From Diana Nyad to One Direction (via Aristotle)

At the start of the academic year it is probably a good time to talk about Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad. She recently fulfilled a 35 year personal goal, swimming 53 hours non stop between Cuba and the United States, a total distance of 110 miles. Upon finishing she told the press, amongst other things, that we should never give up. It is true to say that she embodies true grit – an impressive character trait.

It is easy to feel motivated and full of big ideas, yet as the term progresses it is all too easy to let this dissolve and slip away. However, I was once told that motivation can be maintained by habit.

Aristotle believed this was the case too – his theory of virtue ethics seems to embody the notion of ‘fake it til you make it’. If you behave like a virtuous person then you will become a virtuous person. If you do brave actions then you become brave, if you behave in a truthful way, then you will be more likely to default to the truthful position when the pressure is on.

The Xfactor generation may simply be a misguided reflection of this ‘fake it til you make it’ attitude – after all, it appears easy enough; if you fake being a pop star then you become a pop star. One Direction have swept the world with something people have likened to Beatle Mania. We haven’t been made aware of any years of grit or determination (that’s not say there weren’t any). They certainly aren’t recognized as champions of dedication to music practice. The media has preferred to portray their meteoric rise to fame as almost instantaneous. Click below to read more…

It seems a million miles away from the likes of Diana Nyad, Jessica Ennis, the Browlea brothers or Mo, and yet maybe something of the same fake it til you make it’ strategies were applied in their training. Much of sports psychology involves visualization techniques. In basic terms the sports(wo)man is asked to imagine themselves winning until they believe they can. This can then sometimes be the edge they need.

We all know those people who post the annoying facebook or twitter status updates about how perfect their life is. Perhaps they are simply trying to follow the advice of Aristotle – if you post enough about how wonderful they are maybe they will become wonderful? If only it were that easy!

If you want an A* then embody the A* behaviors – ‘fake it till you make it’, don’t just be a one hit wonder.  

Rebecca Mace