I remember a number of apparently separate examples that all led to the same conclusion:
- Mom was telling me about how she learned to sell ... by carefully watching how people responded to what she said ... she was self taught but was offered multiple unsolicited national-level training jobs.
- A retired veterinarian was telling me about how he could see an animal come into the building, and know what was ailing it with 90% accuracy, to the amazement of his less experienced peers ... how did he know?
- I once saw a picture of one of my great dance teachers (who was 76) when she was in a famous company at 20 ... and she really wasn't that good ... how could that be? How did she get better?
And, for myself ... while I had about 2-3 years of really great tango instruction, I've kept getting better and I am vastly better now, ~13 years later, after I stopped "formally" taking class. And yet, I know many people who haven't improved (or worse, have regressed!). How did I learn?
Look at something specific: I think the trick is to pay attention. Not just to large things, but to very small things, such that, in aggregate, you can learn a lot! The problem is that people will try to look at everything. Better to say "what is the distance between the feet?". "What are the hips doing?" "Can I see how my partner's arm tone changes when I pull?". Etc.
Choose to study this one particular item for as long as it takes. Concentrate on this one tiny aspect until you achieve real understanding of what is optimal (or that it appears to be irrelevant). It must not matter if it takes one session or a few months.
The more specific the thing we look at, the more information we get.While not only about this, the following Ted video points to a similar thing:
How do you pick what to look at? I think this is where good teachers are most helpful ... what should you point your mind at? But even if you don't know, can you apply principles of other things you're good at to decide?
3 keys to Amazing Learning I read a book summary of the book titled "The Talent Code". It said there were 3 keys to amazing achievement:
- Great Teachers
- Passion for the subject
- Deep Practice
People will tend to nod, "yes, yes, of course" to all 3 ... but the fascinating thing about this was that it wasn't just practice, but "deep" practice. Don't just repeat, but repeat mindfully. Don't just be mindful, but be mindful, and specific, and detailed.
An example: A small music school in upstate NY produced many amazing musicians. What did they do different? Where other places might spend 3 hours practicing an entire song, they would spend 3 hours practice just a few measures. Be willing to spend time on the details". It's amusing ... people think they practice so they don't have to think about something, and yet, practice is the exact opposite ... it is about doing something with incredible care, listening, mindfulness and awareness.
Do Just This:As an example, many great things can happen if you can be aware of very subtle things. If there were a movie, and a soda can was in the bottom right hand corner of the screen for only a split-second, it would be hard to spot. If you watched only that corner of the screen, repeatedly, in slow motion, then you would be able to easily spot it. Afterwards, speed up, and you can still see it. That is similar to how we might work on our awareness to different technique items in tango. Can you pay attention to only 1 thing? Can you do it in slow motion? Can you repeat this very small thing 5 or 10 times? After that, it will be much easier to sense the subtle, and to skyrocket your learning.
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