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33. The Big Fish...

Colin Campbell
by Colin Campbell on 25/01/18 18:00

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33. The Big Fish - published 23.11.2013 

This blog was first published on the 23rd Novemeber 2013. 

 

In Malcolm Gladwell's new book, David and Goliath that I blogged about earlier, he discusses a concept known as 'the big fish'

Gladwell explains beautifully the problems of being a child who is super intelligent in their own small environment who goes to an Ivy League college where all the kids are the same as them. This has been well researched and many of the kids who are no longer seen as 'high achievers' but only seen as 'average' in a more intelligent group feel dismally, lose their confidence and can't succeed.

This is the difference of being a big fish in a small pond and then becoming a small fish in a big pond and it can have devastating effects on people. There is a huge advantage to being heavily involved in your own little community where you know people and everyone else knows you. Everyone knows your limitations and your talents and you have the opportunity to make a difference amongst a group of people with whom you are friendly.

It does seem though that everybody aspires to be part of the bigger pond and craves entry to the big pond to prove themselves as the very best. It is only then that people realise that the advantage they had being a big fish in a small pond doesn't exist when they enter a bigger pond.

There is a lesson here for life and a lesson for our children, where we push and push them to go places where we assume they would do better because they are surrounded by 'better people'.

In one of the case studies in Gladwell's book he follows a girl who was a high achiever in Science in both primary school and high school. Instead of opting for her local college she picked an Ivy League college but on entry to the college she as surrounded by children of at least as good or better ability than her and her confidence became shattered and she failed. For a children who was committed to Science all her life she no longer works in Science and that is a real tragedy.

I will continue to encourage my children to seek happiness in the things that they do and to do the things they like whatever the size of their pond.

Somebody has to be the biggest fish in the biggest pond, it just doesn't have to be you.

 

Blog post number: 1533

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Colin Campbell
Written by Colin Campbell
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