To achieve success, you need to develop your natural abilities. Each of us is endowed with talent, just not everyone knows how to discover and develop it. Here are some recommendations from a psychologist for developing creativity.
Do not hurry
First, when you do something slowly, you allow your brain to register and track your every action. Thus, the brain has time to track the correctness of the execution of both the entire algorithm and individual steps, and, if necessary, correct them. Secondly, by breaking down a large task into smaller ones, you engage the analytical function of the brain and have the opportunity to concentrate and complete each of the steps more efficiently.
Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, advises: “If you need to memorize a scale or an etude, break them down into several component parts and train each separately first.” By solving individual problems before starting the whole task, you will improve your result.
Do not overdo it
Constant practice hour after hour is effective only if you are focused every minute, and not by inertia perform already automated actions. Studies show that even world-class pianists, famous chess players and athletes practice no more than 3-5 hours a day.
“The stage of intensive practice and immersion in the activity is inevitable, regardless of what exactly you choose to do. But in the next stages, the benefits of such diligence become less and less, ”says Coyle. The length of the enhanced practice phase may vary depending on the individual. But if you stop at it before others, it does not mean at all that you are not committed to your business or that you will never succeed in it.
Don’t be afraid to be wrong
We strive to do our job flawlessly, to achieve the most accurate result. But sometimes, in pursuit of the ideal, we risk missing the most interesting. Remember how many important discoveries were made when the researchers deviated from their course. Columbus discovered America, being fully convinced that he set foot on the shores of India. Fleming received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of penicillin due to his slovenliness and unwashed Petri dishes.
You may not achieve your intended goal, but by allowing yourself a little more freedom both in the actions themselves and in their assessments, in your mistakes and failures, you can discern something special.
“Mistakes help develop talent,” says Coyle. “Every time you accidentally stumble, your brain starts to work hard trying to correct the mistake.” The process of making mistakes and correcting them is very creative in itself and allows you to go beyond the usual limits of your abilities. And that’s where the talent usually hides. Go to the intended goal, but if you suddenly find that you have turned off the path, do not immediately rush back, first look around, perhaps on this road you can discover something new and interesting.
Maintain Interest
“All talent needs a motivational feed and requires an emotional return: passion, dedication,” says Coyle. Research by Dr. Gary Macpherson shows that it is emotional engagement that makes you successful, not innate ability. He asked 157 college music students how long they planned to play their instruments. Those who answered that they planned to do this all their lives showed 4 times higher results than the rest of the students, although they had the same number of practical classes and trainings.
Talent needs passion to develop, refresh it, get inspired by reading, listening and gathering information about your passion.
About the author: Sarah Naish is a psychologist.