Learning any control skill takes a mixture of understanding, try-out and practice. The skill is only fully mastered when you do it without thinking. All the time you are thinking about one thing, your mind can’t pay attention to the multitude of other things that are competing for your attention. What can we learn from this?
• Learning is quickest in a structured learning environment when you can concentrate on one thing at a time. If you are in a hurry, seriously consider a weekend race school. But you’ll have to practice those new skills afterwards... or they will evaporate.
• Learn one skill at once. Sure there’s a loop and you come back to the same thing again when you are ready to reach for the next level. But there is a kind of natural flow to learning so that when you feel you’ve made a step up in one area it’s right and natural to move on to another. Don’t push it unless you’ve hit a sticking point. Even then if it won’t come right after a damn hard try, put it aside and come back another time with a fresh mind.
• There’s more than one way to skin a cat. We all have individual preferences and what works great for me might not suit you... and the other way around. Once you know what you’re aiming for, try different ways to get there. The right way is the way that works for you, not what someone else tells you is right.
• When you master a skill, you might actually have difficulty in explaining exactly how they do it. You won’t be aware of doing anything special and will do it unconsciously while thinking about something else.