Hi ,
People are loving our Action TIPS, so highlighting them here. Your thoughts? "'In an
era of human history in which we prize comfort above nearly every other virtue, we have overlooked an important truth: comfort never leads to excellence. What it takes to become great at your craft is practice, but not just any kind of practice- the kind that hurts, stretches and grows you.
This kind of practice, which Ericsson called 'deliberate' and we might consider more appropriately as 'painful,' is extremely difficult. It takes place
over the course of about ten years, or ten thousand hours- incidentally the average length of an apprenticeship. But this is not where the practice ends; it's just where it begins. In other words, you don't clock in ten thousand hours and instantly become an expert. You have to do the right practice.
According to Dan Coyle, "There is a place, right on the edge of your ability, where you learn best and fastest. It's
called the sweet spot. Here's how to find it.
Comfort Zone: Sensations: Ease, effortlessness. You're working, but not reaching or struggling. Percentage of Successful Attempts: 80% and above
Sweet Spot: Sensations: Frustration, difficulty, alertness to errors. You're fully engaged in an intense struggle- as if you're stretching with all your might for a nearly unreachable goal, brushing it with your
fingertips, then reaching again. Percentage of Successful Attempts: 50-80%
Survival Zone: Sensations: Confusion, desperation. You're overmatched: scrambling, thrashing, and guessing. You guess right sometimes, but it's mostly luck. Percentage of Successful Attempts: Below 50%
We need to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone but not so far that we snap. We want to find the sweet
spot.
What is it you aspire to master? Most importantly: How's your practice?
