Page 132 - The Power to Change Anything

Surpass Your Limits 121

quickly give in and put themselves and thousands of others
at risk.
Eventually Wiwat asked more seasoned sex workers to train
young girls on how to defend their health. They shared actual
scripts that helped them avoid offending the customer while at
the same time holding a firm line. Equally important, the
young women actually practiced the conversation until they
had gained confidence in what they were going to say and how
they would say it. They continued to practice and receive feed-
back until they had mastered their scripts well enough to actu-
ally use them at work. In this particular case, providing detailed
coaching and feedback helped compliance with the strict con-
dom code rise from 14 percent to 90 percent in just a few
years—saving millions of lives.
Many of the profound and persistent problems we face stem
more from a lack of skill (which in turn stems from a lack of
deliberate practice) than from a genetic curse, a lack of courage,
or a character flaw. Self-discipline, long viewed as a character
trait, and elite performance, similarly linked to genetic gifts,
stem from the ability to engage in guided practice of clearly
defined skills. Learn how to practice the right actions, and you
can master everything from withstanding the temptations of
chocolate to holding an awkward discussion with your boss.

PERFECT COMPLEX SKILLS

Let’s return to a point we made earlier. Not all practice is good
practice. That’s why many of the tasks we perform at work and
at home suffer from “arrested development.” With simple tasks
such as typing, driving, golf, and tennis, we reach our highest
level of proficiency after about 50 hours of practice; then our
performance skills become automated. We’re able to execute
them smoothly and with minimal effort, but further develop-
ment stops. We assume we’ve reached our highest performance
level and don’t think to learn new and better methods.