David and Goliath

For the last few days, I have been reading David and Goliath (and by reading…I really mean listening to the audiobook). This book is an interesting work that challenges what we have been taught to believe are advantages and disadvantages. Its so good, I haven’t even finished it yet, but I couldn’t wait to write about it.

The title comes from the biblical story of David, a shephard boy, and Goliath, a Palestinian giant and warrior. These two were to battle to determine who’s people would become slave to whom. And although David was the unlikely winner, he took out Goliath, with a small rock and a slingshot before the fight even got started. This story is one of the classic underdog winning against all odds. Although, the author Malcolm Gladwell may argue that the odds really are in David’s favor after all, and that we have only been taught to believe otherwise.

And then they got to a part where they talked about college education and stem subjects. Gladwell uses the stories of others to illustrate how the perceived advantage of being educated at a competitive and elite school, is actually the reason why many of those stem students switch to other majors. Our beliefs about what gives us an advantage, are actually often untrue, and in turn work against us becoming what we want to be. In the case of 2 of the stories that were told in the book, this meant not becoming a scientist because of feeling unable to keep up with the work in their science courses.

But this meant, that two students who were smart enough to get accepted to ivy league schools, did not make it through some of the hardest math and science programs in the world. And in turn, they did not become scientist. In the meantime, had they chosen a less rigorous school, they very well would have continued in science.

And that got me thinking about myself, and my own college career. I had a similar experience, where being with very smart students, actually made me feel that I was dumber, and make me think that I was less capable of pursing the things that I had dreamed for myself. And now…here I am in school again, often feeling dumb, but trying to grow from where I used to be.

Its an interesting concept isn’t it…that your disadvantages may actually be your advantages, and the reason why you are LIKELY to win. It feels a little bit like going through the looking glass, where everything is really backwards from what you thought it was. So maybe the fact that I don’t have a educational background in programming, or experience teaching and practicing yoga are actually my advantages. Maybe these are truly my keys to success. And when I try and think about it that way, it means that there may be a whole world of possibility of my success that I never noticed I could choose before.

Here’s to being an underdog, since apparently, it most certainly means that you will be the winner (if you understand your advantage).