Sports psychologist Jean Côté finds that shortcutting this stage of relaxed, playful interest, discovery, and development has dire consequences. In his research, professional athletes like Rowdy Gaines who, as children, sampled a variety of different sports before committing to one, generally fare much better in the long run. This early breadth of experience helps the young athlete figure out which sport fits better than others. Sampling also provides an opportunity to “cross-train” muscles and skills that will eventually complement more focused training. While athletes who skip this stage often enjoy an early advantage in competition against less specialized peers, Côté finds that they’re more likely to become injured physically and to burn out. We’ll discuss what Bloom calls “the middle years” in the next chapter, on practice. Finally, we’ll plumb “the later years” in chapter 8 when we discuss purpose. For now, what I hope to convey is that experts and beginners have different motivational needs. At the start of an endeavor, we need encouragement and freedom to figure out what we enjoy. We need small wins. We need applause. Yes, we can handle a tincture of criticism and corrective feedback. Yes, we need to practice. But not too much and not too soon. Rush a beginner and you’ll bludgeon their budding interest. It’s very, very hard to get that back once you do.
While it is good to love what we do, and it makes it more likely for us to succeed, you might not necessarily enjoy the process even if you are “chasing your passion”. Sometimes to improve, one needs to work on deliberate things, that might be extremely boring. Say a footballer working on the same muscles everyday to improve their acceleration, or a basketball player shooting the same shot at the exact same location hundreds of times a day.
These processes of deliberate practice are usually not enjoyable and boring, but having the resilience and patience to work it through these hours of practice will help maximise your chances of success.
