On Practice and Improvement

Many of us practice a discipline for many years but have stopped improving. I have been in those situations many times. For example, I have been a regular runner for most of my adult life, but today, I do not run any faster or longer than I was able to 10 years ago. I have always had a yoga mat at home and enjoyed stretching every now and then, but I can’t say I am much more flexible today than I was when I started.

Many people often complain that their progress in a given area has stalled or reached a ‘plateau’ after some time. Of course, there are people whose goal is not to improve on a given skill. Some people do things for the sole joy of doing it every now and then. There are many golf players who simply enjoy a long walk on the golf course and are content (or simply do not care) with the score they attain at the end of the round. The same is true for millions of joggers, guitarists, dancers, and chess players.

There is also another dimension. The word ‘improvement’ means different things to different people. In many creative spheres, such as painting, writing, or playing the piano, it is perhaps wrong to talk about ‘progress,’ as this is deeply based on personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

However, if your goal is to improve on a skill, perhaps there is a framework to consider. The framework I am talking about focuses on treating the skill you are developing seriously, with the intention of becoming a master at it.

Mastering a skill is a noble goal; the rich can’t buy it, the impatient can’t rush it, the privileged can’t inherit it, and nobody can steal it. People at the end of their lives who said they were happiest with their life were the ones who had spent most time surrounded by fascinating work.

How to train like a master? The key is to have a daily practice ritual and fall in love with it. The daily ritual is the highest priority of a master, an unbreakable commitment. In this sacred time, the master slows down, enters a state of flow, where the outside world becomes irrelevant, and their only task is to learn or improve one infinitely small component of the skill at a time. Done continuously, with supreme focus and a very long-term time horizon, without distraction from money or fame, with only one objective: to become a master of one trade.

How long does it take for you to master a skill? It doesn’t matter. Imagine reaching a mountaintop after a long hike through a gorgeous forest. Achieving mastery will feel like taking off your backpack.