What's Talent Got To Do With It?
Since I mentioned Tiger Woods in the last posting, I’ve found more to say about him.
Today, Woods is the most recognized and admired athlete in America; only Michael Jordan is in the same league. Some people would say Woods got lucky; many would think he’s a genius; most would believe he’s talented. What would Woods himself say?
Well, it’s all in the book that he’s written: How To Play Golf. Although not a golf fan, I glimpsed the book anyway, and was very intrigued by one chapter called “Yearning To Learn”, in which he says:
Golf requires patience and perseverance. There are no shortcuts. Pop used to say you get out of it what you put into it. When my teacher, Butch Harmon, and I overhauled my swing during the 1998 season, Butch would sometimes have me repeat one movement for 30 minutes. I would get so tired it felt like my arms were going to fall off. But I kept at it until the move became ingrained in my muscle memory. Patience and practice pay off.
… …
The difference between golf and most other sports is that anyone of average intelligence and coordination can learn to play it well. It requires a commitment to being the best that you can be. That has always been my approach to the game, for I, too, started as a blank page.
Keep in mind, in 1998 Woods was already the best golf players in the world. And yet, he still practiced that “arms-almost-fall-off” hard for further improvement. It’s another way for him to tell those who stand in the sidelines watching: “Yeah, I won a couple of the Masters; but what's talent got to do with it?”
Well, what he says about playing golf can be said about learning a new language. Anyone, even those with bellow average intelligence, can do it; after all, everyone has mastered at least one language—his native tongue—just fine; he can surely do another if he wants to. It just takes patience and practice.
“Ultimately, golf is a journey full of learning and discovering.” Woods concludes in the same page. Aha, isn’t it so of studying a language too?
The journey of learning and discovering, I believe, is the ultimate power that drives people to take on new challenges.
Today, Woods is the most recognized and admired athlete in America; only Michael Jordan is in the same league. Some people would say Woods got lucky; many would think he’s a genius; most would believe he’s talented. What would Woods himself say?
Well, it’s all in the book that he’s written: How To Play Golf. Although not a golf fan, I glimpsed the book anyway, and was very intrigued by one chapter called “Yearning To Learn”, in which he says:
Golf requires patience and perseverance. There are no shortcuts. Pop used to say you get out of it what you put into it. When my teacher, Butch Harmon, and I overhauled my swing during the 1998 season, Butch would sometimes have me repeat one movement for 30 minutes. I would get so tired it felt like my arms were going to fall off. But I kept at it until the move became ingrained in my muscle memory. Patience and practice pay off.
… …
The difference between golf and most other sports is that anyone of average intelligence and coordination can learn to play it well. It requires a commitment to being the best that you can be. That has always been my approach to the game, for I, too, started as a blank page.
Keep in mind, in 1998 Woods was already the best golf players in the world. And yet, he still practiced that “arms-almost-fall-off” hard for further improvement. It’s another way for him to tell those who stand in the sidelines watching: “Yeah, I won a couple of the Masters; but what's talent got to do with it?”
Well, what he says about playing golf can be said about learning a new language. Anyone, even those with bellow average intelligence, can do it; after all, everyone has mastered at least one language—his native tongue—just fine; he can surely do another if he wants to. It just takes patience and practice.
“Ultimately, golf is a journey full of learning and discovering.” Woods concludes in the same page. Aha, isn’t it so of studying a language too?
The journey of learning and discovering, I believe, is the ultimate power that drives people to take on new challenges.
posted by Lingual Bee at 1:32 AM
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