What about those in the middle, who are just average?

Hi guys. One of my recent posts has been making waves around social media and I have had a rather cynical response on Facebook. In that post about "Singaporeans must study, no time for sports lah", Estelle was cynical about point 5 of my argument (which incidentally was my most important point) and she wrote: "Limpeh makes this comparison between Hoe Wah Toon and Lim Heem Wei vs this "William" - he is conveniently taking the two extremes of super smart vs super stupid whilst ignoring ordinary folks in the middle. But what about the average people like me - I am not stupid, I'm not a super intelligent scholar either. I'm just plain average, I was never a straight-A student, that means I can get decent grades if I work very hard but if I get lazy and don't revise, then my grades will fall. If I spent many hours a week doing sports, I can guarantee you I will flunk my exams. What does he have to say about ordinary people like me?"

Estelle struggles to get just average grades.

Challenge accepted Estelle. Allow me to reiterate the point I made in the previous post: I said that smart people should do sports because smart people would find a way to manage their time and work things out - you don't become 'smarter' by studying harder, that kind of intelligence something you're born and blessed with. Likewise, stupid people should do sports if they are good at it because they should focus on the one thing they are good at rather than fumble their way through their studies to no avail. It's a brutal and harsh way to look at the system but I don't sugarcoat my message. But what about someone like Estelle whom, by her own admission, is just plain average then? Guess what? I would still advocate that people like Estelle should do some sports for the following reasons.

1. How much difference would it actually make? 

Even if Estelle were to study an extra 10 or 15 hours a week, it would not make her any 'cleverer' - she would simply be somewhat better equipped to deal with exams. It also depends on what kind of exams we're talking about. If the exam is merely, "you have two hours to write down everything you remember about this topic," then okay, maybe that extra 10 or 15 hours a week of revision would make a difference. But if the exam challenges the student to analyze situations, demonstrate understanding of complex concepts and apply problem solving skills, then that requires a deeper level of understanding of the subject beyond rote learning. This is why I always stress the difference between 'working smart' and 'working hard' - it is important to understand the subject in a way whereby you can apply the basic principles, concepts and formulas to any situation you are presented, rather than just memorizing long lists of information.

Is Estelle barking up the wrong tree?

2. How are you trying to compete with the rest?

So someone like Estelle probably averages Bs and Cs - by her own admission, she was never a straight-A student. Even if she sacrificed her entire social life, above average grades is the best she can hope for - so we know she can never compete with straight-A students anyway when it comes to grades, she will always be two steps behind them and pale in comparison when it comes to comparing exam results. I say Estelle, what kind of candidate do you want to present yourself as when you try to look for a job? I know which Estelle I would much rather give the job to.

Estelle 1: Hi my name is Estelle, I have somewhat above average grades but I have no social life. I have never done any sports, never taken part in much social activities and probably spent more of my childhood locked in my room studying just to try to improve my grades. I worked very, very hard to achieve my Bs and made a lot of sacrifices. As a result, I probably lack the most basic social skills and would not work well in a team. But hey, look at these Bs I scored - surely that's good enough? You have no idea just how hard I worked to achieve these very average grades...

Estelle 2: Hi my name is Estelle, I have very average grades but hey, I had a varied and exciting social life throughout my student life, taking part in a range of different activities from sports to social work to music. I work well in a team and am very sociable, having spent many hours working with others outside the confines of the school environment. I know I don't have the best grades, but if you give me a chance, you can see that I have the requisite social skills to be a reliable and dependable team player because I have been doing that all my life and am ready for anything.

3. Pick the right battles to fight in life.

Lastly, let's not forget an important factor: there's absolutely no point in someone like Estelle spending 20 hours a week training a sport unless she is truly talented. But what if she did (for the sake of the argument) have some true talent in a sport like gymnastics? In life, you pick your battles: that means you do not go into battles you know you are going to lose. If it is clear that Estelle would never ever become this straight-A scholar, then she should consider other avenues in her life where she would excel and be much better than her peers. That may be in the field of arts, music, sports or anything else unrelated to her studies. The vast majority of working adults do not use any of the knowledge they have accumulated in their school days - general education is exactly what it is: it is to lay a very basic foundation for learning before the young person picks a career and then embarks on more industry-specific professional training for the job.

It is important to pick the right battles to fight in life.

So unless Estelle gives herself the time and space to cultivate and develop her interests, how will she ever discover if she has a talent for something that may lead to a very fun and fulfilling career if this involves something that lies outside her limited academic curriculum? And important part of your education is trying to figure out what you want to do with your life and young people need to be given ample opportunities to figure this tough question out as there are no right or simple answers. I always use this phrase, 三百六十行，行行出状元 - which means “no matter which job you do, you can achieve greatness.” In limiting herself to the subjects she is studying at school, how is Estelle going to discover what truly makes her happy and what direction she wants to take her career in?

4. Maintain a long term vision of what you want to do, see the big picture.

So often, I see students with tunnel vision - they are very focused on this test coming up next week or this project that they are currently working on as if it is the most important thing in their lives. There is a sensible balance to be struck between taking pride in one's work and being able to see the big picture - I remember the geography project I did in my school days when I spent ages, creating intricate, colourful diagrams that took hours to produce. It was the most important thing to me when I did that project but in the long run, nobody cares, nobody gives a shit, it doesn't matter at all. Someone like Estelle may feel that it is absolutely important for her to get a B and not a C in her test next week, but in the big picture, she is not even going to remember this test a few years from now, never mind mind her grade for it. The bigger picture Estelle, is not each individual grade you get, but how you are going to get yourself to the start of your career which will hopefully be successful and rewarding. Your education is but the journey, not the destination.

Are you able to see the big picture?

5. All work no play makes Estelle an unhappy student.

And just to keep it real Estelle, I know you want to work hard but all work no play is hardly the formula for success. You need to take time out to relax, unwind, allow your mind to rest by doing other activities apart from just studying. Medical professionals state that is necessary to do at least 3 hours of physical activity a week to stay healthy, ideally I would recommend that figure to be closer to 8 hours if you really want to keep fit. If you're really sacrificing every moment just to study Estelle, then I must say, it would be adversely affecting the overall quality of your life and health Estelle and I would be quite concerned indeed. Are you really studying that hard because it genuinely makes a difference or have you be scared into believing that you have no other choice?

But don't go rushing out to start training 20 hours a week yet Estelle - whether you should do sports or not still boils down ultimately to whether you're any good at it, if you have any real talent. If you do, then you ought to explore the options to pursue it. If you don't, then you should at least spend a few hours a week exercising just to keep fit and relax. So that's it from me on this issue - if you have any other words of advice for Estelle, please do leave a comment below. Do you consider yourself average as well? What do you think of my suggestions for Estelle? Thank you for reading.