. Competition is probably my main way of staying motivated about any topic I enjoy.

[palapiku]

I don't care about other people enough to compete with them.
I do enjoy approval, but being merely good is enough for that.

[Toge]

I'm a confused being trying to figure out what in this world is permanent, progressive and great. Works of art, perhaps. Unless someone else decides to be 'great' by unlawfully claiming ownership of them. Accidents can happen too. As for science and philosophy, yesterdays theories are incorrect and obsolete. Today's theories will be considered incorrect in the future and theories in the future will be rendered incorrect farther in the future.

Who should be ask this question anyway? Ask religious people and thou shall pray and not sin. Ask environmental activists and thou shall not pollute. Ask bankers and thou shall save and invest. Everything depends on point of view. Success requires that you poison your mind with illusions of grandiosity. There's no need to attach anything external to what you are doing in your daily life.

[Stefany93]

No, I don't want to be great. I just want to marry and to have a happy family for the rest of my life with 4 children, or more.

[TMark]

I already am great, I don't need more.

Best wishes.