Have you wanted to learn how to play violin before? Or how to do ballet? Or ways to make competent debates?
The endeavor and hour load are factors that deter many people from taking up a brand new expertise or a leisure pursuit. At this point, micromastery can be our supporter.
The purpose of micromastery is to get rid of the lack of motivation that prevents accomplishment. Micromastery motivates people to divide the aim into tiny and manageable phases and concentrate on a particular aptitude before stepping into the subsequent one. We feel like we have achieved the business at every level until we get the greater aim done.
Robert Twigger draws six stages, which you can track straightforwardly, to fire you up on the road to micro-master any kind of ability or work that you want to run after. He goes further than that by demonstrating how this technique can be put into practice with tangible instances.
Throughout the chapters below, you shall get knowledge about
- six stages of micro mastering to achieve in surfing
- why micro mastery’s benefits are more profitable for your brain; and
- rub-pat barrier.
Chapter 1 – We and our brains maintain fitness thanks to the support of micro mastery.
Learning things has been critical for us to endure in life since our prehistoric ancestors first walked the world on two legs. For generations, they have had to familiarize themselves with the ways of survival in the conditions they live in. The older generation passes this knowledge on to the younger ones, and it continues like this for centuries. A prerequisite for living and overcoming the hardships we face is that we must first educate our minds on the ways of receiving and comprehending information.
To micromaster something is doing brain gymnastics. If you deprive your brain, which is in a constant process of change, of loading it with knowledge and skills and therefore depriving it of workout, the nerve tracts that enable you to do things will not be formed. If you prevent your nerve tracts from getting stronger by not running them, you may harm your memory.
For instance, consider a phone number you have memorized quite well but later slipped your mind. Because you don’t call that number much anymore, the nerve tract connecting the number to your memory is damaged.
Micromastering, which concentrates on learning little by little but rapidly, is an excellent method of training the mind routinely, providing it a neural quick start and stimulating its improvement.
This makes it easier to lead a polymathic life, which means one’s constant learning of various kinds of abilities. The reason this kind of lifestyle is awesome is that it is beneficial for your brain. Living in automatic monotony, not confronting ourselves through several types of formidable stimulants, and giving up on educating ourselves will destroy our cognitive performance. Over the years, this can cause senescence.
Nevertheless, when using micromastery, our brains are nourished by diverse inputs relating to several physiological senses which makes it fit.
Most neurons in our brains are multisensory because they are engaged simultaneously with input from multiple senses. As the number of senses used increases, the strength of synapses increases and thus we learn more efficiently.
For example, when studying USA history for a test, watching a video on the relevant subject rather than reading a textbook over and over again will increase your chances of not forgetting your lecture notes. This stems from the video’s aid to your brain in establishing firmer links by giving you not only visual but also auditory stimulants.
You have just learned the scientific background of micromastery, so it is time to discuss its inner workings.
Chapter 2 – Entry trick, rub-pat barrier, and background support are the first three of six components of micro mastery.
First of all, all micromasteries have an ingenious plan of an entry trick that enables your productivity to be accelerated and gives a payoff instantly. We can give an example of the arrangement of stones when they are placed on top of each other. Having stones with three raised protrusions in a triangular form close together may be the entry trick on this occasion. These protrusions are going to make a tiny podium that another stone can straightforwardly place on top of and remain there.
Another thing is that all micromasteries have a rub-pat barrier, which is a wall that emerges when two necessary abilities are not compatible with each other. It takes its name from the game of rubbing the belly and stroking the head at the same time. When you try it yourself, you will realize that it is hard at first, and so a hurdle.
Proceeding with the stone equalizing instance we have mentioned above, picturing the form of the tower in your mind and determining the ways of balancing the stones at the same time are two qualities you should harmonize. Suppose you notice that although five stones in your hand are in excellent form for pocketing, the third stone lacks protrusions that would stabilize another one placed on top of it.
To jump over this wall, it is imperative to concentrate on every ability one by one, and in the end, it will become more straightforward to do both at once.
The third component in micromastering is background support, which removes myriad impediments in your work. Think about what shall aid you in being victorious at work. Question whether you have the proper background to learn about this new ability or task. Can you spare time? How can you spare time for this task?
To make this case more tangible, we need to take a glance at the illustration. Think that you desire to know about the ways of sketching excellent circles with a traditional Japanese drawing method, in which you make circles with a single or maximum of two strokes (s) of your brush. A quality pen, which can be a pen with a brush-like fibrous point or felt-tip pen, or another type of pen that enables you to make smooth strokes with your brush and renders you satisfied to utilize it, shall aid you in accomplishing this ability.
Thus, the components mentioned above are the first three of six. In the following chapters, we are going to see the last three.
Chapter 3 – Micro mastery’s remaining components are payoff, repetition, and experimentation.
Have you ever worked on a breathtaking and heart-fluttering ability, but at some point, you give up?
This and similar situations demonstrate the necessity of having a payoff that shall give you an incentive to strive. The desire to not quit depends on the feeling of accomplishment created by sensing that you are making progress in skill.
It is substantial for the payoff to be attainable and clear to keep going. This is the reason why it is more profitable to be able to make a full-fledged omelet than to directly learn all the pivotal requirements to be an expert cook. Mastering how to make a perfect omelet shall fill you with a feeling of accomplishment and encourage you to keep adding to your knowledge.
Repetition is another component of micromastery. A continuous repeat of a micromastery enables you to realize that you can make more progress in each recurrence, and thus your morale tanks will be fuller.
To advance in drawing, Robert Twigger made it his duty to draw every single cup of coffee he drank in every cafe he went to. That method, which was straightforward to practice, was also effortless to do again. He increased his motivation with each new drawing by seriously drawing all coffee cups and plates, even if he would only make rapid sketches when he did not have much time.
Making experiments is the sixth and ultimate component of micromastery. If you experiment, you can explore the ability or work you are working on and so hinder it from turning into dull. Moreover, it keeps your interest fresh and so it aids you in increasing your passion to learn more and engage in your current work.
The J-stroke performed while steering the canoe from the rear side was another skill Robert wanted to gain micro mastery. Initially, he made an effort to grasp the procedures by reading them in a book but was unsuccessful. Later, a professional’s suggestion that he should look into other strokes became a turning point for him.
That motivation led Robert to try other strokes such as L and C. At last, his sufficient improvement enabled him to try the J-stroke again and be adept at it.
As you currently know the micromastery’s texture, you are ready to turn it to good use.
Chapter 4 – Each of the six components above is necessary to gain micro mastery in surfing.
Have you ever considered challenging the waves on a surfboard? Come on then, we give you a briefing on the ways that make you achieve micromastery in surfing.
To begin with, rehearsing the transition from lying to standing is the entry trick in this sport. In this, you lie on your stomach on the floor and then quickly get up and rise on the board with your feet.
While you are lying on the surface, bend your back to make your abdomen continue to remain on the ground and then stand upright on the board immediately. Have your body at an angle of about 45 degrees to the right or left and ensure that you are looking ahead with your front foot collimating with your shoulder. Following a couple of attempts, you can repeat these movements on a more unstable surface such as a bed.
In the second place, the rub-pat barrier pertains to synchronizing the surfboard’s force moving ahead on the sea surface with your push upwards. Standing up prematurely will cause you to be unable to balance yourself. However, if it is overdue, you won’t direct the surfboard. The solution is to continue working on these two abilities, which will ultimately enable you to become proficient in both at the same time.
The background support is the third one. To achieve micro mastery in surfing, you should be equipped with essential fittings, with the inclusion of a neoprene suit that covers your entire body, unless you are fond of cool water. Protecting your body from the cold will extend your surfing time.
The fourth one is the immediate payoff which includes your amazing voyages. People surf all over the Earth, even in countries as dissimilar as Norway and Angola. This will eliminate the monotony of daily life and take you on a fun quest to different beaches you have never been to before.
The repetition is the fifth and a straightforward one since surfing is quite habit-forming. Surfing with some friends makes repetition much more pleasant and aids you keep doing it in the future. It is not important how long you repeat it if you don’t stop doing it.
Lastly, you should make an effort to experiment with surfing. When surfing was invented, two types of it, paddling on the board and surfing with the entire body – which involves the transformation from lying to standing as we have discussed above, were created.
You can try these two at the same time since there is not a single proper method for this sport.
Chapter 5 – Let three entry tricks make you attain micro mastery in homemade bread making.
In case neither you think you can acquire skills in surfing nor you can go to the seaside, you may want to master making homemade bread via micro mastering, right? Three instances about making bread in this chapter demonstrate in what ways the entry tricks are useful for quickly entering the path of micro mastery of an ability.
The primary entry trick is to devote all day to making bread. Baking bread is not an avocation that can be done in a short time and a lack of enough hours will certainly ruin your baking play. Thus, you should give yourself enough time to get both the time and the dough ready for baking. You have no intention to sacrifice quality since the outcome will be worse.
Another entry trick is not to keep the dough dry. To prevent the dough from sticking to their hands, most people flour their hands and the area where they knead the dough and put more flour into it. Nevertheless, this causes the opposite of what is wanted, it prevents the dough from being light and makes it harder to bake. Instead, you need to add a little olive oil to the kneading surface and to your hands to reduce gumminess and avoid making the dough heavy.
The third one is making bread with quality dry yeast, flour, and warm water. For instance, you can blend Canadian flour, which is quite dense and natural, equally with regular pastry flour, or use it alone.
In the meantime, fresh yeast is much harder to manage than a dry one, it is ideal for newbies to use the latter. When you mix all the ingredients, you should knead the dough for about 10 minutes, which refers to pounding and stretching it by pulling for 10 minutes.
To control whether you have kneaded it as much as necessary, tear off a tiny bit and pull it gently. If it flexes so long that it looks nearly transparent, it is now suitable for proofing, and we shall find out more about that in the ultimate chapter.
Chapter 6 – In making bread, you should acquire proper tools, taste the final product, repeat baking, and do further experiments, not just keep an eye on duration and heat.
Five stages follow the entry trick in baking bread through micromastering.
The rub-pat barrier is the second stage. In such a situation, the balance between duration and heat throughout the proofing means the moment dough swells because of yeast before baking it in the oven.
The balance between duration and heat is substantial since more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit shall kill the yeast when the dough is left in the open. The bread shall become tastier should the heat be high, whereas the proofing time of the dough may be prolonged should the heat below.
If you want to balance the baking time and heat properly, increase your oven’s heat to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, turn it off, and then insert the dough in it for proofing. The heat left will transfer to the dough and its bowl, and the heat of the dough will be optimized to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. You will know that the dough is fully risen when your fingers enter it, forming an alcove, and then it rises slightly again.
After this, it’s time to knead, which will take roughly 10 minutes, followed by re-proofing the dough on the baking tray. If you do it this way, your bread will be 150-200 percent larger.
Another component of micromastery in making bread is background support. Thus, you need not only quality flour but also tools suitable for this process. These are scales, a flat area for kneading the dough, etc. Choose equipment that is simplest in use without any compromise in terms of standards.
The immediate payoff is the fourth stage which involves trying a warm and fresh batch on such an occasion. Wouldn’t everyone opt to eat crisp, do-it-yourself bread instead of packaged supermarket bread?
The subsequent component, repetition, can straightforwardly be made into a habit you follow each week through bread making. Make sure you have the essential ingredients in your kitchen so you are not deprived of seven days of making bread.
The experimentation is the final component that is suitable for baking with no doubt. In addition to the distinct kinds of ingredients that can be added, simply consider every single amount you can add from each ingredient. You can try adjusting the proofing duration, adding various other savors, or enriching your next bread with olives.
Thus, at this moment, your knowledge of micro mastery’s fundamental stages makes you equipped to acquire a new ability of your liking (maybe baking, surfing, or another activity apart from these).
Micromastery: Learn Small, Learn Fast, and Find the Hidden Path to Happiness by Robert Twigger Book Review
Acquiring new experiences and skills can be hard from time to time and can discourage us from adhering to them. This is the reason behind micromastery’s technique of putting minor things into our minds rapidly and paving the way to success in a field step by step is far more productive. The entry trick, the rub-pat barrier, the background support, the immediate payoff, the repetition, and the experimentation are six principal components of micromastery in something.
Sketch excellent circles.
Sketching circles is the first necessary thing to do to be an advanced-level drawer. Manage your time and correctness up to the time that you can come up with excellent orb-shaped circles rapidly and straightforwardly. Hold a fine pen and continue drawing till you make it correctly. Then you may begin to make your circles more elaborate and bring forth a few round patterns.
