Today we’re going to wrap our little tour through some of the wisdom in Seth Godin’s great book The Practice.
As you may recall, we started by reminding ourselves of The ULTIMATE Practice. (Remember: The magic is that there IS NO MAGIC!) Then we talked about practice-confidence and building streaks as we reminded ourselves to DWYSYWD, Hero before we looked at the difference between Talent and Skill and talked about the best reason to say “NO!” (Hint: Have a bigger “YES!!”)
Now…
It’s time to talk about the power of one little word.
It has three letters.
It might just be THE most powerful word we can POSSIBLY add to any statement as we develop a new skill.
That word is…
“YET.”
Seth tells us…
“I slipped in a parenthetical earlier: ‘It’s not working (yet).’
That’s the only reassurance you need.
There’s a practice. The practice is proven, and you’ve embraced it.
Now, all that’s needed is more.
More time, more cycles, more bravery, more process. More of you. Much more of you. More idiosyncrasy, more genre, more seeing, more generosity. More learning.
It’s not working. (Yet.)”
It’s not working...
YET!!!
This is another HUGE idea that helps catalyze our grit via a growth mindset.
In fact, here’s how Caroline Adams Miller puts it in her great book Getting Grit: “Dweck has gone one step further in her research and discovered that the use of a simple word ‘yet’ can create greater persistence when facing challenges. If you tell a child that they ‘didn’t answer the math questions correctly *yet*,’ that one word opens their minds to the idea that they can eventually solve the problems. She found that not only did the children become grittier, they also became more zestful, creative and hopeful when ‘yet’ opened up their eyes to the possibility of a different, limitless future. If ‘yet’ can change mind-set, imagine how many other words and phrases can unlock resilience and stick-to-itiveness!”
It’s also a HUGE part of how we’re striving to parent our kids.
In fact, as I was thinking about Emerson and his chess as part of that last idea, I also thought of our 5-year-old daughter Eleanor.
One of the things she LOVES to add to the end of any statement that includes something she can’t do is the *beautiful* word... YET!
“I can’t do that math problem... YET.”
“I can’t read... YET.”
“I can’t do a pull-up... YET.”
“I can’t fill-in-the-blank... YET!!!”
← If there’s a magic word for cultivating the growth mindset in EVERY aspect of our lives, THAT word is it.
Don’t feel as Energized as you’d like? Or as Productive? Or as Connected?
Perfect.
Focus on the PRACTICE.
Get clarity on your protocol. Know who you are and what you do when you’re at your best.
Then...
Show up. Work the protocol. Over and over and over and over again.
Remember: We just need “More time, more cycles, more bravery, more process. More of you. Much more of you.”
It’s not working...
YET!!!
P.S. This is pretty much exactly what we talk about in our +1 called Go 0 for 12 Lately? Who Cares? Work Your Protocol, Hero! and this +1 called Dorfman and Stutz: On Action, Action, and More Action.
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