tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330766246822130643.post8055508691288545248..comments2024-02-09T08:14:51.016-05:00Comments on ON THE VERGE: Bronchitis, Broken Toenails, and Why Some People Never Quit until They Reach Their GoalsJody Casellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892174349776047862noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330766246822130643.post-33891251052220504992012-11-27T22:48:26.018-05:002012-11-27T22:48:26.018-05:00I'm going to have to ask Andy about that boy. ...I'm going to have to ask Andy about that boy. <br />When I was teaching gifted/talented students I came across a similar study about learning--that kids who thought their giftedness was an innate trait often had a difficult time learning a challenging new skill. They were afraid of failure and believed that having to work at something (and possibly messing up in the process) meant they weren't as smart as everyone assumed. I saw this in action all the time, with kids giving up immediately, even when we were doing something ostensibly risk-free, like a puzzle. I definitely think you can hone the motivation "gene" or whatever it is. But I also think that it's a trait some people don't have to work as hard to hone. Jody Casellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892174349776047862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330766246822130643.post-87192079249269140452012-11-26T23:17:58.133-05:002012-11-26T23:17:58.133-05:00Hmm. Still thinking about your question. I wonder ...Hmm. Still thinking about your question. I wonder if it has something to do with whether they believe they can influence events and even their own intelligence. Here's a study the teacher trainers have used lately: http://www.learning-theories.com/self-theories-dweck.html. And then I laughed a little today at serendipity when I happened across this video to show my students as we set beginning quarter goals: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2012/05/15/goal-setting-video-from-the-youngest-person-to-climb-everest/ I don't know why this boy is so motivated. But he clearly is. Maybe it's a gene (like that entity theory), but I'd like to believe it's something we can develop since living without motivation feels awfully drab to me.Karrie Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07749897003460477702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330766246822130643.post-26511741998864356602012-11-26T08:34:26.881-05:002012-11-26T08:34:26.881-05:00Karrie, I'll have to check that Gonzalez book ...Karrie, I'll have to check that Gonzalez book out. What you've said makes sense to me. There doesn't seem to be an answer, except you just do it. In WILD Strayed talked about counting her footsteps and said that for long stretches on the trail that was the only way for her to keep going. I guess I count words. And Andy told me once that he counted breaths. Sort of a zen thing that pushes you forward when you're really really wanting to quit. But I'm still wondering why some people seem to have this drive and some don't. I know a lot of people who don't have a passion for anything or who quit at the first sign of difficulty. Is there a gene for motivation? Jody Casellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17892174349776047862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3330766246822130643.post-9605320027060432122012-11-25T16:33:47.723-05:002012-11-25T16:33:47.723-05:00For me, the answer to these questions comes back t...For me, the answer to these questions comes back to your post about the book with the man who lived walled in a plague ridden city and just kept rewriting the same first sentence of his novel over and over. The other characters you described had found other things to fill their days while they waited for death to come. I know it sounds morbid. But whenever someone asks me how I could possibly find time to write when I do so many other things, I keep telling them I cannot NOT write. It keeps me going and makes the journey I'm on worthwhile. I imagine that it may be the same whatever the passion that drives someone. Climbing mountains, the Pacific Crest Trail, creating music, writing novels, carving sculptures. Human things for this brief human time we have that make us who we are. Laurence Gonzalez had much to say about this drive and survival in his 12 rules and DEEP SURVIVAL, a longer book he wrote that stays in my mind for climbers. http://www.lewrockwell.com/spl2/12-rules-of-survival.html. I wait now to see if Mr. Politz has something similar to say or if I'm off my writing rocker. Yipes, what a long comment...Karrie Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07749897003460477702noreply@blogger.com