Developing Multiple Skills Makes You Better At All Of Them
June 6, 2008
Cross-training is good for more than building muscles.
It helps the brain find new pathways between previously isolated regions. Doctors at Harvard Medical School have found that if you practice multiple things, you actually get better at all of them.
In its Secrets of Greatness series, Fortune magazine says science is proving what some have felt for a long time, the benefits of cross-training. To strengthen pathways that aid thinking, a person has to do something repeatedly.
The more varied your skills, the more varied are the pathways. They allow you to reach back for insights and apply them to something totally different. The more reservoirs of knowledge you have, the easier it can be to make decisions.
Your second interest may be a motor skill. University of Michigan researchers found that using joysticks effectively resulted in transferable knowledge in other areas.
Examples of people with more than one career include Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (concert pianist) and Yankee outfielder Bernie Williams (recording jazz guitarist).
Examples from history include Leonardo da Vinci (sculpture, painter, inventor) and Thomas Jefferson (President, violinist, architect). Small business owners can benefit from developing multiple skills as well.
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