This is the best way you can become an expert

This is the best way you can become an expertThis is the best way you can become an expertBefore becoming an FBI agent, I thought I could become successful by simply working hard. It got me through school with good grades and into my first job as a fashion buyer. My thinking shifted, however, when I met my first FBI firearms instructor. He barked out constant reminders that if I wanted to become an expert shooter, it would take more than hard work it would take peak performance.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreI felt incredible pressure to perform so I set goals on the outer boundaries of my current abilities. I bet youve pushed yurself to the limit as well the bar for human performance is at an all-time high. You can do things that challenge you to continually grow and improve performance.Lets take a look at the best way you can become an expert1. Stress Is The Place To StartOur mind is like a muscle and responds like the other muscles in ur body. When we lift weights to the point of fatigue, micro-tears in the tissue triggers the stress response. Our body understands that its bedrngnis strong enough to tolerate the stress, and as a response, it builds up the muscle so it can withstand more stress in the future.The best athletes in the world do not adhere to the old adage- no pain, no gain. They alternate rounds of intense workouts with intense times of rest. If the stress is too much, or brdes for too long, they encounter the exhaustion stage. Many of us know this term better as chronic stress. The body no longer signals for repair and explains why chronic stress contributes to so many health problems.In the same way, when we use our brain to the point of fatigue, it doesnt function as normal. Just like a muscle, our mind becomes stronger when we stress it and then allow it to recover.To experience growth and become an expert, we have to push ourselves to the point of resistance. Skill comes from struggle.How To Make It Work For YouIsolate the skill you want to grow.Take on one challenge at a time.Alternate between cycles of stress and cycles of rest.Insert short breaks during your day.Rest and recover.2. Stretch But Within ReasonPsychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly suggests that the best kind of stress is a task thats a bit beyond your sweet spot. You need to stretch yourself to perform to your greatest potential. Exactly how much you need to stretch each time is debatable, but experts generally agree thatthe challenge should be 4% greater than either your skill or your last effort.Increased stress will lead to increased performance- up to a certain degree. When you move beyond the healthy levels of stress, both performance and health will decline.In high doses, stress can kill us. Ironically, it is also fundamental to psychological and physical growth. 4% growth is seen by researchers as the magical tension between challenge and sk ill. Most of us dont notice a 4% increase in performance, and its beneficial because this tension keeps us locked in the present and gives us enough confidence that we can do it again.Our success begins and ends with ourmental toughness. We can become an expert once we find ways to use our mind to do it.How To Make It Work For YouAssess your current level of expertise in the skill youve identified as the one you want to grow.Seek out challenges that just barely move you out of your sweet spot or exceed your ability.Once you feel youre in control, set another goal for yourself. If you feel anxious about the challenge, stay in your sweet spot until you think youre ready to move on to the next step.3. Keep Focused On The Present MomentWe intentionally focus our attention on what is important in our lives and those areas we want to grow.Our consciousness can handle only so much information, so we have selective attention. One key part of the brain which focuses our attention is theRetic ular Activating System (RAS). It filters out important information that needs more attention from the unimportant that can be ignored. Without the RAS filter, we would be over-stimulated and distracted by noises from our environment around us.We cannot 1) focus on our goal and 2) focus our attention on the activity in front of us to achieve the goal. This overstimulates the brain. When we think about our goal, our attention becomes focused on something that will happen in the future. It pulls attention away from where it needs to be in order to focus on the present moment. This explains why so many golfers miss a putt at the end of the final round or why football players drop the ball inches from the finish line.They choke because their attention switched from the present and moved into the future. As a result, they lose their focus. Whatever they choose to focus their attention on will make it past the minds filtering system. The RAS alerts the cerebral, thinking brain of changes i n the environment such asPhysical needs when were hungry, we pay attention to foodChoices for example, if we decide to buy aVolvo(a MUST see video by the way), we see them everywhereNames we notice the names of those whom we loveEmotions if something evokes an emotion in us, it has our attentionContrast we pay more attention to things that are in contrast to other thingsNovelty the brain notices things in our environment that are new experiences for usHow To Make It Work For You While goals are important for the long-term, your brain needs to focus on the present moments activity if you want to become an expert. When you are engaged in the activity that will sharpen your skill or improve your performance, focus only on that activity and stay in the present moment. Dont allow your imagination to transport you to the finish line.4. Maintain Single-Task FocusBusy people tell themselves they need to multi-task to meet the busy challenges of both life and work. But they are getting sucke d into a lie- a big one with serious consequences.Researchindicates that people cannot pay attention to several things simultaneously instead, they switch between at a rapid pace.While there has been a lot of talk about how women can multi-task,there is no science to back up this assertion. In fact, psychologists have only been able to confirm that men are slower than women when switching quickly between tasks.It is possible to engage in several tasks at once but its also clear that accuracy and performance drops off quickly- for both men and women. The reason multi-tasking is not efficient is because the brain works in a serial manner- one thing after another.People can observe multiple activities, but they are not able to pay equal attention to all of them. When people do one thing at a time and devote full attention to that one thing, theyre able to improve their skill set around that one thing.How To Make It Work For You Create a purpose for each work session. Be specific about what you want to learn or perform.Focus all of your attention on that one task and refrain from multi-tasking. As you move toward peak performance and expertise, remember that quality always trumps quantity.5. Deliberate Practice Makes The DifferenceDeliberate practice is a deep concentration and focus on the activity in front of you. It tends to follow a pattern 1) break the process into areas for improvement, 2) identify your weaknesses, 3) test new strategies for each area of improvement, 4) measure your improvement, and 5) integrate what youve learned into the overall process.Most of us already know that experience and expertise do not go hand in hand. We can practice a skill for endless hours but its only those who deliberately practice that truly become peak performers. In any walk of life.Researchershave found that expertise is not about a certain number of hours that is practiced. Practice does not make perfect. Deliberate practice makes perfect.How To Make It Work For You D ont expect deliberate practice to be easy or comfortable. However, if the skill you seek to improve is important to you, you wont find it a drudge, either. You will need to keep focused and concentrate on the task in front of you. If youre serious about deliberate practice, youll be lifelong learner who continues to explore and refine what youve learned.This article first appeared on Larae Quy.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

World Cup viewing drains offices of $3.6 billion in productivity

World Cup viewing drains offices of $3.6 billion in productivityWorld Cup viewing drains offices of $3.6 billion in productivityWe know that the average employee loses six hours of productivity to March Madness, but the FIFA World Cup also has a similar effect.An Office Pulse survey found that watching the World Cup on the job results in a $3.6 billion productivity loss because 49% of those with white-collar jobs plan on watching in the office.Almost 1 in 5 white-collar employees say they like professional soccer, and even though the USA isnt playing this year, 54% say theyre equally as interested, while 46% arent as into it.How much viewers watch the game at workHeres the time breakdown.Less than an hour 30%1-2 hours 24%2-4 hours 11%Thirty-four percent of white-collar workers say theyll view the event in general (not just at work).While the research found that 22% of men were very interested when it comes to catching the game, 33% of men watching said theyd spend one to two hours do ing so in the office.But when asked if FIFA is corrupt, 48% say not particularly, 31% say that its the most corrupt, and 21% claim not to be familiar with the organization. Still, 12% of employees admitted that Russias political probe upped the games appeal for them. The game is being hosted in the country this time around.

7 Ways to Help You Discover Your Dream Career

7 Ways to Help You Discover Your Dream Career7 Ways to Help You Discover Your Dream CareerIt is not easy to discover your dream career. It takes a great deal of looking inwards, being honest with yourself, and finding out what is truly the job of your dreams. Even then, do not be surprised if landing your dream job turns out to be the opposite of what you thought was the job of your dreams. Discover your dream career in the following ways listed below.1. Explore not only what you would like to do, but also what you simply find interestingHave you ever seen a person or a best friend working in a career that you wished you were working in yourself? Sometimes, the way to discover your dream career is to simply try something that looks interesting to you, or even, makes you jealous that someone else can get paid for it. If you have your dream job in sight, then explore it. If something else comes along that sparks your curiosity, explore that one, too. Discover your dream career by going after work you find interesting.2. Take business classes or courses in a field you find interestingWith theaffordability of online education, webinars, and tutorials taking education courses on a new subject is a great way to discover your dream career. Landing your dream job may only be months or a couple of years away if you put in the time to educate yourself. For example, many with no coding ability have gone to schools for coding and started their own businesses, simply because They want to be their own boss. Given education often costs money, if you have your dream job now, it is best to keep it while you pay to discover your dream career.3. Explore what everyone else tells you will be your dream jobDo people tell you that you should be a lawyer because you are great at arguing? Do they ever tell you to be a writer because of what you post on social media? Maybe, they tell you to try being a chef because you cook so well?It is a good idea to look into something that others se e could be your dream job. You may wrestle with the fact that someone else helped you discover your dream career, but that is just pride getting in the way of happiness. If you do something that makes people think, I would pay you for that, look into it. They may see something in you that you did not discover, yet.4. Explore and expand on what you have now in your dream jobWhile working in your dream job, or if you work in a unfulfilling job now, there will be the side tasks you are asked to do that have nothing to do with your job title. For example, if you happen to help people with their computer problems around the amtsstube and discover that you have a knack for setting up systems or procedures...but all you are is a marketing associate. Explore the possibilities of working with computers, project management, or operations management. Do not worry about being a jack-of-all-trades. You can set up a resume for each skill set you have while trying to discover your dream career.5. Explore what your boss will not let you do at workI firmly believe the rise of entrepreneurship in the United States, which means trading in a 40-hour work week for 80 hours, happened because of bosses who made employees stick to assigned tasks. The Internet gave people around the world a chance to educate themselves faster in their free time.So, when they went to work and were stopped by a boss from doing anything mora than assigned job duties they said, Forget what you think. I know I can do more. Although entrepreneurs may work longer hours than most, they discovered dream careers for themselves by exploring what the boss would not let them do.In 2015, a US Labor Statistics survey showed more than 50 million Americans were working as freelancers, earning income outside of the traditional 9-to-5 job.6. Explore what you like to do on weekendsYes, the job of your dreams just might be calling you on weekends. You can discover your dream career by exploring those things you do on week ends. For example, yard work, cleaning up around the house, playing fantasy football, or simply writing a blog.You can discover your dream career by investing time in seeing how these things would translate into landing your dream job. You can start contracting businesses, websites, and even pursue a writing career. Your very hobbies are things you are good at, but to get paid is a different story. Explore how far your hobbies can take you. 7. Come to a decision on what will be your legacyTo discover your dream career, start by answering this question and then writing down your answer somewhereWhen you retire, what will the world remember most about your career?I have met many web entrepreneurs, lawyers, politicians, celebrities etc. over the years. Many had expressed to me, I want to be known as someone who changed the world and made it a better place. This author, at one point, wanted to be remembered for making a particular industry much nicer and fair to everyone. I discovered m y dream career by discovering what I wanted to be my legacy to help people find their dream careers.What will be your legacy? It may just hold the clues to landing your dream job. It takes work and patience, but your legacy is a lifetime commitment, so it is worth the effort.