Why Almost There Is Still Really Good

My favorite college professor was a delightful human named Dr. Sara Crump.

Thick glasses.

Dry humor.

Said “schedule” like “shedewhul” and refused to stop because it was objectively hilarious.

And in her learning and behavior course, she taught me the most important idea I still use every time I teach shooting...

We studied something called successive approximations, which is a scientific way of saying this:

You get better by getting closer.

It's moments where your brain almost has it.

The reps that fall short... but fall short in the right direction.

You feel me?

I call those moments the Nearlies.

Successive approximations work by rewarding the versions of a skill that drift closer to the real thing.

You reinforce the progress, not the perfection.

Do this enough times, and the skill shapes itself.

One of my favorite examples is simple.

I'll give athletes two points for a make, and one point for a miss that is straight on.

That extra point is me rewarding the Nearlie.

Not the outcome, but the direction.

If I'm not there in the gym with you, that's what I want you searching for on your own.

The reps that are almost there.

Those are victories at the beginning of anything!!!

The Nearlies live in the space between where you are and where you want to be.

That space is big, so you'd better settle in and start to recognize the Nearlies as your trusted friends and confidants. ;)

The ones that know them best are the ones who will succeed.

Stay in it.

Go get a bucket.

And remember I'm always in your corner. Reach out anytime.

BriAnna

P.S. I learned how to teach a virtual rat named Sniffy how to do a front flip in that class with Dr. Crump. Just rewarded it every time it leaned forward. Behaviors that get rewarded get repeated (and then exacerbated).