This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
CHICAGO • Last year I learned that hard work, and not innate talent for a skill, is the key to mastering a difficult task.
In their book, "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise," authors Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool (best known for quantifying the "10,000 hours" estimate for attaining mastery in a field) say that extraordinary performers — be they spelling-bee champions, world-class musicians or record-holding athletes — aren't simply born gifted. They're usually not prodigies or geniuses.
They work really hard to develop themselves and don't just rely on repetition of skill, i.e., by engaging in regular practice. Through what is termed "deliberate practice," future masters very purposefully train sub-skills that will lead to perfecting the actions that lead to attaining ultimate goals.
Ericsson and Pool write that Ray Allen, a 10-time All-Star in the NBA and the greatest three-point shooter in the league's history, blanches when people say he simply has a "shooting touch."
"I've argued this with a lot of people in my life. ... When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, 'Don't undermine the work I've put in every day.' Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee, and ask them. The answer is me."
Similarly, Angela Duckworth writes in her book "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" that it is this quality of persistence through discomfort that makes people stick to their commitments, whether it's to run a marathon, learn a new language or master a musical instrument.
Duckworth quotes author Joyce Carol Oates comparing writing the first draft of a book to "pushing a peanut across a dirty kitchen floor with your nose" and dancer Martha Graham describing dance as "fatigue so great that the body cries even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration. There are daily small deaths."
It was the discomfort part of the equation that made me feel better about how hard it is to learn the piano. I have been struggling with it for about two years now, and understanding that gaining proficiency can be painful was reassuring.
To a point.
But how does one persist through the frustrating, boring repetition of rewiring the brain to read the language of written music and instilling muscle memory of the keyboard into hands and foot?
I may have stumbled onto an answer that will work for aspiring bilinguals, athletes, musicians and other strivers: values. Values like adventure, beauty, courage, creativity, fitness, humor, patience, pleasure or self-development can keep us focused on the long term instead of on the immediate lack of progress or gratification.
In his 2011 book, "The Confidence Gap: A Guide to Overcoming Fear and Self-Doubt," Russ Harris says that when you are working toward a big, scary or tough goal, it helps to focus on the values that underlie the end point.
"When we face major challenges in life, if we move forward guided by our values, we will feel a sense of meaning and purpose. And we will find satisfaction in knowing we are doing what really matters to us," Harris writes. "On the other hand, when we give up and shrink from our challenges, we feel like our lives are slipping away. As a general rule, when we choose to give up, to stop pursuing what is truly important in life, that is usually worse than the alternative of trying and failing."
Harris also says that, "Even when we think a goal is impossible, we can still keep moving toward it. We don't have to believe that we will achieve it; we just have to take action. ... As long as we keep moving forward, every little step counts."
This answers the "What's the point?!" that usually accompanies moving out of one's comfort zone.
I'll never be a concert pianist. But my New Year's resolution is to amp up my practice to daily because I want to someday experience the joy that comes once sounds become actual music.
If you're like me and platitudes like "no pain, no gain" don't motivate you for a payoff that is years down the road, perhaps faith in the inherent value of hard work, persistence and keeping promises to oneself will.
I, for one, am counting on it.
Twitter, @estherjcepeda