The seductive path of good enough
Parent Post
Robert Greene
By nature, we humans shrink from anything that seems possibly painful or overtly difficult.
The ability to learn
The ability to learn new skills is the entry ticket for being a knowledge worker. If you can’t learn and adapt, you will eventually stagnate..
But not all of us learn at the same pace, and not all of us reach the same level of mastery.
When we learn any new skill, we learn enough to become competent, and then our brains switch to autopilot. They’re lazy that way. So much of success is just showing up day after day and grinding away at the hard parts in a deep and focused way.
You also need feedback. Sometimes
You also need feedback.
Sometimes the task itself can give you feedback, sometimes you’ll want a coach, and sometimes you can have both.
When you learn to drive, the car gives you instant feedback, but your learning is accelerated by a coach telling you what is happening, why, and how you could handle it.
A base level of
A base level of competence doesn’t get us ahead of anyone or set us apart.
Once we reach some base level of competence, we practice that part over and over and shy away from the parts that might make us better. Stopping here is a hallmark of amateurs.
The only way to get better at a task is through deliberate practice.
Third, push the limits
Third, push the limits of what you can do to understand your boundaries.
This also helps you stay calm if things don’t go as planned.
Finally, rinse and repeat over and over again.
You don’t want to do this level of work with every skill. But if you can identify the ones that give you leverage, doing this work is how you get better.rinse and repeat over and over again.
First, use the mental
First, use the mental model of Galilean Relativity to switch perspectives and see yourself through the eyes of others.
This will allow you to recognize the areas that you need to improve. Recognizing these areas is necessary if you want to improve.
Second, set aside time
Second, set aside time for dedicated focus on the specific area you want to improve.
When you’re really focused on something, you can rapidly get better at it.
At any given time, most of us are only half-focused on what we’re doing. (How many browser tabs are open right now? What’s on your grocery list?) You really need to immerse yourself in the task at hand.