The Inner Scorecard
Inspired by on Lenny's Podcast
Warren Buffett distinguishes between how the world evaluates you and how you evaluate yourself - which is exactly the tension between raising an 'impressive' kid versus a happy one.
Ada Chen Rekhi coaches founders who are chasing external validation at the cost of internal fulfillment. She uses Warren Buffett's framework.
'He talks about how there's an outer scorecard, which is how the rest of the world evaluates you. And then your inner scorecard is things that actually matter to you.'
The outer scorecard: Top 10 lists. Wealth. Status. Title. The Instagram-worthy moments.
The inner scorecard: Did you have an adventure today? Were you kind? Did you actually enjoy it?
'Did you win at the cost of kindness? Did you succeed at the cost of losing access to the adventure that you really wanted?'
Now think about your kid. The outer scorecard says: reading by four, elite soccer team, impressive preschool, early milestones. The inner scorecard says: are they curious? Kind? Actually happy?
It's 'a terrible trap to wake up one day and feel trapped because you have certain expectations of the people around you' - whether that's your career or your parenting.
Which scorecard are you really tracking?
PM Theme: Defining success metrics that matter
Parenting Theme: Values over achievements
“He talks about how there's an outer scorecard, which is how the rest of the world evaluates you, how you keep score in terms of external factors. And then your inner scorecard is things that actually matter to you, how you spent your day, how good of a person you are.”Ada Chen Rekhi · 00:41:20
“Did you win at the cost of kindness? Did you succeed at the cost of losing access to the adventure that you really wanted?”Ada Chen Rekhi · 00:42:11
