Chapter 1 - The Power of Purposeful Practice

Purposeful practice

practice that has well-defined and specific goals, is focused, involves feedback, and requires getting out of ones comfort zone

increase

==Study:==

With 4 months of practice, 2 subjects were able to ______ the number of digits they could remember from 9/11 digits to 13/15 digits

82

==Study:==

The author conducted a study with Steve, who after 2 years of practice was able to remember __ digits

7

The brain has a limit of __ items that it can hold in short-term memory at once

limits

No one has ever found the upper _____ of long-term memory

training, improvement

* Only recently was there an increase in the amount of time that people in different areas devoted to _____, combined with a growing sophistication of training techniques
* This resulted in a steady _____ in the abilities of the performers, even in highly competitive fields

principles

No matter what field you study, the most effective types of practice all follow the same set of general _______

adaptability

The most effective and powerful types of practice in any field work by harnessing the _______ of the human body and brain to create the ability to do things that were previously not possible

additional

Once a person reaches a level of “acceptable” performance and automaticity, the ______ years of practice don’t lead to improvement

deteriorate

In the absence of deliberate efforts to improve, learned automated abilities gradually ______

feedback

You need _____ to identify exactly where and how you are falling short

improve

If you never push yourself beyond your comfort zone, you will never ______

comfort

Ben Franklin played chess but was never good enough to compare to chess best players because he never pushed himself or got out of his ______ zone

differently

Generally, the solution is not “try harder” but rather “try ______”

overcome

You should work with a teacher or coach because they know the sorts of obstacles you’re likely to encounter and can suggest ways to _____ them

limit

It’s surprisingly rare to get clear evidence in any field that a person has reached some immutable ______ on performance

motivation

Meaningful positive feedback is one of the crucial factors in maintaining _____

mental, memory, information

The key to improved mental performance is the development of ____ structures that make it possible to:

* Avoid the limitations of short-term _____
* Deal effectively with large amounts of ______ at once