What skills or secret talents do you consider as “cool”? It could be solving a Rubik’s cube with one hand, specializing in the art of coffee, or reciting over 1,000 digits of Pi.
Although not all skills can be useful in your career, the idea is to find something you consider as ‘cool’. For me, it’s being able to play on Expert+ level for Beat Saber.
Why is 'cool' so important?
The reason behind this is to help you find something you’re passionate about. Imagine yourself equipped with the skill. Do you see yourself shining? Not only will you feel cool, but you’ll actually look cool too. This will come in handy when you’re on the verge of giving up during practice.
The learning curve for most skills is quite similar. When you first pick up the hobby, you grow extremely fast. But towards the middle, when you get familiar, your learning speed slows down or even comes to a halt. These are the times when you visualize your success and “coolness” to keep you going.
Every once in a while, you reach new heights. Then you fall back a little before moving higher up again. Your progress might slow down, but the results are there to show you that you’ve moved forward.
My results of 'cool'
I started Beat Saber at the Medium level and quickly reached Expert level. That was when I hit a dead-end and got stuck between Expert and Expert+. Every time I challenged Expert+, I instantly failed the quest. But for one, I didn’t give up. I reminded myself how cool it would be if I could win the highest difficulty level: Expert+.
So, I trained on both levels with different speed modifiers. On the Expert level, I played the faster mode. On Expert+, I practiced starting at 60% speed. Eventually, I worked my way up to the original speed on some songs. Now that I’ve reached Expert+, my next goal is to play Expert+ on all songs!
In Conclusion
Do what makes you shine. Feeling ‘cool’ might seem abstract at first, but it can become your source of motivation and power you through tough times. Don’t give up until you reach your Expert+!