WEBVTT - Introduce new constraints

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to introduce new constraints. If you are trying

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<v Speaker 1>to change bad habits or create new breakthroughs, a new

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<v Speaker 1>constraint can force you to think in new ways. Today's tip,

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<v Speaker 1>like some others this week, comes from Scott H. Young's

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<v Speaker 1>new book, Get Better at Anything. This book shares strategies

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<v Speaker 1>for how people actually learn and improve. In his book,

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<v Speaker 1>Young shares the story of how Tiger Woods, already a

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<v Speaker 1>breakthrough golf star, deliberately tried to change his golf swing.

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<v Speaker 1>He believed his swing had some weaknesses, and so eventually

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<v Speaker 1>he refused to use the old swing. He didn't play

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<v Speaker 1>as well as he might have for a while, but

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<v Speaker 1>eventually he came back. Young writes that old habits of

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<v Speaker 1>thinking can exert a gravity on your performance. You fall

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<v Speaker 1>back into routines even if you're trying to do something original.

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<v Speaker 1>Young suggests that you can prevent that backsliding by changing

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<v Speaker 1>the task constraints, so performing the skill in the old

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<v Speaker 1>way is impossible. So, for example, if you find your

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<v Speaker 1>fiction to be boringly autobiographical, you can decide that your

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<v Speaker 1>next main character has to be someone so different from

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<v Speaker 1>you that it can't possibly be you. For instance, you

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<v Speaker 1>can write about someone who has a different gender. That

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<v Speaker 1>is one way to get out of your own head.

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<v Speaker 1>Or perhaps you're a tennis player looking to improve hitting

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<v Speaker 1>a tennis shot using any undersized racket face forces you

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<v Speaker 1>to hit balls in the center, Young rights. Or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>a painter decides to paint without using any color, so

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<v Speaker 1>he is forced to focus on light and shadow. I

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<v Speaker 1>am sure you can think of various ways that a

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<v Speaker 1>constraint can force an improvement in performance. Maybe one team

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<v Speaker 1>member always leads your presentations and she does a great job.

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<v Speaker 1>Challenge your team to give a major pitch while she

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<v Speaker 1>is on vacation. If nothing else, it will force people

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<v Speaker 1>to step up. If you normally speak with PowerPoint, try

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<v Speaker 1>speaking without PowerPoint? How does that change how you address

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<v Speaker 1>the audience. Changing the way you perform is challenging. Simply

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<v Speaker 1>focusing on what you are doing wrong can lead to

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<v Speaker 1>obsession and make it hard to function at a high level.

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<v Speaker 1>A constraint, on the other hand, can push a performer

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<v Speaker 1>away from their bad habits without focusing attention on them.

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<v Speaker 1>Young rights that can allow new breakthroughs and maybe force

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<v Speaker 1>some changes in the process. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast Asks, or wherever you listen

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