The Pitfalls of Caricature

The Pitfalls of Caricature 

I just read Scott Jurek’s book “Eat and Run”.  Scott is one of the more famous ultra-distance runners in the world having won the Western States 100 Mile endurance race multiple times and set several records.

I have known of Scott and his reputation for a few years, but I had not known him until I read his book.  I read a Runner’s World Article on him a couple years ago that was not particularly informative.  They struggled to relate the complexity of Scott’s character into journalistic fare.

It occurred to me that when we are confronted by stories like Scott’s we tend to assume that there is something special and magical about these types of people.  We attribute to them some mystic ability, or worst, we attribute their success to some mystic ability.

Instead of assuming that they are focused, determined hard working people who made the most of their abilities, we attribute their success to some sort of personal magic.

Scott’s is certainly a successful ultrarunner with some innate gifts but he invested his time in training.  He did the work.  He studied his craft, he experimented with his diet, he fed his mind and he worked towards his goals. Scott was unafraid to experiment with his health and his time.  Scott was willing to fail. Scott worked his experiment of one.

Why do we assume that successful people ‘are just successful’?  We do this for a number of reasons.  One reason we do it is because we wish it were true.  We do it because we wish it so for ourselves.  Assuming a mystical magic means that maybe we too could be touched by greatness because we are ‘special’.  Because that is easier than doing the work, taking the time to understand, and deciding to do it. And so much easier than doing it.

We even rewrite our own stories to comply with the myth.  When we reach success we give credit to innate ability and mysticism, instead of work, focus and determination.

I see it in myself.  People think I have some sort of special toughness or skill.  Sure, I have gutted out plenty of races.  I have transcended the pain but it is my training that puts me in a position to do so.  Without the training, as I have proven many times, there is no opportunity to succeed.

We try to simplify people.  We try to label them.  Like the caricature painting of a sidewalk artist we select certain traits, a big nose or pointy ears, and we construct a false mental mosaic around those features believing that the mnemonic nature of our opinion is correct.

Like the picture that comes into my mind when someone says “He’s a New Yorker” or your mind when I say “I’m from Boston”.  What picture, what set of attributes pops into a European’s mind when I say I’m American?  Maybe, you picture a fat, cigar smoking man, driving a big car?  Maybe, a loud and pushy man with a tendency towards self righteousness and violence?

This is our mind, the great pattern matching machine, simplifying its world so it can stay on top of all the data.  The problem is I’m not that man.

The worst manifestation of this abbreviation is when we categorize by race or gender or politics.  We label that person as ‘orange’ and then all the attributes of an orange person are assigned.  Because we can categorize them they lose their humanness.  They become ‘other’ and suddenly we give ourselves permission to treat them as such.

Scott Jurek is a complex and nuanced human.  He is on his journey the same as each of us.  Scott is an ultramarathon phenomenon not only because of innate mental and physical ability but also because of training his mind, his body and his soul towards that task.

The lessons for you are twofold.

First, be careful of categorizing or summarizing people.  It is an efficient way of sorting and filing but understand it for the approximation that it is. Decisions based on incomplete and biased data are bad decisions.  Opinions based on incomplete and biased data are flimsy opinions.

If you truly want to judge a person you have to peer into and understand the swirling chaos behind their eyes.  The great leaders and connectors of the world have this ability to peer into another’s mind.  They comprehend and move in the direction of understanding.

The next time you look at someone and feel your great pattern matching machine categorize, sort and file them, try another, different approach.  If you have the time, and if you care about understanding, look deep into their eyes, through the window to their souls and see if you can make a connection.  For behind those eyes is an infinity of thought and passion.

Each one of us comes into this brief life gifted with an un-programmed mass of wetware that we get to program and gets programmed for us.  Each of us is a deep and complex ball of thoughts, emotions, desires and fear.  You are carrying yours and they are carrying theirs.  Reach out and see if you can touch the storm of the other at a different level than the slipshod caricature that we default to.

The second lesson, of course, is that there are no mystic success stories.  There is no magic luck waiting to reach into the crowd and pluck you into greatness.  Greatness doesn’t falls out of the sky on lucky people.  Everyone is fated to live and die but the path in between is bent by your decisions and your work.  Live is to learn and to strive.  Success is yours to define.  Your life is yours to make.

So, my friends; be curious.  Before you is that great opportunity to do whatever and be whatever you want.  Work hard on your experiment of one.  Burn with the fury of a dying sun, because that is what you are.

As you spin and burn through this world understand that others are on the same journey.  If you can connect with them; if you can go beyond the caricature your trip will be that much fuller.