okansas.blogspot.com Occassional thoughts about orienteering
Friday, February 09, 2007
Be a better orienteer
What does it take to be a better orienteer?
...to get better and better at something, one needs to be one's own toughest critic -- fair, but always honest, humble and tough. You don't want to be demoralizing, needlessly tearing at the fabric of your self-esteem, but at every turn, you do want to be saying: "Well, that's not quite good enough -- I can do better." In fact, it seems to me that you want to attach self-esteem to the process of becoming better, instead of letting it become attached to any static result. That way, you can be critical of a performance and not become demoralized about what it says about you as a person. The self-criticism actually becomes a self-esteem booster because you feel good about doing the hard work to constantly improve.
The quote, from a writer named David Shenk, is consistent with my experience in talking to and watching very good orienteers. I like to think that it fits my own experience back in the day.
Shenk writes a blog about his latest book. Take a look if you're interested in things like deliberate practice.
And today the main local newspaper, the KC Star, endorsed Funkhouser:
Former city auditor has a strong record of fiscal responsibility and will address issues important to the average citizen
Funkhouser is the best choice for KC mayor
What distinguishes Mark Funkhouser in the crowded mayoral race is his ability to clearly articulate Kansas City’s challenges and provide spot-on solutions.
