By Tom Peterson
These next three posts will be on Repetition, a powerful action in three ways. First, as we repeat something, like a sports move or a piano piece, we move toward mastering it. Second, we can accomplish a giant task with frequent small actions toward the goal. Third, repetition creates habits.
Nothing like doing something over and over to get good at it. But there has to be a bit of stretch each time—even if, simply doing it today is the stretch. To master something, you’ll have to experiment, just as the Wright Brothers did, time and again, before getting that first flight.
If something is important to you, make a commitment to repeatedly spend time on it—every day, every week. Robert Greene in Mastery says,
When it comes to mastering a skill, time is the magic ingredient. Assuming your practice proceeds at a steady level, over days and weeks certain elements of the skill become hardwired. Slowly, the entire skill becomes internalized, part of your nervous system. The mind is no longer mired in the details, but can see the larger picture. It is a miraculous sensation and practice will lead you to that point, no matter the talent level you are born with.
Something You Really Want
In Flow, Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi says for that transformative experience one must be clear about the goals. “Before investing great amounts of energy in a goal, it pays to raise the fundamental questions: Is this something I really want to do? Is it something I enjoy doing? Am I likely to enjoy it in the foreseeable future? Is the price that I—and others—will have to pay worth it?”
He goes on to say,
If goals are well chosen, and if we have the courage to abide by them despite opposition, we shall be so focused on the actions and the events around us that we won’t have the time to be unhappy. And then we shall directly feel a sense of order in the warp and the woof of life that fits every thought and emotion into a harmonious whole.
Let’s say you want to master writing. The most important thing first step is find a way to write regularly. In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron has famously encouraged people to do “Morning Pages,” simply writing long-form three pages every day as a life-changing activity.
If you’re consistent in a habit, like writing, and truly stick with it over time (even if you miss here and there), it becomes more and more automatic. And as we take these frequent acts, we can recognize ways to correct the course along the way.
In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell argued that to master something, spend 10,000 hours on it. While that notion has been questioned recently, there’s still much truth to it. You may not want to be a master pastry chef, you’d simply like to learn to make a great croissant. So we’re not talking about 10,000 hours. Back to repetition: let’s say you commit to 20 stabs at making croissants. You follow recipes, watch videos, ask for help from people who know how. After number 20, you’ll probably be able to make a pretty damned good croissant. And you met your goal, congratulations!
So what do you want to master?
Visit the full Power of Repetition page.
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