An interesting idea from the paper is how low achievers often mistakenly think that "working harder" is all that's needed to move up to the next level.
> Having seen that "more is better" withing local situations, we tend to extrapolate. If I work this hard to get to my level, how hard must Olympic swimmers work?
> It is not by doing increasing amounts of work that one becomes excellent, but rather by changing the kinds of work. Beyond an initial improvement of strength, flexibility and feel, there is little increasing accumulation of speed through sheer volume of swimming. Instead, athletes move up to the top ranks through qualitative jumps: noticeable changes in their techniques, discipline, and attitude, accomplished usually through a change in settings, e.g. joining a new team with a new coach, new friends, etc, who work at a higher level. Without such qualitative jumps, no major improvements will take place.
I made this mistake when I was younger. All I wanted was to be good at drawing. The stock advice given out to budding artists online, and which I ate up at the time, is "draw every day". Just draw. Draw anything. Set a timer and draw what's in front of you. Make it a habit. It's assumed that more quantity is all that's missing. I did this for years and only improved slightly. Then, many years later, I returned to drawing, but with a different approach. This time, I studied other artists and tried to mimic their techniques, and in doing so improved significantly over the course of two months. That experience alone taught me the value of deliberate practice. Unfortunately, most people have become indoctrinated into the School of 10,000 Hours, and it's hard to convince them otherwise.
> Having seen that "more is better" withing local situations, we tend to extrapolate. If I work this hard to get to my level, how hard must Olympic swimmers work?
> It is not by doing increasing amounts of work that one becomes excellent, but rather by changing the kinds of work. Beyond an initial improvement of strength, flexibility and feel, there is little increasing accumulation of speed through sheer volume of swimming. Instead, athletes move up to the top ranks through qualitative jumps: noticeable changes in their techniques, discipline, and attitude, accomplished usually through a change in settings, e.g. joining a new team with a new coach, new friends, etc, who work at a higher level. Without such qualitative jumps, no major improvements will take place.
I made this mistake when I was younger. All I wanted was to be good at drawing. The stock advice given out to budding artists online, and which I ate up at the time, is "draw every day". Just draw. Draw anything. Set a timer and draw what's in front of you. Make it a habit. It's assumed that more quantity is all that's missing. I did this for years and only improved slightly. Then, many years later, I returned to drawing, but with a different approach. This time, I studied other artists and tried to mimic their techniques, and in doing so improved significantly over the course of two months. That experience alone taught me the value of deliberate practice. Unfortunately, most people have become indoctrinated into the School of 10,000 Hours, and it's hard to convince them otherwise.