THINKER'S ALMANAC - August 3

What happened when Tom Brady threw his first pass in a college football game?

Subject:  Mindset - The GOAT’s First Pass

Event:  Birthday of Tom Brady, 1977

You can't just declare that you have a growth mindset. Growth mindset is hard. -Carol S. Dweck

This is the story of a college quarterback who was a backup for his first two years of college at the University of Michigan.  When he finally got named to the starting lineup in his junior year, other quarterbacks were still constantly challenging him for the starting job. The first pass he ever threw in a college game was on September 28, 1996, against UCLA.  The pass was intercepted and returned for a 42-yard touchdown. After college, he anticipated being drafted in the second or third round.  On the night of the 2000 NFL draft, however, he sat with his family, watching as 198 players, six of whom were quarterbacks, were picked before him.  Finally, he was selected by the New England Patriots.

Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay

Based on the preceding facts, you might not expect that the quarterback we’re talking about is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time), but it is.  Tom Brady, who was born on this day in 1977, personifies the growth mindset, the idea that individual abilities are not fixed; instead, anyone can achieve great things through consistent hard work, continual learning, and dogged persistence.  In his 23-year NFL career, Brady led his team to 10 Super Bowls, winning seven of them.  This included winning the Super Bowl MVP at the age of 43 (1).

One key to Tom’s success is his consistent positive attitude.  His struggles to gain a starting position in both college and professional football put this attitude to the test.  But as he explains, “I don’t like to focus on negatives or make excuses.  I am never a victim.  I gain nothing if I get angry or frustrated.  If I threw an interception or had a bad day, by staying in that place, I would just make things worse.”  

A second quality consistent with a growth mindset is always putting forth your best effort.  For this, Tom looked to the example of the great college basketball coach John Wooden, who defined success this way:  “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”  Despite the fact that Tom holds the record for most wins by a quarterback in the NFL with 251, as well as most postseason wins, with 35, he never used wins or losses as his measuring stick for success.  Instead, he lived by Wooden’s standard for success:  putting forth his best effort.

A third key principle for Brady is one that is consistent with the Stoic attitude towards fate -- that is you cannot control everything that happens to you, but you can control how you react to it.   In the third quarter of Super Bowl LI, for example, the Patriots were trailing the Atlanta Falcons by 25 points.  Most teams and most quarterbacks would admit defeat when faced with those odds.  Brady, however, refused to accept defeat with time still on the clock.  He implored his team to focus not on the scoreboard but on the time they had remaining in the game, saying “We’re still in it!  Let’s go!  Keep fighting!”  This indomitable spirit propelled his team to four scoring drives and an overtime victory.

Finally, Brady’s attitude about winning and losing provides a model of the growth mindset.  Brady won a lot of games, but he also was not immune to losses.  Each time he lost a game, he viewed it as an opportunity to learn something.  Instead of going negative, he reframed each loss as a chance to get better, a chance to find a positive lesson that he never would have found if he had won the game (2).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset, and how does Tom Brady embody the qualities of a growth mindset?

Challenge - Get Your GOAT:  What is another area, other than football, where you might argue that one person is the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT).  First, identify a category, such as greatest guitarist, greatest singer, greatest actor, or greatest president.  Then, make your selection and explain your case for why that person deserves to be called the GOAT.

Sources:

1-Mance, Christopher.  “Tom Brady’s Football Career is a Classic Growth Mindset Story.” chrismance.com 10 September 2023.

2-TB12 Team.  “Tom Brady’s Mental Toughness:  4 Principles He Relies On.”  tb12sports.com 29 January 2024.