Hard Work Beats Natural Ability
By: Jason Carpenter
Contrary to popular belief, the true measure of a person’s success is how hard they work to achieve their goals. Hard work is often more important than simply having natural ability. People can achieve almost anything if they commit to excelling at their goals. However, there is a limit to one’s success.
When students say, “I can’t get an A in math,” they are impeding their success because of a negative mindset. The mind influences people’s actions. Many need to learn to think positively.
Students often say that no matter how hard they try, they will not get an A in math because of their natural inability to do math. This is because they don’t understand the true meaning of work ethic and hard work. Working hard is working until a state of discomfort. Many say they work hard but in reality, they don’t work as hard as they can. These people tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. Working smart is important as well.
Jacob Angeles, a senior at NHS, gave some insight on the hard work versus natural ability debate.
“The ceiling, potential for students at NHS is the one they set themselves,” said Angeles. “We can obtain any skill if someone works for it.”
An example: one of my cousins had average grades in middle school, yet was incentivized with money from her mom for each A she received. From that point on, through hard work, she was an A student, later graduating from high school with a GPA better than 4.0.
It’s not about how long you work, it’s about how hard you work. You can spend 16 hours on something but barely get anything done or you can spend 30 minutes on something and actually improve and see results.
Novato High English teacher Laura Roberts discussed the importance of hard work.
“Hard work would be pushing yourself to learn and to expand and to memorize and to absorb new material. And then once it's absorbed, to retain it,” said Roberts. “That’s where the hard work comes in. You can memorize something for two seconds but if you want to be a really intelligent person, you need to draw back on that information later on. So it needs to stay within the forefront of your knowledge. And that takes work to do that.”
The emphasis on hard work over natural ability applies to sports as well.
Albert Einstein was a mathematician with a brilliant mind. However, he could have also been good at sports, like basketball. Perhaps not at a professional level, but at a relatively high level. He could be a good shooter if he worked on his shooting technique and committed to improving his skills. This could be done by committing intellectual ability to sports.
Steve Dehart, the head athletic trainer at Novato High, believes Einstein could make 10,000 free throws in a row, if he worked on his shooting form. Einstein could've used his intellect to find the right angles and take a calculated approach to the game of basketball.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is a perfect example of someone who had work ethic rather than natural ability as the determining factor to become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. While some will put in 10 minutes of work, Brady (a Bay Area Native and Serra High School alum) will put in 20. He was the last quarterback picked in the 2000 draft, because he lacked arm strength, mobility, a good throwing motion, and looked like he had “never seen a weight room” coming out of college.
But Brady committed to his craft and put in the work. He worked on his throwing motion until it was perfect; he watched countless hours of film and worked his hardest on thousands of passing reps. Hall of Fame receiver and one time San Francisco 49er Terrell Owens once said about Brady, “pure heart can’t be matched.”
Brady has said his whole life is football. He goes to bed at 10, he has a ridiculously healthy diet that doesn’t include alcohol, and he is constantly playing football.
LeBron James, three-time NBA champion and now with the Los Angeles Lakers, is one of the hardest workers you’ll see, contrary to what people believe. He’s in the gym at 4 in the morning, even on vacations. His balance and core exercises are extremely hard to do. There are some athletes that are 6’8” and might be even more talented than LeBron, but they aren’t as committed as him, or make bad decisions, or even don’t play basketball..
People say that some of the best basketball players in the world can be found on New York City playgrounds. But they don’t have the mental capacity, work ethic, or serious passion to play in the NBA or devote their life to basketball.
“I think hard work is more important than natural ability, however you need both to be successful and to get an opportunity to play in today’s professional sports,” Angeles said.
I’m not saying that somebody at Novato High School could become the next Tom Brady or LeBron James. However, almost anybody can play at a high level in any sport if they work hard, and fully devote their life to it.
Some people believe that natural ability is the main path to success. Sure, some people have better genes and traits inherited from their parents, yet the people and environment around them is what influences people’s lives the most. This is the important nurture aspect.
The way people act and talk are usually influenced by people they admired at a certain age.
Early childhood development is a key factor for future success as well, says Roberts.
“They say that those first five years are really important,” Roberts added. “If you talk to your kid, read to your kid, if you do numbers you know; those are really important formative years. If you’re not grasping that abstract concept and sort of working that muscle right from the beginning when you are a child, then I think there is a detriment there.”
The early years are essential. It’s like riding a bike. You learn when you’re young and you never forget how to ride. That can apply to academics and to sports, as well, like throwing a football or shooting a basketball. Muscle memory. Everybody is not born equal. But hard work and the early years can have a greater effect on someone's life than natural ability.
Growing up in a bad environment can also have a negative effect on someone’s life, however, Roberts says growing up in terrible environments is not always a bad thing.
“You see some kids coming from troubled backgrounds,” said Roberts. “You know they’ve got parents who are drug addicts. They’ve got parents that are not following through on their responsibilities of adulthood. Those kids tend to be really fierce competition when it comes to academics because they don’t want to live that life anymore.”
Contrary to popular belief, the true measure of a person’s success is how hard they work to achieve their goals. Hard work is often more important than simply having natural ability. People can achieve almost anything if they commit to excelling at their goals. However, there is a limit to one’s success.
When students say, “I can’t get an A in math,” they are impeding their success because of a negative mindset. The mind influences people’s actions. Many need to learn to think positively.
Students often say that no matter how hard they try, they will not get an A in math because of their natural inability to do math. This is because they don’t understand the true meaning of work ethic and hard work. Working hard is working until a state of discomfort. Many say they work hard but in reality, they don’t work as hard as they can. These people tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. Working smart is important as well.
Jacob Angeles, a senior at NHS, gave some insight on the hard work versus natural ability debate.
“The ceiling, potential for students at NHS is the one they set themselves,” said Angeles. “We can obtain any skill if someone works for it.”
An example: one of my cousins had average grades in middle school, yet was incentivized with money from her mom for each A she received. From that point on, through hard work, she was an A student, later graduating from high school with a GPA better than 4.0.
It’s not about how long you work, it’s about how hard you work. You can spend 16 hours on something but barely get anything done or you can spend 30 minutes on something and actually improve and see results.
Novato High English teacher Laura Roberts discussed the importance of hard work.
“Hard work would be pushing yourself to learn and to expand and to memorize and to absorb new material. And then once it's absorbed, to retain it,” said Roberts. “That’s where the hard work comes in. You can memorize something for two seconds but if you want to be a really intelligent person, you need to draw back on that information later on. So it needs to stay within the forefront of your knowledge. And that takes work to do that.”
The emphasis on hard work over natural ability applies to sports as well.
Albert Einstein was a mathematician with a brilliant mind. However, he could have also been good at sports, like basketball. Perhaps not at a professional level, but at a relatively high level. He could be a good shooter if he worked on his shooting technique and committed to improving his skills. This could be done by committing intellectual ability to sports.
Steve Dehart, the head athletic trainer at Novato High, believes Einstein could make 10,000 free throws in a row, if he worked on his shooting form. Einstein could've used his intellect to find the right angles and take a calculated approach to the game of basketball.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is a perfect example of someone who had work ethic rather than natural ability as the determining factor to become one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. While some will put in 10 minutes of work, Brady (a Bay Area Native and Serra High School alum) will put in 20. He was the last quarterback picked in the 2000 draft, because he lacked arm strength, mobility, a good throwing motion, and looked like he had “never seen a weight room” coming out of college.
But Brady committed to his craft and put in the work. He worked on his throwing motion until it was perfect; he watched countless hours of film and worked his hardest on thousands of passing reps. Hall of Fame receiver and one time San Francisco 49er Terrell Owens once said about Brady, “pure heart can’t be matched.”
Brady has said his whole life is football. He goes to bed at 10, he has a ridiculously healthy diet that doesn’t include alcohol, and he is constantly playing football.
LeBron James, three-time NBA champion and now with the Los Angeles Lakers, is one of the hardest workers you’ll see, contrary to what people believe. He’s in the gym at 4 in the morning, even on vacations. His balance and core exercises are extremely hard to do. There are some athletes that are 6’8” and might be even more talented than LeBron, but they aren’t as committed as him, or make bad decisions, or even don’t play basketball..
People say that some of the best basketball players in the world can be found on New York City playgrounds. But they don’t have the mental capacity, work ethic, or serious passion to play in the NBA or devote their life to basketball.
“I think hard work is more important than natural ability, however you need both to be successful and to get an opportunity to play in today’s professional sports,” Angeles said.
I’m not saying that somebody at Novato High School could become the next Tom Brady or LeBron James. However, almost anybody can play at a high level in any sport if they work hard, and fully devote their life to it.
Some people believe that natural ability is the main path to success. Sure, some people have better genes and traits inherited from their parents, yet the people and environment around them is what influences people’s lives the most. This is the important nurture aspect.
The way people act and talk are usually influenced by people they admired at a certain age.
Early childhood development is a key factor for future success as well, says Roberts.
“They say that those first five years are really important,” Roberts added. “If you talk to your kid, read to your kid, if you do numbers you know; those are really important formative years. If you’re not grasping that abstract concept and sort of working that muscle right from the beginning when you are a child, then I think there is a detriment there.”
The early years are essential. It’s like riding a bike. You learn when you’re young and you never forget how to ride. That can apply to academics and to sports, as well, like throwing a football or shooting a basketball. Muscle memory. Everybody is not born equal. But hard work and the early years can have a greater effect on someone's life than natural ability.
Growing up in a bad environment can also have a negative effect on someone’s life, however, Roberts says growing up in terrible environments is not always a bad thing.
“You see some kids coming from troubled backgrounds,” said Roberts. “You know they’ve got parents who are drug addicts. They’ve got parents that are not following through on their responsibilities of adulthood. Those kids tend to be really fierce competition when it comes to academics because they don’t want to live that life anymore.”