😩 Working Hard and Getting Nowhere? Good

One of our students is a keen golfer.

He loves the sport, but had grown frustrated over the past few years.

He had hit a plateau and was not getting any better at the sport.

It is a plateau that many of you will be familiar with.

When we start learning something we often make quick progress.

For each unit of time, effort or energy we invest, we get a good return.

But then, the returns on that investment become less over time.

Until one day when you find yourself putting in effort with the feeling that you’re staying in the same place.

You have hit the plateau.

The human brain expects effort and reward to be linked.

So when more effort doesn’t result in more progress, one can feel frustrated.

The problem is learning more complex skills doesn’t work like that.

Often the improvements aren’t as noticible, or the feedback you received disappears.

In fact researchers describe learning as being less like a straight line and more like a staircase.

You collect lots of small pieces of information.

Nothing seems to happen.

Then eventually the brain connects them together and a new level of understanding appears.

Often quickly.

This was the same with our golf loving student.

His years of frustrations have been replaced with hitting the ball farther than ever before.

But this wouldn’t have happened had he not continued without seeing results.

So next time you feel you’re not making progress.

Keep going.

The plateau won’t last for ever.

Keep learning,

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