By James M. Jackson
I recently had an operation
to stabilize abdominal aortic and iliac artery aneurysms. Part of the solution
to that problem resulted in blocking the artery that provides much of the blood
flow to my right buttock and hip. Fortunately, blood also flows to these areas
from other places. The result is activity that uses those muscles (like walking—don’t
even think about running) leaves those muscles screaming for more oxygen. Pain
is what we call that screaming for O2.
Over the years, many people
have told me I was a pain in the butt. Turns out they were prescient.
While researching how to
improve my situation, I realized there are many similarities between
revascularization (the process of bringing new blood vessels to supply the
oxygen-deprived muscles) and learning new skills.
The purported “10,000-hour
rule” for mastering a skill suggests that to excel, we must spend 10,000 hours
working on that skill. That makes for great headlines but is too simplistic to
benefit us in practice. First, the 10,000 hours was an average. Some people
became extraordinary with many fewer hours, and others took considerably
longer.
Second, it obscures the
factors that determine how and at what rate we improve. What you do matters as
much or more than how long you do it. Consider practicing “Mary Had a Little
Lamb” on the piano for 10,000 hours. Assuming you are still sane, that practice
may make you a master of that piece, but it doesn’t make you a concert pianist.
For tasks that require pure
muscle memory (shooting basketball free throws, carving perfect figures in
Olympic skating competitions (in olden days), or keyboarding without looking),
repeating the same task over and over again can develop it—provided we receive
periodic feedback to spot problems with our form. We need to practice the
correct move, not master a flawed technique.
The most efficient way to natural
revascularization of my butt muscles is to exercise hard enough to be quite
painful, but not so much that the muscles cramp. Then allow the muscles a brief
rest and subject them to another period of stress. Repeat for at least 30
minutes, preferably more. After each session, allow the muscles to rest and
recover. If there are no residual problems the next day, do it all again. If
the exercise becomes “too easy” to
elicit the pain response, increase the interval stressors.
While that process results in
gradual progress, from time-to-time the training results make a significant improvement
jump. In revascularization, the steady process is evidence of the muscles
becoming more efficient at dealing with their decreased oxygen supplies. The
leaps and bounds occur when new and improved artery systems deliver more blood
to the muscles.
If my butt muscles were a
city, the steady improvement would result from the civil engineers figuring out
better traffic light timing, replacing some traffic lights with roundabouts, thereby
allowing cars to more easily move from A to B. The leap occurs when a new
interstate comes online, replacing clogged two-lane roads with four lanes and
higher speed limits.
A similar process occurs
while we master a complex skill, like writing novels. Continuing to write the
same types of stories may incrementally improve our skills. To make significant
leaps, however, we must purposefully stress ourselves with new challenges and give
ourselves recuperation time to allow our bodies and brains to recover. Then one
day, we realize we have grown to a new level of expertise.
Has that been your experience
when learning new complex skills?
* * * * *
James
M. Jackson authors the Niki Undercover Thriller and Seamus McCree series. Full
of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family
relationships, and what happens when they mix. To learn more information about
Jim and his books, check out his website, https://jamesmjackson.com. You
can sign
up for his newsletter (and get to read a free Seamus McCree
short story).
September 16 is the release date for Niki Undercover.
