the next national or world championship. I had spent the years between ages fifteen and eighteen in the maelstrom of American media following the rel… - Joshua Waitzkin

While a fixation on results is certainly unhealthy, short-term goals can be useful developmental tools if they are balanced within a nurturing long-term philosophy.

In short, I was a mess. I had learned as a boy how to deal with distraction in a given moment, but the larger distractions of my life were overwhelming me. In an isolated situation, I could overcome the issues — I’ve always been able to bring it for the big game — but the kind of reckless intensity this required sapped me.

Musicians, actors, athletes, philosophers, scientists, writers understand that brilliant creations are often born of small errors.