Tēnā koutou, Malo e lelei, Tālofa lava, Bula vinaka, Good afternoon.

The media certainly love to peddle a good overnight success story. Probably because it captivates, excites and inspires hope in all of us (not to mention, sells papers and gets clicks). Day by day we’re inundated with tales of individuals or teams who find apparent instant wealth, fame, and success. We buy into the glamour and often can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy when looking at these people that seem to have it all figured out.

The truth, however, is that the easy overnight success story is a myth. A carefully crafted narrative, which we conveniently buy into as a form of wish fulfillment. Instead, the road to success is, far more often than not, long and twisty, fraught with failure and hardship. The Black Ferns win over England in the World Cup final came on the back of years of both individual and team hardship, sacrifice and physical and emotional pain. It took Taika Waititi over twenty years of filmmaking to rise from obscurity to his current status as one of Hollywood's most sought-after directors. Lydia Ko’s recent record breaking payday for women’s golf was the result of days, months, years of childhood sacrifice and tedious practice. This reality doesn’t make great press, though, does it? How unglamorous and displeasing that you might actually have to work hard, make sacrifices, persist and fail over and over again, before you find success. In our modern world, where we increasingly expect everything to be easy, fast and convenient, it is no wonder the media’s contrary portrayal of overnight success is so appealing to many of us.

Sadly, the media’s portrayal of the overnight success story has contributed to the naturalness bias; the hidden prejudice against those who’ve achieved what they have because they worked for it, and a hidden preference for those whom we think arrived at their place in life because they’re naturally talented or lucky. Perhaps this bias is even fueled by the quintessential Kiwi attitude to cut down tall poppies, to disapprove of those around us who get to where they are because they have the determination to succeed and the willpower to persist. And how damaging this preoccupation with talent or luck can be, to our young people in particular. By shining our spotlight on talent or luck alone, we risk leaving everything else in the shadows. We inadvertently send the message that other factors - like hard work, persistence, grit - don’t matter as much as they really do.

The Mundanity of Excellence is a paper studying competitive swimmers, and in it researcher Dan Chambliss writes, ‘The most dazzling human achievements are, in fact, the aggregate of countless individual elements, each of which is, in a sense, ordinary.’ What an inspiring concept to consider as we face our own goals and challenges in life. Tiny, ordinary elements which, when combined with the right attitude and actions, give us the power to achieve success in any endeavour. There is no doubt that talent - how fast we improve in skill - matters. But the impact that effort has is exponential in comparison and consistency of effort over the long run is everything. Many of us, it seems, quit what we start far too early and far too often. But those who have grit - the commitment to working on something you care about so much that you’re willing to stay loyal to it - like the Black Ferns, Taika Waititi and Lydia Ko - have the upper hand because they have both passion and perseverance. Even more than the effort a gritty person puts in on a single day, what matters is that they wake up the next day, and the next, and the next, and keep going until they find the success they seek - and deserve. Enthusiasm might be common, but endurance is rare. 

Elizabeth Koni

Principal