There is a place, right on the edge of your ability where you learn best and the fastest. It is called the sweet spot and here is how to find it:
Comfort Zone
Associated sensations - Ease, effortlessness. You’re working of course, but you are not reaching or struggling
% of successful attempts: 80% and above
Sweet Spot
Associate sensations - Frustration, difficulty, alertness to errors. You are fully engaged in an intense struggle - it is almost as though you’re stretching with all your might for a nearly unreachable goal, brushing it with your fingertips and then reaching for it again.
% of successful attempts: 50-80%
Survival Zone
Associated sensations - Confusion, desperation. You are overmatched, thrashing, scrambling and guessing. Naturally, sometimes you guess right, but more often than not it is mostly luck
% of successful attempts: Below 50%
It is important you find your sweet spot, nestled between your comfort zone and your survival zone. This is the place where we are just on the edge of our ability that demands intense focus.
Where are you spending your time most? Are you chilling in your comfort zone? Stretching in your sweet spot? Or in sheer panic in your survival zone?