Natural Talent vs Deep Practice

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There is growing interest in how individual athletes achieve their potential and deliver performance at the highest level and all of the evidence points to deep and deliberate practice over natural talent.

Let’s start by asking what makes a world-champion? Natural talent? Well yes, many top athletes possess natural talent as a useful starting point but a quick look (see below) into the way top athletes train dispels any misconception that natural talent is much of a shortcut to world domination.

On the contrary, evidence shows that the way individuals practice skills and the amount of practice they do largely explains differences between top performers and others.

Practice makes perfect….. but only if you practice well. Many athletes train hard, practice daily, but that’s not enough to perfect skill. No matter how often or for how long you practice there no guarantee that you’ll be improving your skills. 10,000 hours is what is needed to build world class skills, right?

So, the more you practice and the more mistakes you make, the faster you learn and the better you get. It’s not that simple.

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