There are many things to discuss here today. The first, the inevitable... today is September 11. If we take nothing else from those events, let's take away the sense of compassion that ensued and the looking our for someone besides number one. I received a terrified phone call that morning from my roommate's family. The woman on the phone said, "Have you turned on the television?" It was about 7:00 am and I was preparing for a day at work at the Boulder Running Company on Pearl Street. She frantically told me that a plane had hit the North Tower. I said I'd check on it and have my roommate call her back. Literally three minutes later, the second plane hit. As I was watching coverage of the first plane. I went to work that day and needless to say, we shut down early and had very little foot traffic. We watched the news that night in eerie disbelief. I think everyone went through a similar experience. I got up the next day and went to work with an expression of "what just happened?" Slowly life went back to normal but an innocence was lost that day, by all, I believe. The real take-away from that event was that for a short while, people really seemed to care about each other. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and total strangers realized that these are people, just like me. While most of that feeling has eroded over the 11 years, it still appears from time to time. As a nation, I wouldn't mind if we could get back to that post 9-11 approach to people.
In the realm of running or music, I would like to impart a very small, simple approach that can radically improve you experience in either (or both). So often in our training or practicing, we are looking for massive improvements. This is noble and should be considered but the root of large improvements are fixing very small parts. Here's how it's done (extrapolate as necessary). In our endeavors, we each have many weak spots. Some weak spots are insignificant and others are critical. If my aim is to run 100 miles at 9:00/mile, being able to run a 100m in world-class time may be insignificant. With the same aim, if I am unable to run more than two consecutive 9:00 miles, this is significant and this is the starting place. We must first establish where our short comings are. If you work with a coach or teacher, they're usually pretty happy to share that with you (it is their job, after all). If you are self-coached or out of school, you must rely on realistic self-evaluation for this data (or you can ask a trusted, knowledgeable friend). This is the first step. This is usually a series of yes or no questions such as: "Did I play all the notes in this scale correctly?" If they answer is no, as I suspect it would be if you are asking the question, ask another yes/no question. "Did I play the first x number of notes of this scale correctly?" In this case, keep asking until the answer is no. When you reach the "no," use this as the focal point. Then we move to step 2.
The next part takes a little more faith and creativity. By asking yes/no questions, we can strengthen our weaknesses and surmount any obstacles. Let's say you consistently miss a note in a scale. Assuming you can establish what the right pitch is, you may ask: Am I using the right fingering (PS: In scales the answer is almost always "no" on this question)? Keeping asking these types of questions until the answer is "no." Once you reach the "no," experiment with alternate solutions. Aim to incorporate specific solutions, not generalized such as: "Is this better?" Save that for later. By isolating the issue, we can fix the small problems which may be derailing our entire operation.
The last step is integration. After we have extracted an issue, we must weave it back into the product. Sometimes, we get really good what was a problem but reinserting it into the bigger picture is skewed. This becomes a time to address the periphery and work through it slowly and piece by piece, possibly adjusting our starting place. To follow our scale example, if the problem was between the 6th and 7th notes of the scale (there are 8 notes in most major or minor scales, for those of you not familiar with music) but the first five notes were ok by themselves, then try starting on 5 and play to 8. If reintroduction is the problem, it must be achieved gradually.
To simplify, problem solving is achieved through three distinct steps of binary yes/no questions:
1. Identify the problem
2.a Experiment to find a solution to the problem (be creative, research, pray)
2.b Solve the problem
3. Reincorporate the problem area
4. Reevaluate
While this process is relatively easy, sometimes it can take a while. It is one thing to know you fall apart at 20 miles, it is quite another to train to remain strong at that point. Step 2 is the hardest, in my experience. Regardless, it is wise to have a plan to solve these problems and continually grow, whatever your field of endeavor!
