It is well understood that in order to achieve success in any field of endeavor you need to be open to learning and to grow beyond you current comfort zone.  In the article Success Insights from a World Champion, we shared with our readers some important concepts that were outlined by the Josh Waitzkin in his book the The Art of Learning.  In this article we will revisit a few learning ideas to help you stay on track in your pursuit of success.

 

Practicing

 

The importance of practice cannot be understated.   But it is critical to qualify practice that leads to success as a specific type of practice – that which Geoff Colvin calls “deliberate practice” in his highly acclaimed book Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else.  Deliberate practice, in a nutshell, is the continuous repetition of a particular task, which must done correctly by following the example of a teacher or mentor.  When you practice deliberately, you constantly make adjustments and correct your mistakes until you perfect the most basic levels before you try to reach a higher level of achievement.  This is analogous to what Waitzkin refers to as “small circles”.

 

Notice that correcting your mistakes is a key component of effective learning.  It goes without saying that if you practice the wrong behavior, you will never improve, no matter how hard you try.  Making mistakes is a natural part of learning.  If you never make mistakes, you are not pushing yourself hard enough to grow.  Correcting the unavoidable mistakes that you will make as part of the learning process is what will take you to higher levels of performance.

 

Reducing Complexity

 

Trying to duplicate the same level of performance as someone that is at a higher skill level can be very frustrating.  Those of you that have watched a golf teacher hit a perfect ball consistently while you struggle to get you swing right can relate.  The frustration can turn into disappointments, and if not managed properly, can result in you giving up acquiring the skill altogether.  The key here is to break down the performance you are trying to achieve into very small components that are much easier to emulate, and to do it slowly until you have mastered it.

 

After you break down the skill you are trying to acquire into a less complex set of behaviors that you can repeat at you current level, you should repeat it continuously until you can perform the task perfectly without much effort.  Only after reaching this level of achievement you should attempt to perform at a higher level of complexity or skill.  Those that have tried to learn how to play an instrument understand the role of practicing scales, and how leaning the fundamental skills of paying the scales perfectly and effortlessly is paramount to becoming a good instrument player.

 

The challenge is that repeating a task at the basic levels over and over again is not very rewarding, and therefore, it is difficult to stay motivated.  There are some things you can do to overcome this problem, such as adding variety to your practice and mixing it up a little with more enjoyable tasks.  In the analogy of learning how to play an instrument, you should practice your scales, but also play a few songs that you enjoy in your practice routine so that you get more satisfaction out of the effort.

 

Finding the Motivation

 

Given the challenge described above, too many people give up too early in their learning process due to frustration, boredom, and lack of persistence.  In order to make progress you need to find a source of motivation.  Finding a good mentor who will help you stay focused during trying times is one strategy for staying motivated.  Visualization techniques, in which you imagine yourself having already acquired the skills you are trying to learn can also be very helpful.  Always try to add some fun into your pursuit.  You know what they say about all work and no play….

 

Being Patient

 

Acquiring the skills of great performers takes time.  It is important to go into your success journey realizing that great performance does not happen overnight.  Otherwise you will likely be very disappointed with the results.  The key to long-term success is to cherish any small progress you make towards your desired end-state and to celebrate every new performance level you are able to achieve.