The Core

Ha, this must be related to how most people think they are above average intelligence.  Most of us think we are much more capable than what we are.  I am not immune at all.  This is slightly embarrassing, but in my dreams I am always a bad a##.  I often get in physical fights and pretty much never lose.

Ha, this must be related to how most people think they are above average intelligence.

I honestly think this is more related to how a significant number of people think they are good at picking lottery numbers.

This is probably apocryphal, but supposedly someone asked Steve Wozniak if he played the lottery and he said sometimes and he always played the same numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The person said, "Well, that will never work."
He said, "Exactly."

Cycling should be a piece of cake. He already knows how to ride a bike. He simply needs to get faster.

>>you decide

I would have guessed the British survey would have found 2% or so, so my understanding of human nature is obviously inadequate to the task.

I am heartened by the limits of my delusion.

Example: I went for a run two days ago and pushed hard on a trail I have been running for 20+ years. I thought my fitness was good and I would have the fastest time this year for sure, but probably the best in a few years. No on both counts.

I thought to myself, "Yeah, I'm always a bit delusional before a 'test' run like that." But then I saw the article and realized, "Well, at least I'm not delusional enough to think I could make the Olympics with a bit of training." I'm at the point where I'm hoping that with focused training and great effort, I will run that trail some day in the same time I clocked when I was 51. I don't see the times I did at 31 ever coming back. And those were not... uh... Olympic qualifying times.

That's why I say that there has to be an inverse relationship between the amount of actual sport/training someone has done and the belief they could make the Olympics.

It's possible there is some irony at work. There has to be a percentage that found the whole survey so absurd that they just said "yes" to a bunch of sports just for fun.

I got sucked in to watching the men's marathon and the announcers put it in a bit of perspective... Go to the gym, set the treadmill to 13 MPH and do that for 2 hours. I am definitely going to test that the next time I go to the gym and would be surprised if I can last 15 seconds at that speed.

>> simply needs

Gotta watch that word "simply"; it's dangerous. As are "just" and "only" and probably others that might come to mind later.

I think what's happening here is that many voices tell us that we can do anything, be anything if we work hard enough, and people believe it.

But their life choices don't reflect it. Their efforts are scattered, and there isn't any one thing they want badly enough to give it deep and consistent focus.

Perhaps we could do anything we wanted  but we can't do everything. Choosing to go-for-it in activity X means that other things will necessarily get less focus. There are only so many hours in a day or a year.

The big question is, if you dream of excelling in activity X, what other things will you set aside so you can focus on it?