Repetition, Repetition

Repetition. Repetition is the only way. Its the only way I know how to improve. You can learn from watching or listening to someone, but when it comes time to perform a skill at a level necessary to win, there has to be act of doing behind its merit. Thus, the repeating of certain actions that create a skill become incredibly important. I've heard some say you need 10,000 hours of practice at a skill to possess true mastery of that skill. That's probably right. If you breakdown 10,000 hours over the course of years, it's pretty intense. For example, if you practiced your skill for 4 hours every day of the year, it would take you 7 years to log in 10,000 hours! 7 years to master anything worth mastering, think about that! But before we get distracted with the bigger picture of 10,000 hours, let's start back at ground zero, which is, of course, SHOWING UP. When you show up with the attitude to get better or with the mindset to "be your best", you will naturally be given the opportunity to practice your skill. And with each hour you are afforded to practice, you are able to gain repetition or "reps". Every new repetition allows the brain to reflect back on the reps before and look at how either to correct an action or refine it. Thus, with every rep you are improving. When I was younger, my dad and I played a game every night, called Repetition. The concept of the game was for me to kick the ball past my dad who was protecting the windows. If the ball hit the windows, I would win, which is pretty hilarious in hindsight. This was a great learning experience for me, because I got to feel and watch how the ball came off my foot and learn better each time how power and surface area affected the direction and speed of the ball. Night after night I would kick shots against my dad, and I would get slightly better every night. This went on for months and months at our home, and very shortly I was learning how to kick the ball past him. I started to learn everything associated with making it harder for him to deflect my kick, I learned how to position my body in relation to the ball, where to strike the ball, and from what angle and with what amount of power. When I compiled all these learning points together into a flowing single action, I was able to successfully kick the ball past my dad. This example is no different than the situations that we find at work, school, on teams, and in hobbies. Though we let our mind become bored with the repetitive actions, or worse become distracted and thus don't reach our full potential. Regardless, the fact remains, in order to be successful you have to repeat your actions within your skill and learn from every repetition. This done over time, indeed for 10,000 hours, creates mastery and another tool you can use in chasing success!