https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239360
We are taught to fear failure. I was taught to fear failure. Whether it was in school, athletics, or in interpersonal relationships, I always thought failure was the worst thing I could be guilty of. It was something to feel shame over. As I grew older, I realized the only way to be human in this world and to commit to learning a new skill is to fail: endlessly.
According to the article above, the first thing failure does is create "extraordinary change." Once we fail, we feel many things. We reflect on our disappointment, frustration, and sadness. A successful person looks at those feelings and at the situation they failed in. They see what they did wrong and they learned from it. That learning moment and the momentum forward creates the change needed to strengthen their skills.
The second and third items on the list are that failure creates "thick skin" and "keeps ego in check." These can get confusing when learning a new skill. Gaining confidence in a new skill is difficult, but sometimes we get over confident. Failure is the world's way of humbling and putting your current skills into a realistic perspective. The difference between an expert and a novice is the novice's inability to return to their craft from their failure. An expert will development a relationship with failure and understand how it works. They celebrate in failure because they are stronger than the defeated feelings they have. The expert stays humble, feels, learns, and returns to the create.
The fourth item is that failure creates "ah-ha" moments. This means that each failure is a moment for you to unlock new parts of your brain. Access new understandings of yourself. Opportunities to build on what you now know and commit to learning with new eyes. Failure helps you find original ways to make your craft yours and help you understand your own voice within it.
Failure is a cycle. Learning is a circle. In order for me to learn how to spin a staff, write a novel, or teach, I have to accept that I will fail. I have to greet failure as an old familiar friend. I accept I will fail and every time I drop my staff or hit myself, I know that I have started the cycle of growth needed to master my craft. Failure-frustration-acceptance-reflection-try again. Do that endlessly and commit to dancing with failure for it will always be your greatest teacher.
12/5/16 Is 10,000 the wrong number?
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10000-hour-rule-wrong-really-master-skill/
Today I read another article on Gladwell's "10,000 hour" concept. Many are beginning to argue that practice can only make up to, "12% of mastery." So what does that mean?
This means that the idea of "practice making perfect" is actually more like "practice can make us somewhat better at a skill." According to the article linked above, "10,000 hours was not actually a number of hours reached, but an average of the time elites spent practicing. Some practiced for much less than 10,000 hours. Others for over 25,000 hours." What does that mean for me and my staff? I think we can relate this to learning in academics.
I have been told and I do believe in teaching to a student's strengths and using them to help develop other aspects of their intelligence. Whether that means academic or emotional intelligence, everything is connected. When someone leaves my classroom or pool deck, I want you to have learned something about every part of your life and personality. So, how does this connect to the average number of 10,000 hours to master a skill? We spend countless hours in the classroom speaking, writing, and studying. We do this in hopes of turning everyone into well-rounded learners and well-rounded adults. However, people have different strengths. My strength may be communication, but I have weak math skills. The time I spent developing my strengths into mastery has been much shorter than the time I have spent developing my weaknesses. This is where the challenge comes in.
Yes, we have strengths. They are fun to invest in. However, we cannot get discouraged when we hit walls in developing our weaknesses. Some people have gifts that take little to no time to develop, others need to spend more time. The main commonality between those two learners is the fact that they are trying. They are not giving up. I almost admire the students who devote the 25,000 hours needed to succeed. You are the ones who should know that in the face of adversity, you have developed mental stamina. You have developed a strength that will help you in the future.
My learning contact staff is no different. Many moves have come easier to my dominate right hand than to my weaker left. I need both to be successful. I forsee spending less hours on my right than I will on my left, but building my strength on each side is required for mastery. I cannot be discouraged in the face of this challenge. I have to remember that everyone is different and I cannot hold myself to standards that are not made for me. The same goes for my classroom. I cannot hold another student to the same standards if they are not applicable to the student. We need to adapt, change, and dedicate ourselves to our craft. Even if that means, spending more than 25,000 hours to gain mastery.
11/29/16
As I travel through my 10,000 hour journey, I decided to show you all different example of others' success. Today's subject is a musician named Porter Robinson. He is a musician from Chapel Hill, NC. He was always interested in video games, music, and anime. This is important to know because due to his dedication in these interests, he is now making his dreams come true on multiple platforms.
He is a self-taught producer and was given a chance by OWSLA and released his song Spitfire. After securing his involvement with other musicians and music companies, he released his album called Worlds. It is highly influenced by his interests in video games and story concepts. Much of this album can be considered a story and his videos reflect that. This was all released in 2014. Unlike other producers, Porter Robinson insisted on playing much of his music live making him stand out. After that and doing much touring, he hit a creative block.
Instead of giving up, he kept pushing until he met another musician named Madeon. They connected and started working together on a song called Shelter. This is the part where it gets interesting. The song is inspired by an anime that Porter Robinson wrote and wanted to create. So he made connections with A-1 Pictures and did just that! He spent a year traveling between his tour and Japan to create the concept and animation for Shelter. It was released on October 18, 2016.
Porter Robinson is someone who found what he loved and stuck with it. He pushed himself to create his own musical voice and did not compromise on it even if it was different. He transferred his love of video games into his sounds and it made him special. He did not give up when he hit a creative block and was willing to put himself out there when he was inspired to collaborate with Madeon. He had an idea for an animation and he searched for a way to make his art come to life. All of these things show his endurance, strength of character, and dedication to his art. Never let a wall keep you from finding the next door or window you are supposed to open. Find your inspiration and use that fire to keep your dreams alive. Maybe if we are all lucky, we will find our voice and express is as well as Porter Robinson does.
Until then, please take a few minutes to appreciate Shelter: The Animation and think about how you can make your dreams come alive. What will you do with your 10,000 hours?
11/17/16 Time and Pain
According to the author of Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, it takes 10,000 hours to master or "to get good" at something.
http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwell-explains-the-10000-hour-rule-2014-6
I believe that a successful life is defined in different ways. You can measure your success by the relationships you maintain with those around you: family, friends, etc. You can measure your success with your professional life. Lastly, you can measure your success in your own personal growth.
Creating goals for yourself and achieving them on your own is rewarding and fulfilling. However, this success is hard earned. The ability to focus, stay dedicated, and learning to forgive yourself when you fail are lessons learned when spending 10,000 hours to achieve a goal. I have a few of those goals. One of those is to learn to spin fire staff.
After seeing the video below, I went online and learned about contact staff. I made a goal and a promise to myself: "I will commit to the goal of one day being able to spin a fire contact staff." The first thing I did was do some online research. I found that a contact staff should be the height of my feet to my chin. For me, that is 4 feet 7 inches. I then found a balanced juggling staff made of wood to help me learn. After the staff arrived in a large box at my house, I promptly opened it and started spinning...
...Twenty minutes in, I hit myself in the mouth and had a fat lip for 2 weeks.
Time and pain. That is what I have learned makes flow artists great. Time and pain. The afternoons and nights I have given up TV time, seeing friends, and reading. Time and pain. The bruises I have experienced as I learned new tricks. Time and pain. These are the two things that have followed me and taught me strength.
I hope to one day be good enough to spin fire. I know if I can endure 10,000 hours and focus on learning and not the pain, I will one day reach my goal. Until then, watch the video below and consider what it takes to complete your personal goals. Think about what you define as success.
"Focus on the learning, not the pain." Excellent insight and advice. Thanks for this, it's a great post!
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