I’ve taken to watching artists drawing as of late. It is absolutely mesmerizing to watch someone who is waaaaay better at something then you and watch them perform.
You learn so much in their approach and whatever that “something” is you’ll generally start to see a common trend in what they are saying and doing.
They are never looking at what they are doing, they are looking ahead, talking about the next step while they are doing the current one.
Whether it’s coding, skating, swinging a bat, drawing, writing, etc. They are already compiling in their head, turning backwards, running the bases, doing the back shading or starting the next chapter in their head.
This is the difference between the beginners and the experts – they’ve made that leap to focusing on the next step while on the current one.
Some might call this the zone.
But to get there, to get to that point – you have to go through the bad, the sludge, the dredges of your work that looks absolutely horrible. I have written some shoddy pieces of code in my life (and still, do as I keep learning), but when I’m in the comfort zone, I’m always looking ahead.
One interesting post I read recently was by famed Comic Book artist – Todd McFarlane – where he posted a photo of himself in the midst of Writer’s Block.
The Caption – “Everyone gets blocked, the secret is to go and get back in.”
‘Nuff said.
