Archive for the ‘Training’ tag
Only Perfect Practice Makes Perfect
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. – Vince Lombardi
It’s admittedly hypocritical of me to use the word ‘perfect’ in the title of this post when I’ve written in the past about perfection being overrated. But the word perfect does actually have a place in personal growth so long as you don’t take it too literally.
True perfection isn’t really the point though. The big idea is that practicing your craft has to be done with a level of respect for how you’ll perform in reality at all times. No ifs, ands, or buts.
The only way to achieve your maximum performance potential is to train your body and mind to do so over and over… and over.
Let’s assume for a moment that talent is overrated (just like perfection). Sure, there are people who are naturally better at certain things than others – they have talent, that’s indisputable – but no one can achieve great heights without lots and lots of practice. As Malcolm Gladwell said in Outliers, you need 10,000 hours of practice to be great. Or, really, to even have a chance at being great.
Peter Norvig recognized this pattern as well in “Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years”:
Researchers (Bloom (1985), Bryan & Harter (1899), Hayes (1989), Simmon & Chase (1973)) have shown it takes about ten years to develop expertise in any of a wide variety of areas, including chess playing, music composition, telegraph operation, painting, piano playing, swimming, tennis, and research in neuropsychology and topology. The key is deliberative practice: not just doing it again and again, but challenging yourself with a task that is just beyond your current ability, trying it, analyzing your performance while and after doing it, and correcting any mistakes. Then repeat. And repeat again.
Make Your Training Harder Than The Real Thing
No matter what you want to get better at – no matter what your primary objective is -you should always make your training or practice harder than the real thing actually is. While this definitely can prepare your body for whatever it is you’re about to undertake, it’s really best used as a way to convince your mind that you’re ready. This approach is critical to focus because in order to achieve deep and meaningful focus on anything, you can’t have self-doubt permeating your thoughts. You need to be “in it”; you need to not only know that you’re prepared, but you need to know that you’re the most prepared you can possibly be!
This mentality is pervasive in sports where competitors routinely cite how while their opponents are sleeping, they’re training. While their opponents are training, they’re training harder. While their opponents are training harder, they’re training smarter. They need to out-train, out-think, out-practice, out-sleep, and out-diet their opponents. The important thing is to believe you’re doing this. Because if you don’t, you won’t believe you can win or succeed when it matters.
Imagine yourself getting into a boxing ring or starting a race knowing you didn’t train as hard as your opponent. Or stepping into an important meeting knowing that the person you’re presenting to knows more about the material than you do. You’re starting off with a serious disadvantage where it matters most.
Naturally this is a mindset that isn’t limited to sports or athletic events. It’s just as important in the office, in school, in music, or in any pastime where practice or training is essential to long-term success. Put this thinking to use any time you have an important event that involves preparation of some kind. It’s a critical component of fear management – there’s no way to overcome fear of something without having confidence that you’ve done everything you can to prepare. With research, fear can dissipate and your performance can improve.
