Practice Is Boring

There was no schooling in medieval times. Apprenticeship was the norm. If you wanted to become a blacksmith, you found one near you and apprenticed under him. If you wanted to make clothes you had to work under a seamstress. To learn to bake bread you went in search of a baker and work under them.

People learned by watching masters, mimicking their actions, and performing countless repetitions. To improve in their craft, they had to do the same thing, over and over again. To the point where it becomes mind numbingly boring.

The same is true today with any skill you want to get better at. If you want to improve at something, you need to practice. Practice deliberately. But still practice.  You need to form the neural connections that will allow you to form tacit knowledge. Or in simple terms, the action must become second nature.

You need to drill the same thing relentlessly. Pianists practice the same twelve major scales thousands of times. Writers often work on a draft, edit and re-write multiple times. Martial arts practitioners drill the same basic movements thousands of times, to the point where they can perform them without thinking. Writing good code is similar to writing a novel, you write, edit and re-write.

By practicing so much, the actions become second nature. When it is that intuitive, you can observe yourself performing the action. You can correct mistakes. Create your own feedback loop.

But most people are unable to achieve mastery because they can't push through the boredom. Boredom is a test. It tests two things.

First, it tests our determination. Do you care enough to push through the monotony? Have you built calluses around your brain, as David Goggins says, so you can push through this? Are you able to pass the marshmallow test, by showing up and delaying gratification instead of being diverted to the next novel thing?

Second, it tests our ego. Not even experts can escape boredom, and if they are still performing basic actions, what makes you think you can skip it? Have you prematurely accepted you are good at a particular thing before you actually are? How you do anything is how you do everything is what the Stoics say. If you half-ass basic drills then can you really give your all when it comes time to perform? Sweat in training so that you don't bleed in battle the saying goes.

There is only one way to build rock-solid foundations. Deliberate practice. Often boring. In a world of novelty and abundance, showing up and pushing through boredom will differentiate you from the rest.

What I've Been Consuming This Week:

I've read Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday. Excellent book. Discipline is the most important virtue anyone can and should learn. There are a lot of good stories of notable people displaying the virtue, or the lack of it. Show up. Be strict with yourself. Be tolerant with others. Achieve gravity without airs.

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