Derren Brown: Archive
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From: ganetauk
Date: Tue Dec 31, 2002 10:46pm
Subject: MODELS.....NOT NUDE ONES SILLY
THE MODELLING PROCESS
You can easily apply the modelling process to a physical activity,
such as a craft, a specific sporting activity, or learn-ing a new
dance routine:
First choose the skill you want to model.
Next choose a model. You only need to find excellence in the specific
skill you have chosen. For instance, the model might not impress you
as a person overall, or even in the area of competence of which the
skill forms a part. For example, the person may paint an excellent
watercolour wash but not have very good technical draughtsmanship or
sense of perspective. Or a top go-kart rider may not have passed a
driving test.
You also need to have access to the model.You need to observe
carefully, perhaps from different angles and perhaps without the
person's knowledge. For sport or cookery, for example, you can take
advantage of good video recordings which give access to the top
performers.If you can interview the model you can get them to run
their strategy, observe their eye movements, and question them about
the values and beliefs that underpin a particular skill.
Watch the model carrying out the skill, simply 'taking in' the
sequence of movements. Don't try too hard. Think back to your
childhood - watching a friend do what you could not do and naturally
copying them.
Then see yourself as the model but in a dissociated state, watching
yourself from outside yourself. See yourself inside the skin of the
model as you watch.
As the model runs the sequence of activities again, step right inside
the model and become fully associated. See through your own eyes and
feel all the feelings you will feel when carrying out the skill
yourself. Become one with the model and all their feelings.
Do all this mentally. Finally, and instinctively, carry out the
physical activity. Don't hesitate or analyse anything - just do it.
Repeat the whole process until you feel you can get 'inside' the
model, confident that you have mastered the skill. Every little
feedback adjustment you make will contribute to your ultimate
success.
You never fully 'arrive' at excellence. In the same way you cannot
make mistakes when modelling - you simply learn. You cannot not
learn. So you may as well make a good job of your learning, and keep
getting better. You can consciously experiment to improve a skill of
your own, according to the four-stage success model. And in the same
way you can try to make changes to the strategies you model.
Obviously you will only reach this stage of competence when you feel
you have gone as far as you can in emulating your model. At some
point you will find that 'the law of diminishing returns' sets in -
you will get smaller results for the extra effort you put in. From
now on you can apply your own innate creativity to continuously
improve in a self-generating spiral of excellence. Let's say you
model someone playing tennis, squash or any ball game. Modelling an
expert will quickly get you to a rea-sonable level of competence.
Positive mental rehearsal of your model's strategy will reinforce
your skill without the need for failures. This will, in turn, boost
your self-image as a ten-nis player, or whatever. However, you will
soon find, perhaps by accident, that some of your own techniques work
well, even though not based on your model. As you experiment with
different strokes and tactics and notice what happens, you can change
your strategy accordingly. In other words, do more of what works and
cut out what doesn't. Each success will boost your self-belief even
further. Enjoying what you do, you will probably practise more, and
take the sport more seriously, so you will get even better. You will
start to interpret failures and bad days positively ('a fluke'
or 'not me') - a sure sign of a self-fulfilling, upward spiral of
success. Applying the four-stage success model, and using your mental
rehearsal skills, even unconscious behaviour will tend to move you
towards your goal. By consciously adding the challenge of a new,
higher outcome to each success, you can ensure that you maintain your
spiral of success.
