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Increase the difficulty level
I've just got back from a fantastic week's skiing in Queenstown, New Zealand. If you've never been there, it's really one of the world's most beautiful spots. I got in a good five days skiing, and I think I improved my style quite a bit.
Despite the fact that I've been going skiing since I was quite young, there's been one type of terrain I've never been that good on. That's steep slopes with lots of moguls and mixed snow conditions. Moguls, for those who haven't done a lot of skiing, are the small hills that form in the snow when lots of people ski on the same tracks.
Anyway, after a couple of days getting my ski legs back, I decided to try and conquer that difficult skill. I went to the top of one of these slopes, and skied down as quickly and as in control as I could. As is often the case, I found that my mind and body, once put in an unfamiliar situation, reacted much better than I expected. After a few runs, I was skiing these types of slopes very well.
When I look back at ways I've managed to improve my skills in particular areas over the years, the pattern has been remarkably similar to what I described above. By the simple act of increasing the difficulty level I expose myself to, I'm able to progress much faster than I would otherwise have been.
Of course, dealing with the emotional problems involved with this strategy is hard in itself. Convincing myself to ski quickly down a slope I wasn't that confident on wasn't easy. But once I'd done it, I found it wasn't anywhere near as hard as I expected.
There was a good mini-series I remember watching when I was younger that illustrated this point quite well. If I recall, it was called "The first Olympics" and it traced the American team's training for the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece in 1896.
According to the story, at that time discus throwing wasn't a popular modern sport. It was to be revived from its origins at the Olympics in Ancient Greece for the first modern Olympiad. The American team believed the weight and size of the discus would be the same as during ancient events, so they had one constructed to those dimensions in order to train.
When the team arrived at the actual discus event, they didn't expect to do very well, as their throws hadn't been anywhere near the distance that they'd heard in reports about their competitor's performances. Just before the event, they were surprised to discover that the actual discus to be used was much smaller than they had expected. The dimensions had been changed for the modern event.
Because the American athletes had been training under more difficult circumstances - with a heavier discus - their throwing strength helped them secure the gold medal. By unwittingly increasing the difficulty level, they easily achieved victory.
In anything you aim to improve your talents at, the simple act of upping the difficulty level can really help. Human minds and bodies can surprise us with what they are capable of. It's often what we demand of them that defines their abilities. I often amaze myself with what I'm capable of when dropped in the deep end.
Rather than coasting along in the same old valleys, aim to climb up to the tops of mountains. Read more advanced texts on your topic, compete against someone who's clearly more talented than you, take on a project that scares you with its complexity. This is the way to succeed.
Often it's those who undertake difficult tasks - unsure if their abilities will enable them to complete successfully - who become life's real winners. Join that circle and reap the rewards.
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