Value of Near Win: A student’s story

jim irrerI just listened to the podcast for this TED talk a few days ago and it reminded me of a form progression session a couple of weeks ago. We were working on the four corners, and every time I made some mistake; a foot misplaced or an arm mis-timed. I finally did one, just one where everything fell into place. It happened to be the one that you [Master Young] observed, and you told me it was “beautifully done”. It was good reinforcement for me, but I knew that a huge element of luck was involved. It will probably be hundreds more before I get another, and then no one will see it, but with time ‘good’ ones will come more frequently. For me it was a ‘near win’, showing me that it was within me to do it, and the type of intermediate success that encourages me to pursue the mastery of the art. Jim Irrer