I'd like to think I approach things with a certain amount of realism. I prided myself in being self-aware for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it started a bit too early. I vividly remember telling myself "Joe, baseball isn't your thing." at 13 years old. Maybe that was the catalyst to picking up wrestling...who knows? It's a double edged sword. I didn't particularly like baseball, but I don't know how I would feel if I knew one of my yet non-existent children gave up something they enjoyed only for the sake of knowing their flaws and accepting them.
On the other side of the coin, being self-aware has led me to believe I have a very good sense of needing to prepare for things. Jiu-jitsu tournament coming up? Great, eight weeks to get ready. I am by no means an avid competitor. I like to compete, but I'm more of an enthusiastic hobbyist. I've seen people jump into tournaments without proper preparation and just get slaughtered. Where did that get you? Yes, you got in there and tried to play with the big boys. But what can you really learn by going out on the mat and gassing halfway through your match and getting smashed? You might come out saying "I worked hard" during those four minutes, but you only worked hard for four minutes!
It extends to everything. I didn't apply to a job asking for three years C++ experience and a background in some obscure DBMS without at least doing some exercises and sample problems. I didn't fly out to California and compete in the world championships after deciding 3 weeks prior because I had a good week of training in my gym of 20 guys. And I certainly won't be buying a $500,000 house with 5% down.
In just about everything, the battle begins before the shots are fired. The invasion of Europe during WWII was as successful as it was because of the planning that came before it. War was declared in December of 1941, while the invasion took place in June of 1944. That's two and a half years! How many people today have the stamina to spend 8 weeks training and coming up with a game plan for what could possibly be a few minutes?