
The subtle, multi-layered relationship between ego and failure - visakanv
https://medium.com/@visakanv/the-subtle-multi-layered-relationship-between-ego-and-failure-4a4a3c45cc91#.sybw4siec
======
danjoc
My mother solved my homework problem for me early in life. "You can't go play
until your homework is finished." Since I knew better than to lie to her, I
finished my homework before I would go out to play.

I remember the very first time that happened. I had a list of words, and I had
to copy the definition for each word to a piece of paper. That was it. That
was the entire homework. I thought it was such a stupid task. I can read the
definition and remember it. Why do I need to copy definitions until my hand
hurts?

But I knew I couldn't go play until it was finished. So I set my mind to
finish as quickly as humanly possible. I turned off the TV. I tuned out all
distractions and scribbled the definitions down as fast as I could. I was done
with all my homework in a half hour and I could play the rest of the
afternoon.

Not only did it not take me a long time to do it, but I didn't need to dread
having homework to do after playing with friends. I became really good at
tuning out the distractions around me.

But still I wanted to be outside playing and some days I would have longer
assignments. So I would start doing my homework in class. As soon as I found
out the assignment, frequently printed as questions at the end of a chapter, I
would begin working on them. I wouldn't even pay attention to the teachers. I
would tune them out too. I would read the material, teach it to myself, and
finish my homework while the other kids sat bored and barely listening.

As a result of this, I became really good at focusing and self learning. The
only thing I really hated were long papers with far away deadlines. I would
always wait until the last day or two and end up having to power through them
with all my focus.

~~~
visakanv
> "You can't go play until your homework is finished."

Reminds me of Munger's description of the Grandma Rule [1]: you have to eat
the carrots before you get the dessert.

I'm very envious of your skillset, and hope to develop it for myself too. I
find it interesting though that you'd put off long papers– why not do those
early too?

___

[1]
[http://old.ycombinator.com/munger.html](http://old.ycombinator.com/munger.html)

~~~
danjoc
>I find it interesting though that you'd put off long papers– why not do those
early too?

The expectation on those was that you would write a long paper about what you
learned from the course. Therefore, there was no clearly defined starting
line.

I also hated writing. Grading always seemed subjective to me. If the teacher
liked you, you got high grades. If the teacher didn't like you, you got low
grades. It wasn't like math or science. With those subjects, there's a single,
provably right answer. The opposite of those 'creative' courses like
literature.

