Practice
If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it”. (Ignacy Jan Paderewski)
I heard this quote when I read The Talent Code and then noticed it’s effect when I wrote my last post. I fell off the wagon again and hadn’t written in ages, partly because assessment tasks were weighing me down, partly because I got sick. But when I went to write again the words didn’t flow well; now writing this is really forced.
The explanation behind this has to do with how the human brain works. Brains are incredibly adaptive and can learn patterns in even the most abstract situations if practiced enough. Writing is a perfect example of this, however if you stop practicing the connections that your brain has made immediately begin to deteriorate.
There are some skills that take forever to lose (Riding a bike) however if your skills become so finely honed that your brain can make sense of the most chaotic of situations (In professional athletes) then all it takes is a single day off for the skill to decline.
The only upside is mental attitude is under your control. If you do something once you will rarely tell yourself that you can’t do it again, even if out of practice.
Strikee 