Practicing Perfectly

Very interesting concept courtesy of Daniel Coyle, from his book The Talent Code:

“Deep practice is built on a paradox: struggling in certain targeted ways – operating at the edges of your ability, where you make mistakes – makes you smarter. Or to put it a slightly different way, experiences where you’re forced to slow down, make errors, and correct them – as you would if you were walking up an ice-covered hill, slipping and stumbling as you go – end up making you swift and graceful without realizing it.”

I fear that often times we do not succeed because we are not willing to fail, but success is built not upon practice, but upon learning through your practice that which you do better. Life is like that – our toughest experiences bring us the most profound lessons.

What experiences can you think of where you learned the hard way, but it made you a better professional?

In what areas could you push yourself to get stronger, even if it means failing?