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ScottieBee's avatar

Love this perspective for so many reasons. For example, as a 63-year-old learning piano for the first time, I will be reviewing your article weekly to keep me motivated to practice. Linking resistance training (which I have done for 5 decades now) to mental resistance training is such helpful guidance. Many thanks!

Arthur Holmes-Brown's avatar

Hope your still at it. If not, try something that's been working for me. (I'm 60 and finally learning spanish). Commit to 5 minutes a day. Five minutes a day won't move the needle toward mastery but it will condition you to consistently overcome friction. Almost every time you will end up staying beyond the 5 minutes. I have a 45 minute commute home on a train and almost every day I-do-not-want-to-open-the-spanish-text-book. But I do. And over the last 3 months I think maybe twice I have done my 5 minutes and then closed the book and stared out at the passing countyside instead (selah). Every other time I've studied the entire trip.

ScottieBee's avatar

Yes indeed, I'm very committed to learning how to play. Having said this though, your sound advice will be helpful for that 1-2 days/week that I would rather not practice. Thank you for sharing it Arthur. Good luck with your Spanish!

Paul Jun's avatar

That’s incredible! I’m thinking of learning the drums soon.

If the resistance training idea resonates, I also wrote about it in another way, where I simply see creativity as a practice: https://pauljun.substack.com/p/to-be-creative-practice?r=4zhxp

ScottieBee's avatar

I will check it out. Thank you.

Trevor Corbin's avatar

Love this perspective, it's something I've been thinking about and discussing with my team. It makes me think of what Steve Jobs had to say about useful friction (https://vimeo.com/195796089). You can't stay polished without a grind.

Arthur Holmes-Brown's avatar

"AI is level two in this maze—the three-headed sphinx whispering promises and threats simultaneously" - I like this image. When I try to explain my relationship with AI I tend to say that I treat it like a dragon - bridle it and ride on its back but don't stare long into its eyes.

Spencer Thomas's avatar

I read atomic habits each year for this same reason. Compound compound compound. Thanks for this!

Zach Downey's avatar

Excellent. Thanks for this.