The Path to Purpose Quotes

“One of the most intriguing ideas in the developmental sciences over the past decades is the phenomenon of the “J-shaped curve.”19 While observing children learning to master new skills in dozens of domains (math, writing, the arts), psychologists noticed a surprising pattern: as a learner struggles to master difficult new challenges, there is often an initial decline in skill. Errors are made on tasks that previously seemed easy, and the learner feels more “stupid” than ever before. This is the dip that forms the middle part of the “J.” But it turns out that the “stupid mistakes,” in retrospect, were nothing more than growth errors. Once the learner gets past the dip, performance rises rapidly to new heights.”
― William Damon, The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life

“Life, much like so many athletic events, is largely a game of recovery.”
― William Damon, The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life

“Here is the sequence of steps we have identified in achieving a path of purpose: Inspiring communication with persons outside the immediate family Observation of purposeful people at work First moment of revelation: something important in the world can be corrected or”
― William Damon, The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life