A few weeks ago, I caught myself getting frustrated.
I want to get better at presenting - speaking, facilitating, leading groups. But my progress felt very slow.
And then, after one of the masterclasses, analyzing where I could do better, I realized: I was expecting improvement without giving myself enough practice.
It’s like expecting an athlete to win medals while only training right before competitions.
That’s not how mastery works. Great athletes don’t get great at the big things - they get great at the small things they practice every single day when no one is watching.
It reminded me of that famous “pot study” from a ceramics class.
One group of students was graded on quantity - how many pots they made.
The other group was graded on quality - they just had to make one perfect pot.
At the end of the course, guess which group produced the best pots?
The quantity group.
Because while the “quality” students spent their time theorizing (figuring out the very best way to go about making a pot I presume), the others were practicing - making, failing, fixing, improving, learning.
Reps = Better
So maybe the problem isn’t talent, intelligence, or personality flaws.
Maybe it’s just not enough reps.
Maybe you simply haven’t been in the water long enough to swim well.
And there's another question, have you given yourself enough opportunity for the right kind of reps?
We often judge ourselves, or others, without considering the number of chances we’ve had to actually practice what we are supposed to be getting better at.
But if someone’s never been thrown into the lake, how can we expect them to know how to swim?
So next time you catch yourself saying “I’m not good at that,” pause and ask:
Have I really given myself enough opportunities to get good at it? The right kind of opportunities where growth is the only option?
And if you want to get better at something, anything, don’t look for flaws in your personality.
Look for more practice opportunities.
Then let the reps do their quiet, powerful work.
Over to you dear reader, if you aren’t getting better at something, it’s worth asking yourself, did you give yourself enough chances for consistent practice?
PS We often judge people’s ability by what they did. But a fairer way to assess their ability is to give them the opportunity to work on it and improve. Thank you, Matt Wallaert, for reminding me of that.