Deliberate Practice

Developing grit in your activities is a combination of several things such as passion, practice, and a feeling a purpose with what you are doing says Angela Duckworth in Grit. When it comes to practice you can’t merely go through the motions. Practice must be deliberate if you want to improve and get to a state of flow at your task. Deliberate practice allows you to “experience the thrill of getting better, and the ecstasy of performing at your best (137).” When you achieve these two aspects you are one step further in developing perseverance at your work.

So what is deliberate practice? Duckworth outlines three elements:

1. Know the science. Why? Because without a reason for your deliberate practice too often you will just cruise through life and not improve. The science includes
   1. A clearly defined stretch goal
   2. Full concentration and effort
   3. Immediate and informative feedback
   4. Repetition with reflection and refinement
2. Make deliberate practice a habit
3. Change the way you experience and think about deliberate practice. If you are just going through the motions without the proper feedback and goals then you are likely to become less motivated. Deliberate work should be rewarding giving you a sense of accomplishment.

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