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Play with the big boys and girls
Tuesday, 30 May 2006
I grew up mostly in Canberra, which isn’t far from Australia’s main ski fields. Like many Canberra kids, I used to go skiing in winter. It was always just a recreational activity for me, and I never put in too much effort into getting lessons, joining squads or anything like that. Because of this, years could go by where I’d be skiing regularly, but not really improving much.
One weekend, I met a couple of other kids who took their skiing much more seriously. They trained regularly and spend more time honing their skills than me. They were also a couple of years older. They invited me out for the day with them, and boy were they good skiers.
They’d race down all the most difficult tracks at top speed, but always remain in complete control. They’d tackle all the jumps and often do tricks over them. I did my best to keep up, but they usually had to wait for me at the bottom.
I was determined not to show myself as incompetent, so I made a real effort to ski as well as them. I watched their technique carefully and pushed myself to try harder.
In that one day, I improved more than I probably had in the previous three years. Simply by spending time with people who were much better than me, and trying to keep up with them, I forced myself to improve.
Almost any time I’ve really improved my skills in any area, it’s been under similar circumstances. I’ve been thrown in with people who are clearly superior to me at that activity, and had to do my best in struggling to keep up.
If you’re prepared to put up with the feelings of incompetence and humiliation that spending time with your betters can create, this is a great way of improving your skills.
It always amazes me how much more capable I can be than I thought, if I’m simply challenged. When I first moved into my IT career, for example, I had no idea just how challenging computer work could be. I mostly thought it was about learning one or two things really well and that was it.
I found myself in a department of very competent people who had high-level skills in multiple disciplines. Just seeing what other people had achieved in building up their capabilities was a strong lesson in what I too was probably capable of.
Spending time trying to compete against those who are way ahead of you can be a bit of a baptism of fire. But you’re guaranteed to learn quickly. It can also be great for “toughening up” your skills.
In whatever area you desire to improve yourself in, try to get in with a group of people who are much better than you. Put up with the feelings of inadequacy and make a real effort to keep up with them.
Follow this strategy, and you’ll probably soon find that you too can count yourself among the ranks of the excellent.
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