Everyone has goals, but what to do when their implementation is not going well and we stop seeing progress? The technique that you will learn in today's episode guarantees clear rules on how to overcome your own stagnation.

Podcast for reading

When I started my third attempt to return to the gym with the goal of losing weight, this time I knew that with a good plan and the right coach, I would gradually notice progress from week to week - and that's exactly what happened. The additional motivation from the coach and customized exercises for me contributed to increased fitness and even better results. However, after over a year, I reached another barrier. Despite regular training, I noticed that I was lifting almost the same weights. Logic told me that the more often and longer we do something, the better we should be at it. In my case, the number of training sessions per week and their quality should translate into more strength. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a myth, and I embarked on further search.

So what determines our ability to make progress?

Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson, a distinguished Conrad Scholar and professor of psychology at Florida State University, during his numerous studies noticed that natural talent or predispositions do not influence progress and development in any field. You may have noticed that when you develop a new skill, you quickly put a lot of effort into the process in order to move on to the stage where you perform the task automatically (whether it's in sports, driving a car, or any other skill). The sufficient level of mastery of a skill is precisely the moment when we stop developing further. However, if we want to master something at a higher level or become an expert in a certain field, we should plan and direct our learning, that is, start learning consciously (Deliberate Practice).

Of course, in theory, it sounds beautiful, but it's not that simple in practice. What does it mean to "consciously seek"? If I didn't change anything, I could train for 5 years and still not be satisfied with my progress. Moreover, Anders noticed in his research that once we have mastered a skill to a satisfactory level, further repetition does not significantly affect our development. The moment when we "get stuck" at something is where learning happens - each time we need to try something slightly beyond our current abilities, something that we perceive as difficulty and challenge - and that's why deliberate practice is often not enjoyable, but rather effortful.

And most importantly, feedback is essential, ongoing monitoring of changes, progress, and identifying areas that require improvement. In my case, it may be related to establishing cooperation with a good coach. Remember, no one should assume 100% success - neither in the game, nor in any other aspect of life - but it's not about rigidly holding onto those results, but knowing what result we actually want to achieve. Nonetheless, lack of knowledge about what we want to do or vague instructions in our mind will quickly lead us to stress and procrastination. As Larry Page, one of the founders of Google, says, "if you set yourself a crazy, ambitious goal and you don't achieve it, you can still achieve something amazing." Every step you take is a lesson. Draw conclusions and strive to eagerly develop your skills.

The perfect method?

Not necessarily, but with it, you see more. Mainly because of the fact that forcing yourself to draw conclusions and evaluate allows you to catch all the barriers that could have escaped you. Thanks to this, you gather various ideas for modifications and improvements, focusing on finding solutions.

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