If you are like me, you are a serial skill developer. Is this always a good thing? I’m not so sure since often times I progress just enough to be competitive and then move on to the next challenge instead of truly mastering anything. None the less, who needs to be a master when you can have a ton of fun instead.
Let’s just start by saying, YOU DO NOT NEED 10,000 hours to master a skill. Mastering is all semantics anyway.
There are so many variables to learning that some people may need 20,000 hours to still not master a skill and others could surely do it in far less than 10. There are obvious genetic dispositions toward certain acquisitions but the variables we are controlling are what I am concerned with.
Firstly, let’s chat about a concept known as S.A.I.D or Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. What this means is our bodies and minds are continually forming to exactly what we ask of them 100% of the time. There is no time off, we are always forming to our decisions we make. This is scary and exciting all at the same time. Scary because you and only you are responsible for you. Oddly enough, exciting for the exact same reason!
How are you sitting as you read this article? Hopefully it is a powerful and functional position because you are currently forming your present and future structure! Remember adaptation does not take days off…
Human is a verb not a noun-if you look at the same spot on a river it may appear to be the same as it was 10 seconds ago. The fact of the matter is, you are looking at a completely different scene with completely different fluid simply replicating previous patterns. This is the human experience. If you want to change your patterns, your going to have to move some rocks and change the contour of the river bed. This going to take deep, intentional practice and you better be willing sweat!
You see, changing the neural pathways takes a ton of energy. Our brains energy expenditure is said to be comparable to that of a quadricep (leg muscle) running a marathon. Our nerve fibers are continually creating new bridges and being wrapped with a conductive insulation known as myelin which increase the speed of our electrical conductivity by up to 100x. That wrapping is done by little spidery cells called oligodendrocytes and shwann cells which are wrapping this super conductive material depending upon our movement and thought patterns. Have you ever practiced a new skill such as guitar and not been very good at it but tried your damndest to work through the noise. After words, you may noticed being quite hungry. That’s because your brain and body has been performing some serious nervous pathway renovation! It took more than a day to build the Autobahn but once it was done, boy does information fly across that thing! The key is to bask in not knowing, delve head first into “suck” and relish the experience of your brain and body hard at work layering your nerve fibers with this cognition protective conductive insulation. The more myelin you have piled up over your years the longer you will maintain cognitive function into old age. We should still be sharp at 110 years old and then die smiling bombing down a ski mountain naked with a Rubics cube in or pocket. Having accrued larger amounts of myelin has been shown to prevent Alzheimers…
So how do we progress our learning process?
1)Eat fatty food! Our brain is said to store 20%-30% of our cholesterol and is mandatory for high function. Myelin is predominately comprised of fatty acids and if you are missing the raw materials to build the information super highway it will end up looking more like an information single track bike path. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, than an avocado a day keeps the psychiatrist away.
2) Make sure you are practicing the right stuff. Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. Practice also makes permanent so be aware of what you are doing all the time because you are literally always practicing!
Get a coach and save yourself months or years of lost time putzing around with the wrong approach. Mentors are a key to rapid success!
3) Make your practice be bright, fun and memorable. Your brain loves adaptation and will bore quickly with mindless repetition.
4) If you ain’t passionate about it, don’t even get started. It is a laborious process getting through the construction phase of learning a new skill and if it not a labor of love than you should use that time to find a another hobby and save yourself the heart-ache, time and energy.
5) Sleep… A lot! Now Sleep more… Especially between the hours of 10pm-2am (prime time for hormone production). Don’t be afraid of taking some naps too.
Granted too much sleep starts to be counter productive but the fact of the matter is most of us are sleep deprived and we don’t even realize it. Over half of Americans are said to be sleep deprived and this is the most valuable time for skill acquisition and tissue repair. Take your sleep as seriously as you take your training and you will do just fine.
6) Remember, life is not about the destination but the journey. Same goes for skill acquisition. You must revel in every minute detail in order to progress to your full potential as fast as possible. Shoot for the moon and if you miss, you will still be amongst the stars. Perfect the details of your practice with deep intention. It’s ok if it sounds or looks cacophonous at first.
