The Capacity for Bad Judgement
...and dealing with idiots
Recently I listened to Jack’s conversation with Kilian Jornet (a world class ultra athlete). I enjoyed the conversation so much, I bought Jack’s book.
Jack, and Kilian, have lived their lives on the edges of human performance. It’s a place I’ve visited a few times. Years ago, I made the choice to avoid moving in permanently.
Endurance sport is an outstanding vehicle for self-discovery. We don’t need sport to encounter our patterns of behavior. That said, sport has unique characteristics making it easier to surface how we respond to stress:
We are willing to ask for help. Having a coach is socially acceptable. The equivalent in the business world is hiring consultants. At the one-on-one level, we speak of mentors.
We value the result more than the moment. Amateur sport takes us to an environment where we may be willing to try new approaches to get our desired outcome.
We can modify the stakes to fit our current skill level.
Ask for help.
Able to see the long-term result, beyond short term desires.
Tailor stress to our current capacity.
The patterns that lead to drama will manifest during periods of stress. By learning to cope with mild stress, we expand the size of the world in which we can be successful.
Jack recommended two other books: How to win friends and influence people, and Surrounded by idiots. Both are worth your time.
I wanted to make you aware of something you’ve probably noticed already.
Each of us lives in different places along the continuums, below:
Willingness to change.
Response under stress.
Loyalty to mission versus relationship.
Speed at which unforced errors will be made.
The book on all the idiots you know will help you discover where you lie on the continuum. With this knowledge you will be more effective and directing your life.
If you are:
Highly willing to change.
Respond aggressively to stress.
Have strong loyalty to your mission.
Then you will be prone to make severe unforced errors rapidly. Read both books, they will save you a lot of time, money and emotion.1
If you are on the other side of the spectrum then your issue won’t be with unforced errors. You may discover you benefit from matching yourself with someone quite different from yourself. The author’s website (Thomas Erikson).
Story Time
Beware of surrounding yourself with people who are not idiots.
The idiots are essential for high quality decisions and error avoidance. My spouse, my coach and my closest advisors are quite different from me.
My most serious errors of judgement have come when I didn’t balance the weaknesses of my character. We all have weaknesses, but they’re different. The book explains the blindspots of different types of people — you will recognize everyone and pay most attention when you come across yourself.
Partner yourself with people with different blindspots. Know their differences are the most valuable part of the relationship and cherish them. Instead of thinking they are an idiot… remind yourself that’s why they are on the team.
Next month is 20 years of marriage. When I plotted my wife, I saw we lay directly opposite each other. Red with a bit of Blue on one side and Green with a bit of Yellow on the other.
It’s been wonderful.
The title of this article is something I used to tell my athletes.
The fact that you thought signing up for an Ironman would make your life better is important information.
Be careful, and take your time, with important decisions in your larger life.
Jack wrote his book at the same age I decided to change my life. The changes I made enabled me to build a wonderful life. The strategies and tactics I employ are the content of this publication.
It’s been 25 years of better. Writing lets us see how far we’ve come.
Book on hold from the library ✅
Now to go and find that old DISC report 😳
Thanks for Kilian and Jake pod link, i ve listened many pods with Kilian, this one is most in depth training i have ever heard Kilian talks about publicly. As far as Jake's book, it would be cool to get your notes or post on it! Cheers!