Don’t Get Hung Up on Youth Competitions

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So what if you didn’t win «/span> insert competition for young people here >. It’s not too late for you to make your mark.

For instance, young mathy people sometimes fall into this trap: they wanted to become a hardcore problem-solver, and they had fun participating in math competitions, which they view as the pinnacle of problem-solving – but they didn’t win, they’re now too old to compete, they’re disappointed they can’t try again, and they’re a bit regretful in feeling that they could have practiced with fuller dedication. The same situation plays out with science fair, debate competitions, even elite college admissions.

If this is you, it’s important to realize that these youth competitions are just practice arenas for early bloomers, and you can still win in the big leagues even if you never won or even stepped foot in the youth practice arena. While youth competitions can help you build habits and connections and open some early doors, they don’t gatekeep your future. You can still become insanely skilled and get recognized for it. This is just the beginning.

For instance, school-age math competitions are not the pinnacle of problem-solving. It just seems that way because in school, that’s what lots of mathy people focus on and get recognized for, so it’s always in your face. But think about it – of all the world’s famous problem-solvers, how many of them gained their reputation from winning school-age math competitions? None of them. Even amongst the minority that did happen to win competitions in their youth, that’s not what they’re known for. They’re known for their problem-solving success on more widely branching paths that they pursued after their initial schooling. Some published acclaimed research that pushed pure mathematics forward. Others solved hard practical problems in industry, applying math to push other fields forward.

All this to say: in the long run, the long game is the only one that matters, and missing the short game doesn’t mean you’ve missed your shot.

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