Component Parts

The more I dive into different areas the more that I learn it is all about the process. It’s funny how learning new things teaches you this. From learning marketing and how to put together a sales letter and the structure of the letter. To how to construct a sentence. To learning how to think about flow and cadence within the letter. Everything is so nuanced and can be broken apart into its component pieces. All of this is just fascinating to me.

When I turn to shooting, and what I’m learning there with firearms, specifically pistols it’s all about the minutia. You can learn to adequately shoot in a single session, just a few hours. After that, the proficiency comes in the next 20 hours. After that, it is the nuance in the slightest movement. How much of your finger is on the trigger matters. Until you shoot and then start shooting at distance, you wouldn’t notice the slight nuance and how it throws off your shot with too much or too little of your finger on the trigger. We are talking millimeters of difference.

That’s just it. The difference small tweaks can make. Whether that’s with your words or with firearms. I know those are two drastically different worlds. With two very different types of people showing up to each, but the approach to learning is the same.

Break the entire thing down into each component. Learn each component in detail. Practice one specific element until you have that element down, then move to the next. Then piece the two elements together and practice until you have it down to where you don’t have to think about it and it all comes naturally. Then add the next and repeat.

I’ve been practicing my shooting for 10 minutes a day, dry firing. Dry firing is the practice of shooting without any live ammunition. Meaning I can practice in my house and it’s free. That practice has drastically improved my shooting ability with live ammunition through just 10 minutes a day. Which to me seems absolutely crazy. Practicing something in a dedicated and disciplined manner for just 10 minutes a day can produce crazy results over just a few short months. The same goes for anything else you practice regularly.

Writing has been the same for me, in that I believe writing this has improved my thinking. It’s allowed me to stitch together different skills and cultures to see the unifying theme in learning. Yet, it’s only through new skill acquisition that you start to see the similarities. Without the new skill or going and learning new things, I wouldn’t have anything to talk about.

Now, that’s not to say you can’t talk without doing something new. New is just fun and exciting to talk about. The new things you’re learning can also come from an industry you’ve been in for a long time. All it takes is seeing things with fresh eyes and a new perspective. To rise above the day-to-day and see the bigger picture. It’s eye-opening.