HOW TO GET BETTER AT THE THINGS YOU CARE ABOUT EDWARD BRICEÑO

TEDx TALK

In his TEDx talk, "How to get better at the things you care about," Eduardo Briceño offers some
practical advice on how to improve in the stagnating areas that matter the most to you. Here are a
few notes I got from his talk;

● It is undeniable that most of us if not all face stagnation in doing simple tasks even in
things we care so much about, this video is personally relatable because I have faced a
'stagnation' as he calls it in doing simple tasks such as keeping a constant communication
with my family back in Africa, or even in just being a better friend by sparing an extra
hour to video call and check on my friends. Briceno emphasizes on the importance of
recognizing and emulating people who have mastered art of beating such clogs by
alternating between two primary mental zones of learning and performing; the learning
zone and the performance zone.
● Being in the learning zone is in correspondence to Dweck's theory of having the "growth
mindset”. It is characterized by a growth mindset, where one is willing to take on
challenges and is open to making mistakes and learning from them. People in the learning
zone are motivated by the process of improving and are willing to put in effort and hard
work.
● Performance zone on the other hand is comparable to Dweck's theory of having a fixed
mindset in winning here, one focuses on performing, a person’s focus on their
performance and the outcome rather than the process of improvement. People in this zone
are basically more concerned with acing it, looking good and avoiding mistakes instead
of learning and growing.
● He contends that for us to become better at the things we really care about, which is our
end goal in this case, we ought to know when to gear up and put on a 'mask' for each
zone. He further argues that as much as this two zones are codependent we need to first
place all of our attention in the learning zone, to maximize our growth and future
performance. As he says “The more you learn the better you are at your performances.”
● The learning zone can be pressuring, draining and painful sometimes but we should
always be determined and set to embrace any difficult tasks, ‘Demosthenes’, the lawyer,
should be our perfect example of (Pressure shapes diamonds). His setting of a sword to cut
his arm if he lifts it up advocates for doing all it takes to shed off an odd habit even if it will take
“cutting off your arm if it is what makes you sin”, in this zone, one should focus on practice
which leads to qualitative improvement and not just on performing tasks. He advocates for the
practice that involves breaking down ability into a component skill, by being clear about what
mini skill we’re working to improve, like in my case making those frequent calls I avoid, instead
of looking at the larger context of establishing a functional relationship with friends and family.
He emphasizes on the repetition of simple tasks and making changes where need be. He advises
on the seeking, of guidance from a person who is more experienced than you, as they can design
activities for improvement and also gives you expert feedback on the setback.
● Briceno clarifies that only after one has achieved new skills in the learning zone, can they
proceed to putting the skills into practice now in the performance zone. The ticket to a high
performance is to alternate between the learning zone and the performance zone. It is okay to
make a mistake while performing but once done with the performance, go back to drawing board
(learning zone) correct the mistake, consult on what made you make the mistake then perform
again, and the cycle keeps going.
● Briceno's overall message is that to get better at the things we truly care about, we need to learn
to balance between the learning and performing what we have learnt. By learning we should aim
to extend our knowledge on the skill in question, by trying out new strategies practicing on our
failures by identifying our mistakes, breaking it into chunks instead of biting it whole, we should
endure hardships and seek help and guidance from experienced people/experts in the field of our
target challenge. Both Dweck's theory of mindset and Briceno's TEDx talk outline the
power of a person's mindset in shaping who they are and the outcome of what one does.
Both of them argue that adopting a growth Mindset/learning zone can help individuals
reach their full potential and goals, faster despite any challenges they'll face.
REFLECTION

From Eduardo Briceno's TEDx talk I cherish the idea of the learning zone as it gives me room to
make mistakes and learn from the mistakes it reminds me that for me to get better at the thing I
care about I should master the art of learning from my mistakes and instead of seeing failure as
my “mirror” I should use it as an opportunity to learn and improve

1. “I came to a realization that I wasn’t getting better at the things I care most
about ,whether it was being a husband or a friend …….and I wasn’t improving much at
those things even though I was spending a lot of time working had at them. I’ve since
realized from conversations and from research that this stagnation, despite hard work, is
turn out to be pretty common. (00:21-00:48)
This just made me feel safe as I latch on the idea that I am not alone in this, that a
lot of people go through “stagnation” and being "bad at” doing things they
genuinely care about.
2. “Using frequent feedback with repetition and adjustments ,and Ideally engaging the
guidance of a skilled coached ,because activities designed for improvement are domain
specific ,and great teachers and coaches know what those activities are and can also give
us expert feedback.”(03:37-03:52)
This statement gave me an idea of getting out of my comfort zone to seek
guidance from a therapist or a relative or friend who has also been in the country
for four years plus to help me deal with my “stagnation”.