Summary
Peak is a book about a fundamentally new way of thinking about human potential, one that suggests we have far more power than we ever realized to take control of our own lives.
Ericcson provides compelling evidence showing the traditional view that experts are natural talents is completely wrong. An extraordinary man can be cultivated through deliberate practice.
As human can harness the adaptability of the brain and body, the mosT efFectIve APproach FOR anyone in any field TO ImprOVING peRFORMance is deliberate Practice.
Before he expands on the concept of deliberate practice, he brings the idea of purposeful practice. What is purposeful practice? It in a nutshell has four characteristics: well-defined and specific goals, focus, feedback, getting out of one’s comfort zone.
But purposeful practice isn't enough, the key difference between purposeful practice and deliberate practice is mental representation.A mental representation is a mental structure that corresponds to anything that the brain is thinking about. Better mental representations lead to better performance, and it's a virtuous circle.
The thing all mental representations have in common is that they make it possible to process large amounts of information quickly, despite the limitations of short-term memory.The more you study a subject, the more detailed your mental representations of it become, and the better you get at assimilating new information.Moreover, mental representations can help us plan and learn effectively.
what's deliberate practice?
1.Some people have figure out the skills how to do and have established the effective training techniques.
2.Get out of the comfort zone.
3.Set specifical goals→make plans.
4.Full attention and conscious actions.
5.Feedback and modify effort.
6.Mental representation.
7.Build and modify the previous skills→eventually lead to expert performance
Ericsson also teaches us how to get close to deliberate practice when the skills being practiced are not of the appropriate field. And at the end of chapter 4,he points that TEN-THOUSAND-HOUR RULE is not really a rule.
The principles of deliberate practice can be applied in the job and our everyday life, no matter what kind of job or hobby it is. Provided that you have applied the principles appropriately, you can make progress.
Once you reach a plateau,which is the major reason that people in every area stop improving, challenge yourself in different ways to get beyond the plateau.(focus on your training, figure out what stop you move forward exactly , make specific plan , practice).It's your motivation but not the willpower that stop you moving forward.
How to maintain motivation?
1、strengthen the reasons to keep going:
Good planning,develop habits,minimize the influence of the things that distract you.
The SKILL itself can become part of the motivation ( pleasure,pride,identity changes)
A BELIEF that you can succeed.
Social motivation→ approval and admiration of others;join group
2、weaken the reasons to stop
-maintain focus: general physical maintenance (enough sleep,keep health) limit the length of practicesessions to about 1 hour.
-set things up:infinite→ clear steps (concrete and encouraging),so you can see how far you have progressed.
Children generally have some advantages for development of skill, and so starting early is advantageous, but we can begin and continue to develop skill in many fields throughout our lives.Deliberate practice must continue indefinitely in order to maintain skill level.
One of the major reasons that people believe in the power of innate talent is the apparent existence of natural prodigies—people who, like Paganini, seem to display skills unlike anyone else’s or who exhibit expertise with little or no training.But no one can develop extraordinary abilities without intense, extended practice.
Just ask two questions: What is the exact nature of the ability? What sorts of training made it possible? The answer can explain how the expert become top-ranked in his field.
The best performance could not exist without a great deal of practice. There's no talent , it's your deliberate practice that plays a major role in the way toward peak.
感悟
这本书给我最大的收获是,不要给自己设限,不要对自己说不行。以前以为是鸡汤,现在科学实验甩过来的是实锤啊!
看过Peak,大多数成功学的书都不必再看,Peak已经把成功的最佳方法告诉我们了,剩下的就是自己的意愿和行动了。
印象比较深刻的几个点:
1. 关有知识没有用,把知识转化为技能才会进步。即 输入要转为输出。
2. 不走出舒适区你就圈地自萌一辈子吧。
3. “天才”可以培养,好好折腾下一代。
4. 生命有尽头,人生无极限。最早的开始除了过去就是现在,想做的事永远为时不晚。
*因为明后两天执医考试,没时间整理全文,笔记比较糙,我之后会自己再修改总结输出,不能白读了一个月。