Practice Doesn't Make Perfect
Only perfect practice makes perfect
Think. This week I’m thinking about getting better.
I’ve talked a lot about skill development and building good habits, and hopefully, you have picked one to work on.
One of the biggest reasons that new habits don’t stick is that we don’t see results as quickly as we would like. Although we were on the right path, we quit before we get to our destination.
I’ve been going to the gym for two weeks, but I don’t have six-pack.
I’ve been running every day, but it still hurts.
I’ve been practicing the guitar for a month and still can’t play an A sharp.
It doesn’t matter what the skill is: riding a unicycle, juggling, or shooting a pistol (Don’t try combining these three-trust me). When we begin learning a new skill, we predictably suck at it and want to quit.
As you gain experience you may even feel that you are getting worse. This happens when you begin gaining awareness and noticing mistakes earlier and earlier.
This always reminds me of the quote by Adlai Stevenson that I have shared before, “On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting died.”
Once you fight through the valley of despair you will hit a period of exponential improvement. Most just don’t stick around long enough to make it there.
When we learn a new skill we go through four stages
Unconscious incompetence
Conscious incompetence
Conscious competence
Unconscious competence
The best example of this journey is driving a car.
When I was little, I wanted so badly to drive. I watched my dad drive and it looked super cool and easy.
I was in a state of unconscious incompetence. I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
The first time I got behind the wheel I immediately shifted (pun intended) to conscious incompetence. I had no idea how to manipulate the gas, brake, stay in my lane, check mirrors, pay attention to road signs, etc.
With practice, I became consciously competent. I could drive safely but only if my mind was completely focused on the task.
Hands at 10 and 2, checking mirrors, thinking through the process of changing lanes or making a turn.
Now I drive in a state of unconscious competence. Most days I drive to work deep in thought and have no real memory of the journey.
This does not mean that I am not paying attention, but that I have handed over responsibility for driving to the subconscious.
The subconscious can drive very well as long as conditions are normal, but if it is raining buckets, or I am trying to find a building in an unfamiliar city, the conscious mind takes over.
When this happens, we tell passengers to quiet down, end a phone call, or turn the music down so that we can concentrate.
We do this to limit distractions because as much as we love to talk about multi-tasking unless one task is being performed by the subconscious, we can’t multitask, we can just do several things badly.
What really happens is called task switching, moving rapidly from one task to another. So while you practice your new skill, if you find you are not progressing at the pace you want, make sure that you are fully committed and focused on the task.
If you are focused you will eventually see the jump into competence, as long as you don’t quit.
P.S. Nobody likes a quitter.
Read. Across the Fence - The Secret War In Vietnam By John Stryker Meyer
This week I had the opportunity to reconnect with John Stryker Meyer and watch an auditorium full of special operations Marines listen in rapt attention for hours to the stories of his operations in the Military Assistance Command Vietnam-Studies and Observations Group (MAC V SOG). In keeping with this week’s theme, one of the major takeaways for me is that professionals always do the little things well- Small hinges swing big doors.
Whether you are planning to start front squatting in the gym or launch a patrol across the border into Laos, practice, prepare, rehearse, and inspect what you expect.
I hope you will pick up a copy of this or one of John’s other books.
He is also a frequent guest on Jocko’s podcast, and host of his own SOG Cast. Please check them out. These stories need to be both told and heard.
Write.
I recently joined the amazing crew of the Lethal Minds Journal as a senior editor. LMJ is a veteran-created art, culture, and foreign and military affairs media publication.
They publish art and writing by veterans only, so if you are a veteran with any interest in writing anything from reporting to personal stories to fiction to poetry, contact us at our email lethalmindsjournal@gmail.com or on Instagram at lethal.minds.journal and join the community.
And even if you aren’t a veteran, we are right here on Substack, so please check us out.
Repeat. Words of wisdom from those who said it best.
“Everybody wants to be recon until it’s time to do recon shit.” ~ Every Recon Marine ever.
“There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success.” ~ Phil Knight
"Learning occurs after repetitive, demoralizing failure" ~ Pat Rodgers
'You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.' ~ Carl Gustav Jung
Thanks for reading. See you next Thursday!
.... said every Recon Marine ever!
Love that Stevenson quote