Hardwiring: The electrical energy in your brain increases, until it crosses a certain threshold called the action potential. Once crossed, electrons are fired off in one neuron (a node in your network of nerve cells), and start traveling towards the next…How big the layer of protective myelin around your axons is determines how fast and how accurately electrons can go from one neuron to the next, and therefore, how good you are at performing the corresponding skill…More myelin is what turns those paths into streets and the streets into highways. (neuroplasticity)
Deep practice: Reps → mistakes → fix mistakes → repeat
Practice Makes Myelin: Slow practice (methodical, deliberate). Deliberate practice is taxing, pushes us to the point we make a mistake
“struggle isn’t an option it’s a biological requirement”
“If we look at the Brazillian example of "futsal," this shows how struggle helps with growth and development. Futsal is a childhood game played by Brazilian children. It's very similar to football or soccer, except the ball is much smaller and heavier. This game requires higher precision than football, and has a focus on repetition and correction. This focus means that when youngsters grow up, and start playing with a soccer ball, they become masters of the game.”
/ The trouble with recognizing talent, is that we only see it once it's been established. We see the finished product, rather than all of the hard work and practice that's gone into honing skills. A lot of the reason for this is because we only notice people once they've reached their peak. People who rise to greatness have cultivated their skills and developed myelin through hours and hours of deep practice.
You may have heard of the "Bannister Effect" from Steven Kotler's book, The Rise of Superman. The Bannister Effect is what happened after Roger Bannister ran a 4-minute mile back in 1954. At the time, a 4-minute mile was seen as physiologically impossible. However, when the unlikely candidate, Roger Bannister, ran the first 4-minute mile, it changed the landscape of running. The Bannister Effect lit a fire in people, and made them realize that the impossible was possible. For this reason, Sports Illustrated argues this was the most significant sporting accomplishment of the 20th century. Greatness is about thinking about what's possible. And, because we tend to mirror the people around us, when they achieve excellence, this galvanizes us to do the same.
One of the 20th century's leading psychologists, Albert Ellis argued that 'Neurosis is just a high-class word for whining.' Much Freudian-style therapy sought to make us feel better, but the trouble is it didn't make us feel better because it lacked a push towards action. The argument is that the only thing that will genuinely make us feel better, is actually doing something about what we lack. We need to focus on action. There's no use talking about all the things we could become, and all the things we could achieve. So often we make excuses for our failings, or blame a lack of aptitude or talent. We need to stop moaning, start practicing, and believe in the impossible. As the Nike slogan famously says, 'Just Do It!’
We literally need mistakes for the myelin to grow and codify around that mistake
In Renaissance Florence, boys were taken as apprentices in “craft guilds” where, over many years, they learned their craft under the supervision of a master.
Having a master-coach + environment
Need an external cue, an ignition to motivate us to develop a skill over the long term