Having Skin in the Game: Why it’s Worth it to Care Deeply
Poet T.S. Eliot eloquently wrote, “Teach us to care and not to care.” In this episode of The Growth Equation Podcast, Brad and Steve talk through the costs and benefits of having skin in the game; of caring deeply about something. Whether the arena is business, sports, politics, or something else, they argue that despite all of the costs, it’s better to care deeply, to try and fail, and to feel pain, than go through the motions. Brad and Steve discuss the defense mechanisms we sometimes use to protect ourselves and our egos and offer strategies for how to have skin in the game, including setting boundaries, prioritizing concerns, and cultivating a supportive community. Finally, they tackle social media and why it only provides a facade of having skin in the game.
- “Having skin in the game isn’t just about acting, but about caring deeply.”
- “The more invested in something, the more you care about something, the more you will hurt when things change.”
- “When you don’t care, what you’re really doing is protecting yourself from stepping in the arena and failing.”
- “If you’re not occasionally failing then you’re not really pushing your limits.”
- “For all the costs that come with having skin in the game, we think it’s worth it.”
- “It’s the façade of community, the façade of skin in the game, that we see on social media. You feel like you are in a community and have skin in the game, but you really don’t and you’re really not.”
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- “Skin in the Game,” by Nahko and Medicine for the People
- “The Art of Having Skin in the Game,” By Brad Stulberg in The Growth Equation Newsletter
- David Whyte on On Being
- “The Art of Power,” by Thich Naht Hanh
- Study from the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology on Bereavement
Find Brad and Steve on Twitter: @Bstulberg and @stevemagness
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[…] more on this topic, check out this episode of the Growth Equation Podcast, in which we unpack the above in all its complexity and […]
I really enjoy listening to your podcast during my runs. Keep up the awesome work.
[…] authors on the subject of endurance sports – Steve Magness and Brad Stulberg – discussed this in a recent episode of their podcast, The Growth Equation. They referred to it as “having skin in the game” and […]