Habits and Skill

(This is a post dealing with skill development, whether you are a musician, sports participant, business owner or budding artist.  The logo implies music, and these ideas are transferable to all endeavors.  Thanks for reading.)

 The connections between skill and habit are critical pieces in improving and perfecting a

skill.  If you are one of the unfortunate millions who have picked up a bad habit in performing a certain task, and you learn of an improved way of acting, the change process could be painful and slow.  Habits have a tendency to become ingrained and resist change.  Yet change can come in time.

In the book The Power of Habits, Charles Duhigg tells us this: 

“More than 40% of the actions 

people perform each day 

are not decisions but habits.”

That is a remarkable comment.  Just yesterday my friend Travis and I tried our hand at putting golf balls into a cup lying on the floor.  He showed me a new grip for the putter which is supposed to improve control and guidance.  It is a simple rearrangement by placing the left hand lower than the right, which is a reverse of the way I was originally taught.  At best, it was awkward, but I do know that in time I could make this reposition of my hands as natural as every other habit in my life.

In your skill, what habits do you automatically fall into?  As a musician, are there fingerings that have become your default patterns and you have never given them a second thought?

As a sports performer, what are your habit traps?  If there is a change to be made, remember to allow yourself patience in reordering your brain and muscle memory.

From The Habit:  “Habits can be changed if we know how they work.”

I am a drummer who happens to be dominantly left-handed.  When I was first learning I had to adapt to a drum set positioned as my right-handed drummer friends used and I never gave it a second thought.  The idea of rearranging my drum set to compliment my natural biological imprint was not even in my thinking, yet today, had I made that change, I feel I would be a much better drummer. 

If I were a serious drummer these days, it would be beneficial, but since drums take a 3^rd or 4^th place in my life, time prevents me from making this change.

You see, I formed the habit of playing drums as a right handed drummer, even though I start almost every drum lick with my left hand.  It’s habit. 

The brain stops working so hard once habits form, thus engraining the habit even more. 

If you have a habit to change in your skill set, get ready for a fight, which can be won with persistence.

Michael Biggs

Steps and Skips

Tips for the Developing Student