Jake wanted to go to a certain elite university, but maths stood in his way!
When he began practising for his assessments, Jake got just 44% of his maths questions correct. He practiced consistently and seemed to make little or no progress—until one day, suddenly, he got 85% of his maths questions correct!
I pointed out the spike and simply said: “Breakthroughs become the new normal.”
On his very next practice, Jake went back to getting less than half correct.
But it did not take many weeks for the next spike to occur.
And even fewer weeks for the one after that.
He had started practicing in mid-July; by November, Jake’s new normal was 90% or better—and so it remained.
A lot of the time, when students experience a spike in performance, they attribute it to luck. Or sometimes they even ask, “Was this set of questions easier than usual?” They find it hard to believe that THEY are responsible for their success!
In moments like that, I simply ask them, “What if you’ve improved?”
Anything you’re able to do once, you can do again!
So, TRUST YOUR BREAKTHROUGHS, and they will become the new normal.
