THE POWER OF DELIBERATE PRACTICE


Becoming our best in any meaningful area of life requires that we keep getting better where it matters most. Focusing on and addressing our weaknesses isn’t fun or easy for any of us, of course. It’s a lot more comfortable and a lot more convenient to focus on our strengths, and to ignore or overlook those areas that are holding us back. That’s a common approach, one most people take.

“When most people practice,” researcher and psychologist K. Anders Ericsson says, “they focus on the things they already know how to do.” Ericsson, who spent his life and career studying elite performance in areas from medicine to music to sports, concluded through his research that the most powerful form of practice is what he called 'deliberate practice.' “Deliberate practice is different,” he said in a Harvard Business Review article titled ‘The Making of an Expert.’ “It entails considerable, specific, and sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well - or even at all.” Ericsson believed this uncomfortable, inconvenient work is what drives authentic improvement.

Practicing deliberately is tough. It means showing up and practicing on purpose. It’s a focused commitment we’ve made to addressing our areas of weakness, a commitment marked by discipline and intention. Instead of just going through the motions and checking the box for completion, deliberate practice requires us to engage in the work and to pay attention - not only to what we’re doing, but to how we’re doing it, so we can get the feedback we need to learn and improve. It's work that tests us, both mentally and physically. It's work most people attempt to avoid, but work the champion embraces.

The benefit of deliberate practice is that it helps you get the highest return on your work today. It’s the most productive way to practice. The challenge, though, for all of us - even those who are committed to doing what champions do - is that improvement doesn’t come quickly or easily. Some experts use the 1% model to illustrate improvement, that if we really do our best today, if we really practice deliberately, we can get 1% better. But even 1% improvement today is a stretch. The hard truth is, what your best effort today gives you in return barely registers on the growth scale. It's your very best work, for just a tiny speck of improvement. That’s the painful reality of progress.

That reality on its own doesn’t seem like the payoff is worth the investment. But it does highlight the real power of deliberate practice. The real power is in the process. Getting better requires us to zoom in on the discipline and intention it takes to do the hard work we have in front of us today, but it also requires us to zoom out, to see the big picture that contains all our yesterdays and tomorrows, too. When we do that, we start stacking those specks of improvement together, and what we find is more substantial.

One day of deliberate practice might not be noticeable, but a week’s worth might be. Stack a month or two or three of those purposeful days together and now you’re really on to something. A year straight, and what you’ve built is obvious and significant. The power of deliberate practice lies in the compounding effect of the process over time.

With that in mind, consider the long-term trajectory of two people, one who’s committed to this type of deep practice...and one who’s not. If all you focus on is today, then again, the return on their investment probably doesn’t look all that different. But a month or two in a clear gap exists, and after a year, even more. As time goes on, the disciplined, intentional performer continues to create more and more separation from those he or she is competing against.

So the question, ultimately, is how are you approaching your practice today? Are you doing what most people do, and just going through the motions? Are you just checking the box for completion? Or are you committed to doing what champions do? Are you showing up on purpose - focused, engaged, and committed to using your experience today to learn and improve for tomorrow? If you’re serious about becoming your best, you've gotta keep getting better where it matters most. You've gotta tap into the power of deliberate practice.

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