For: the ambitious person figuring out how to lead, grow, and intentionally build a fulfilling life - one step up at time. From: someone on the journey too. Released every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
π£ Step 43: Believe It! (No, Seriously)
π£ Step 43: Believe It! (No, Seriously)I found Naruto when I was 5/6 years old. It was its first (or close to first) airing in the US, and I was immediately hooked. After that, I watched every new episode ritualistically, every Saturday night at 8pm on Cartoon Network. I read all the manga, sometimes 2-3 per day - even subscribing to Shonen Jump so I could read them by chapter as Masashi Kishimoto released them (before they were compiled into books). It's still one of my favorite series and worlds ever. Absolutely top tier. For those unfamiliar, here's the very, very short TLDR: Naruto goes from an orphaned, bullied child with a literal monster inside him to the strongest ninja to ever live. And his catchphrase? "Believe it!" His best friend leaves their village and doesn't want to be his friend anymore (and actually vows to kill him)? He's going to get him back. Believe it! He's going to invent jutsu never done before? You bet. Believe it! He's going to be the greatest ninja there ever was? He will. Believe it! I've been thinking a lot about personal belief - moreover, the belief in ourselves to do things. Scientists have long proven the Placebo Effect, where people will feel better or worse simply because they believe they are. This is well understood in the medical community and even factored into treatments to speed up recovery. But did you know that belief in yourself - i.e. self-efficacy - has been scientifically proven to correlate to your personal results in life? Albert Bandura's landmark research in 1977 opened the floodgates on this concept, and it's been constantly revalidated and added onto, now even being factored into the infrastructure of academic curriculum. Additionally, research on optimism shows the same effect in the positive direction (these studies and the placebo effect also show that you can hold negative beliefs and achieve negative outcomes). βThis video ties it all together pretty well. Delusional belief. In the words of Henry Ford: Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. Or in my words: if you want to, you will. Or in Naruto's words: believe it! Reflecting back on the kinds of media and stories I've always gravitated to, it was always the underdog who believed in themselves and overcame immense odds to become great (and sometimes the best ever in their domain). Delusional belief. Naruto. Ash from Pokemon. Aang from Avatar: the Last Airbender. Eminem. xxxtentacion. It is literally insane what humans can do when we put our minds to something and believe we can do it (watch this 100 Ironmans in 100 days video for proof). You are your own underdog. If you want to, you will. Believe it. See you next Thursday, Steppers. We will succeed, Grayson βgraysonstepanek.comβ Song of the Week:
This week's pick was hard because I've been listening to a lot of great new music the past week (Rylo Rodriguez & Ken Carson) and new music to me (Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You), but I discovered underscores this week and just had to share this song. This is quintessential hyperpop - pitched vocals, rattling bass line, and head rocking beat drop. I've been needing new hyperpop in my rotation, and underscores came in clutch. |
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Grayson Stepanek
For: the ambitious person figuring out how to lead, grow, and intentionally build a fulfilling life - one step up at time. From: someone on the journey too. Released every Thursday at 4:30pm CST.
π£ Step 50: Processing Complex Emotions These past few days I've experienced a handful of things where I just haven't immediately known what to feel. This newsletter is both an act to sort out my own thoughts while hopefully helping you do the same. Here are some of those experiences, and my complex feelings around them: 1. My dad's dad passed away Monday night. We weren't close with him - really no one in the family was (long story short: his own choices). My dad and I hadn't seen or talked...
π£ Step 49: Bring the Mountain Home Seth Adams, Zack Kurowski, and I at Horizons In 2021, I was blessed to attend Sigma Chiβs Horizons Leadership Summit in Snowbird, Utah with two close fraternity brothers. As I look back on the past 5 years, that trip was my inflection point. Horizons was my light switch. Before Horizons, I was a leader, but it was more out of happenstance. I was innately good at things, but I never really invested in them. I was the kid who got good grades but never really...
π£ Step 48: Get a Bigger World Ash and I in Murren, Switzerland. The world definitely felt bigger here. I saw this video of a guy recounting a college interaction with his roommate. He was ranting over this small annoyance with a coworker when his roommate said βDude, you need a bigger world.β I.e. you need bigger problems. The lesson: Find big things to focus on, and the small things become irrelevant. So often, we get caught up over the small things: The fast food worker forgetting your...