Lie: The underdog always wins, because they’re special.
The untrained, unmotivated footballers from the wrong side of the train tracks have got a big game against one of the best teams from the state. The small-time dancer faces up against the snobbish rich grad from Julliard in the competition of a lifetime. A team of misfits join the academic decathlon to prove that against all odds, they can break the 22-year winning streak held by one of the best private schools in the country.
And naturally, they deserve to win. Because they have passion, desire, and personality.
The unfortunate thing about having this belief hammered into your head by just about every sports movie ever made is that the message is: being the best at something only requires you to LIKE it. Oh, and a quirky side character who thinks you’re, like, awesome.
The problem is, of course, that the snobbish kids who’s remained national champion 22 years running usually like what they do as well. They, too, have passion, desire, and personality (even though the movies don’t often show it). The difference is, they also have put in years of practice, hard work, and continuous effort. They too, were once the underdogs starting in a world they didn’t understand. Unlike the group of misfits who only took 2 weeks time to figure out what the hell they’re doing (about 2 minutes of montage), the favorites have been honing their skill for the last 12 weeks getting that last 5% perfect.
In the real world, when we compete against someone who has put in more time, has more talent, and have gotten all the necessary ingredients, we usually lose. It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day that you WANTED it more than the other guys. You don’t necessarily deserve it.
If you worked hard at it, however, you might just get that gold. The girl, too.
self-UNimprovement Blog 