“For a 45-minute fight, you got to train hard for 45000 minutes” Mickey Goldmill to Rocky Balboa – Rocky II
Repetition is the Mother of Learning – it’s one of the most widely quoted pearls of wisdom you’ll hear and has been attributed to everyone from St. Thomas Aquinas to Russian, Greek, and even Native American sages. Whether it’s true or not, it does seem to make sense.
Now I have one of my own: Repetition is the Father of Excellence.
A few years ago my dad and my son decided to enjoy our Second Amendment Rights at the rifle range in Frederick, MD. We hadn’t been shooting in about a year and it was pretty evident when we looked at our targets. On the way home, my dad commented on how it took awhile to get “back in the groove.”
Interestingly enough, I watched some of the other shooters on the pistol range and they were hitting the bull’s eye on their first clip of ammunition. Why? Repetition. If you shoot often enough, you’ll easily find your mark.
Ever wonder why cops and Marines spend so much time on the range? Their lives depend on their ability to hit a target, sometimes without the luxury of time to take aim. The repetition enables them to hit the target almost automatically.
It’s not just on the gun range though. Infielders in baseball make tough catches and throws look easy. Basketball players make three-pointers seem routine. Quarterbacks can “thread the needle” on a pass even when under pressure from charging defensive linemen. How do they do it? Repetition.
For most of us though, we’re not athletes or in law enforcement. Our trips to the gun range or basketball court are for fun or fitness. Does that principle still hold true? Absolutely.
Think about a task that you know how to do, but just can’t seem to do well. Repetition might have been how you learned it, but once it was learned, maybe you didn’t do it all that much. This is where the repetition principle fits right back in!
- You know how to give a presentation, but you lack confidence and can’t seem to move past reading PowerPoint slides to your bored audience.
- You know how to deliver employee performance feedback, you’re having trouble getting up the confidence to address low performers.
- You know how to back up the file server, you just keep forgetting some key steps and your system backup isn’t happening correctly.
- You know the right way to bake a cake, you just can’t seem to remember that one elusive ingredient that keeps it from tasting like you bought it at the bakery thrift store.
Repetition is how I developed the confidence to deliver all-day workshops. For a 3-year period, I did multiple 3-day career transition workshops for military folks to audiences that averaged 40 people. It’s one of the reasons I’m confident now when I teach. Do something that you already know how to do lots of times and you’ll get really good at it!
So what do you KNOW how to do but just don’t DO it very well? Think about some ways you can get in the necessary reps to build up your confidence and abilities. It might mean volunteering but the repetition will boost your skills.
Your Mother might have helped you learn it, but your Father will help you do it better!
Try it this week!