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When you look at the grace and effortlessness with which Lionel Messi, of Barcelona and Argentina, dribbles with the ball, it is easy to conclude that some are blessed with divine talent, while others are doomed to be overshadowed. Great performance in sport and in any other sphere of life, from business to politics, gives the impression of naturalness, lack of control. In fact, even the greatest heroes know full well that the element of godly inspiration, prodigious abilities, is nothing but a fraction of a large effort on their part, whether within or beyond their conscious control. It was another football deity from Argentina, Diego Maradona, who recounted in one documentary when he and his backyard friends, as kids, used to play at night or in the rain to sharpen their feel of the ball. The next day, their football skills seemed to elevate as a result of pushing the boundaries of their senses. Ten years forward and Diego was lifting the World Cup as the captain of his national team. Was this a product of pure talent or a result of pushing himself hard enough to achieve such heights?
The answer has to be a mixture of both, even though trends come and go as to which ingredient is more prominent. Is it strengthening natural talents that can take you the furthest or eliminating weaknesses so that they can stop being a major impediment to growth? How much effort is enough without running into problems such as stress or distraction? What can be done to nurture talent and prevent people from squandering this precious resource? There is an ongoing debate on which direction leads to better performance.
One safe bet to make is going for whatever wakes up your passions. Strong desire to be somewhere or do something that comes from within, rather than from outside disciplines, is capable of motivating far better than anything else. Driven by vision and heart-felt needs, people can sacrifice more, handle setbacks better and recover from disappointments that those without such support could not tolerate.
Another concept, backed by research as well as observation, is that simple tricks can optimize your results. For example, it is a very good strategy to delay your gratification and do the hardest part first, when your distraction levels are low and your motivation to get things behind you powerful. It is no accident that productivity is at its best in the morning when the prospect of free time is far away, employees are full of energy and focus. It does not take a corporate training expert to convince people that practice makes perfect. From ancient times, the conventional wisdom, uttered for the record by none other than Aristotle has been that we tend to excel in things that we repeat. It does not have to be awful drudgery, but conscious and careful practice can go a long way towards internalizing desirable actions and bringing about top form.
Finally, learning from others is key. Feedback, especially if applied in moderate, non-continuous amounts, can do wonders to support the improvement process. Whether it is by corporate training programs in business or workout camps in sport, people who long to perform can move forward there by leaps and bounds.
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