How do we get better at what we do? What if we’re pretty good already? What if we’re actually very good at what we do?
I once spent a long time trying to figure out how we might get better at the things we do. For a while I thought that reflective practice was the answer. I now don’t believe so – at least not by itself. I think there is huge benefit in writing – journaling, keeping a diary, reflecting on and reflecting in practice. I don’t believe all performance improves in isolation. There’s only so much living in a cave a person can do. Sure, you can practice off stage until you drop, but if you want to get better you have to go on stage and strut your stuff, and get the subsequent feedback – accolades – brickbats – good, bad, indifferent – who cares? In the end it’s all the same. In some cases, if you haven’t been rejected you just haven’t been trying hard enough; in other cases acceptance is a mark of disaster.
What I am inclined to believe is it takes time to build up experience and expertise – five years to earn a living, more time for mastery, for leadership, and for artistry. And all the time, consciously trying to get better, to push out the frontiers, to go out beyond the known places – the safety zones – to explore ideas never thought of before.
Manifesto
04. Every day is an opportunity to cultivate the promise of the future.
09. Every day learn something new.
13. Every day be better than you were the day before.
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