Anything You Can Do

There’s a familiar anecdote going around (as anecdotes often do). . .if you ask a group of kindegartners to raise their hands if they can draw, almost all of them will raise their hands. Ask the same question to a group of college students, and you’ll see significantly fewer hands. Why? As we grow up, we may start to lose the simplistic “yeah, I can do that. . I’ve done it before and I can do it again” view that we take toward our abilities.

Texas Tech men’s basketball coach Pat Knight tried a slightly sadistic but effective variation of this question when he brought a 12 year-old boy into the huddle during a recent game. After the Red Raiders missed as many as 15 layups, he asked the boy (in front of all the players) “Can you make layups?” “Yes,” the boy replied. “He’s 12 and he can hit layups. So why can’t you when you’re 18 to 21?”

Of course, the Raiders went on to win the game and had very few turnovers. Perhaps it was the act of putting the task in such simple terms and then demonstrating that, ‘yes, he can do it and so can you’ that motivated the players to get their heads in the game (plus I’m sure they were a bit embarrassed to get called out like that in front of an outsider).

The point is that sometimes when you aren’t hitting your own layups–job search, work project, etc. etc.– you might have to ask yourself point blank. . “Can I do this?” and then answer “Yep.” If we want to start fresh in the New Year we have to begin by thinking that we can do it. Sure, we may not be Michaelangelo up there doodling on the ceiling, but when asked to tell people what we can do. . tell ’em!

EmploymentCrossing knows that America’s Got Talent. That’s why we’ve listed so many jobs for you to shoot for.