Hidden Potential
The Science of Achieving Greater Things
Over a week ago, I was in the elevator of my apartment building on my way to the airport when another woman asked if I wanted a book. She said she had accidentally received two and handed me Hidden Potential by Adam Grant. It honestly felt like the universe was talking to me.
I went straight to the airport and read the entire flight. The message is incredible. I haven’t finished it yet, but I already wanted to share a few quotes and excerpts that have really blown my mind.
One that really stuck with me:
“Character is often confused with personality, but they are not the same. Personality is your predisposition — your basic instincts for how to think feel and act. Character is your capacity to prioritize your values over your instincts.
Knowing your principles doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to practice them, particularly under stress or pressure it’s easy to be proactive and determined when things are going well. The true text of character is whether you manage to stand by those values when the deck is stacked against you. If personality is how you respond on a typical day, character is how you show up on a hard day.
Personality is not your destiny — it’s your tendency. Character skills enable you to transcend the tendency to be true to your principles. It’s not about the traits you have — it’s what you decide to do with them.”
Another one that stopped me:
“Many people associate procrastination with laziness. But psychologists find that procrastination is not a time management problem — it’s an emotion management problem. When you procrastinate, you’re not avoiding effort. You’re avoiding the unpleasant feelings that the activity stirs up. Sooner or later, though, you realize that you’re also avoiding where you want to go.”
This one blew my mind. It made me thing of how many runs I have put off until the last minute.
This one too:
“In a meta-analysis, the average correlation between perfectionism and performance at work was zero. When it came to mastering their tasks, perfectionists were no better than their peers. Sometimes they even did worse. The skills and inclinations that drive people to the top of their high school or college class many observe them so well after they graduate.” Good thing I’m not a perfectionist.
I loved this idea:
“Wabi sabi is the art of honoring the beauty in imperfection. It’s not about creating intentional imperfections. It’s about accepting that flaws are inevitable — and recognizing that they don’t stop something from becoming sublime.”
This completely reframed how I think about failure:
“Perfectionists often worry that failing even once will make them a failure. But talent from eight studies: people don’t judge your competence based on one performance. It’s called the overblown implications effect. If you cook one bad dish, people rarely think you’re a terrible chef. They know it’s only a snapshot from a single moment in time.”
This reminded me of Nikki’s word of the year a couple years ago:
“We’re often told that if we want to develop our skills; we need to push ourselves through long hours of monotonous practice. But the best way to unlock hidden potential isn’t to suffer through daily grind. It’s to transform the daily grind into a source of daily joy. It’s not a coincidence that in music, the term for practice is play.”
A few more that really made me think — especially around fulfillment, motivation, and what we’re actually working toward:
“In one study, when people had spent engaging evenings on their side hustles, they performed better the next day at their regular jobs. The progress they made at night put an extra spring in their step the following morning. The motivation benefits outweighed any distraction costs.”
“In another study, when people took on serious hobbies at home, their confidence climbed at work — but only if the hobbies were in a different area from their jobs. If you’re feeling meh as a social worker or an accountant, a pottery project might just be a new path to progress.”
“Across 105 studies over 70,000 people valuing extrinsic goals like popularity and appearance over intrinsic goals like growth and connection predicted lower well-being. Seeking validation is a bottomless pit: the craving for status is never satisfied.”
Mic-drop:
“It’s more important to be good ancestors than dutiful descendants. Too many people spend their lives being custodians of the past instead of stewards of the future. We worry about making our parents proud when we should be focused on making our children proud. The responsibility of each generation is not to please our predecessors — it’s to improve conditions for our successors.”
A lot to think about — in the best way.
In guud company,
Lauren
GUUD THINGS THIS WEEK
⬆️ The High ⬆️
Nikki: All the little things this week. Morning workouts, dinner with my aunt, Temaki Den with friends, a baby shower, The Drama with Lauren (still thinking about it), sleeping in til 10AM on Saturday, phone calls with family, and a via ferrata. I got to reconnect with so many friends this week and I’m so grateful!
Lauren: I went to Elevate Run Club on Wednesday and I was actually a little nervous about the run! It’s often at North Table Mountain and stacked with elevation. It was beautiful to watch the sunrise and I ended up meeting and chatting with a couple of girls that I really got alone with! It was my only day to sleep in last week but it was worth it!
⬇️ The Low ⬇️
Lauren: Definitely super tired from working some early mornings into evenings. I went straight from my flight last week to work and I was a shell of myself.
Nikki: Work has been stressful lately but reminding myself it’s temporary :)
🧠 The Lesson 🧠
Nikki: Constantly learning this, but people won’t hate you if you say no sometimes!
Lauren: Life changes so quickly!
❤️ Lately We’re Loving ❤️
Lauren: I’m still on my solidcore journey and I’ve been taking Traverse classes! It’s been nice to switch it up.
Nikki:
Via ferratas and climbing. My friend Rebe hosted a little via ferrata trip in Estes Park and it reminded me how much I love rocks and being in the mountains.
Solely fruit jerky. (Get from Costco!)
Reading. Loving getting back into my reading before bed journey. Finished Half Her Age (3/5).
✨ What’s Next ✨
Nikki: World’s Toughest Mile this weekend in Austin 🤠 I loooove fitness events and I’m so excited to get back into it!
Lauren: My friend Erica is visiting this weekend and it’s Barry’s Denver’s five year anniversary! Lots to celebrate!
🚨 WE’RE HOSTING OUR FIRST EVENT!!! 🚨
Community Sweat, Sip, & Stroll | Saturday April 25 10AM at Wash Park
It would mean so much to us if you joined! RSVP HERE :)