In my favorite movie, The Matrix, the characters could learn anything by downloading expertise through a computer port in the back of their heads. It took just a few seconds to become an expert in Kung Fu or piloting a helicopter. Think of what we could accomplish if only we had that port in our heads (though I'd prefer a micro USB port over that big black hole they had in The Matrix). Well, in a way, we do have that capability, only it takes longer to download the expertise (but on the upside, we don't have any holes in the back of our head).
Practice.
It's like magic. Practice something enough and you get good at it, almost whether you want to or not. The neural pathways in your brain needed to perform the practiced skill actually undergo a physical change called myelination. The nerve cells along the pathway grow a myelin sheath around them that helps the signals travel faster along the pathway. You have to practice the skill to get the myelin sheath to grow. This means taking the time to practice, repeating the skill over and over, coaxing the myelination along.
Time can be perceived as a big obstacle to practicing. It can be daunting to think that you must spend precious minutes of every day to practice some new skill, knowing that it might be weeks, months or even years before you can reap the fruit of that labor. These requirements can be demotivating and prevent you from even starting the process. I know for myself, when I was younger, I couldn't even imagine putting in the time on a daily basis, and even more, couldn't imagine how I could wait so long for the results to present themselves. But, here is what I have learned about each of these aspects of time with regard to practice.
As to having to wait weeks, months or years for the fruit of your daily practice to ripen, do not give it a moment's thought. This is where the magic of practice really happens. The time will pass and it will do so quite reliably. And I promise that unless you have been locked in prison or have been forced to live under extremely unpleasant circumstances all that time, after it has passed, you will look back and feel that it has done so very quickly. Commit the time each day (or almost every day) and let time go by as it will do anyway. Before you know it, your skill will have grown and you will be able to do things you could never do before. Your slow-motion super power is there waiting for you to use it.
But how to fit in those daily practice sessions? We each make decisions every day about how we will spend our time. For some of those decisions, we don't have much flexibility. We must attend the class at the time it starts. We must be at work when our boss requires it. Then there are other things we do with our time without any thought at all, such as eating or brushing our teeth or taking a shower or getting dressed or driving to work. Some are necessary (eating) and some are just so beneficial (brushing teeth) that we automatically and ungrudgingly make time for them - a little time each day. The key to the daily practice of a new skill is to make it part of your automatic routine, so that you don't even have to think about it or make priority decisions about whether to practice or not. (You may have to make a priority decision once in a while when something unusual occurs in your daily schedule, but for the normal days, the practice should have its place in your schedule.) If you are just so busy that you feel you really don't have time to practice, then commit to only a few minutes each day, even if it is only 20 or even 10 minutes. Or consider practicing only 3 or 4 days a week instead of every day. Once you actually begin to notice your progress, you may find that you can't wait for your practice time slot to come each day so you can push yourself to the next level of accomplishment.
As to having to wait weeks, months or years for the fruit of your daily practice to ripen, do not give it a moment's thought. This is where the magic of practice really happens. The time will pass and it will do so quite reliably. And I promise that unless you have been locked in prison or have been forced to live under extremely unpleasant circumstances all that time, after it has passed, you will look back and feel that it has done so very quickly. Commit the time each day (or almost every day) and let time go by as it will do anyway. Before you know it, your skill will have grown and you will be able to do things you could never do before. Your slow-motion super power is there waiting for you to use it.
But how to fit in those daily practice sessions? We each make decisions every day about how we will spend our time. For some of those decisions, we don't have much flexibility. We must attend the class at the time it starts. We must be at work when our boss requires it. Then there are other things we do with our time without any thought at all, such as eating or brushing our teeth or taking a shower or getting dressed or driving to work. Some are necessary (eating) and some are just so beneficial (brushing teeth) that we automatically and ungrudgingly make time for them - a little time each day. The key to the daily practice of a new skill is to make it part of your automatic routine, so that you don't even have to think about it or make priority decisions about whether to practice or not. (You may have to make a priority decision once in a while when something unusual occurs in your daily schedule, but for the normal days, the practice should have its place in your schedule.) If you are just so busy that you feel you really don't have time to practice, then commit to only a few minutes each day, even if it is only 20 or even 10 minutes. Or consider practicing only 3 or 4 days a week instead of every day. Once you actually begin to notice your progress, you may find that you can't wait for your practice time slot to come each day so you can push yourself to the next level of accomplishment.
And while you're never too old to start learning something new, here's one more piece of advice from someone who didn't discover the magic of practice until well into what is likely the second half of his life. If you practice when you're young, you will reap three extra benefits. The first is that you will likely achieve your goal sooner, as younger brains are in the process of myelinating anyway and I expect do so more readily. The second is that if what you are practicing involves physical activity (as most things requiring practice do), young joints and muscles will more easily adapt to practiced movements. The third is that you will have more years to enjoy the fruits of your labors.
So put on your cape, crank up that super power and get started on that skill you always wished you had.
So put on your cape, crank up that super power and get started on that skill you always wished you had.