A client said to me the other day, “Every time I think I crack something, you move the goal posts!”
I explained that the reason I did that was when you practice on autopilot without challenging yourself (ie: you focus on the things you can do effortlessly) then you remain in your comfort zone.
You don’t learn or progress in your comfort zone but tend to consolidate (which is useful, but I’ll explore that in a different post!)
Anders Ericcson, the famed Swedish psychologist, stated “Expert practice is different. It entails considerable, specific & sustained efforts to do something you can’t do well – or even at all.”
He called it “deliberate practice”.
“Deliberate” or “purposeful” practice is about striving for what is just out of reach & not quite making it. It’s about grappling with tasks just beyond current limitations, falling short again & again. It’s not being afraid to step out of that comfort zone, being prepared to accept the inevitability of failures & all that goes with it.
Matthew Syed in his book “Bounce” referred to it as the “Paradox of expert performance”. That is that progress is built upon the foundations of necessary failure. Aspiring champions of all fields will practice with a specific purpose which is to push themselves to the outer limit of their capacity to move them closer to their goals.
A good coach will constantly nudge the outer limits of your ability, as by training purposefully, your mind (& body) are transformed by a sustained process of pushing you beyond your current limitations. This must be done carefully, by striving for a target that is just out of reach but is attainable because of an acute awareness of how the gap may be breached.
Through constant repetition, good coaching practice, concentration & tenacity, this gap will disappear, to be replaced with a new target, just out of reach again! So, whatever your goal no matter how big or small, embrace that gap!!