Adult improvers: a brief look at mindset

It seems the best advice anyone can give or receive for improving in chess is: just win. It's that simple. Everything else is fluff. After all, they say: chess is hard.

But improving in chess isn't just about what you do. It's about how you think.

Learning chess is like learning a language. It's easiest when you're younger. It's best done with immersion. You can be taught everything, but without practice it won't stick.

The people who know chess best probably could not explain to you the underlying rules for syntax and grammar or the countless exceptions. To them it either just "makes sense" or "doesn't sound right". There is no need to translate between the chess and English (or whatever their native language is). Chess is their language.

Does that mean it is a fruitless exercise to be an adult improver in chess? Of course not. There are plenty of people who have picked up another language later in life. Sure, they will probably always have an accent, but accents can be sexy. At some point they may begin to think in their new language. Perhaps even dream in it. It depends on the individual and their love for the game.

But the truth is most adult improvers rarely immerse themselves in chess and their expectations are wildly out of sync with reality and the work they put in. The truth is people give up too quickly and too easily. They overestimate their own efforts and underestimate the true cost of achieving their expectations. They begin to believe they have plateaued, that it isn't worth it, and they're just happy to play for fun.

Anyone can have a toned body with 6-pack abs, but who wants to restrict their diet, their lifestyle, and work out that much for that long? Things that are hard are things most people won't achieve, not because they can't but because it isn't actually worth it to them.

Without the belief that you can improve, you simply can't. Then when you believe you can improve, you still have to want to improve.

The best way to have a sustainable desire to improve (not a desire to get to some arbitrary level, but to continuously improve) is to be a competitive person in general – to the point that you compete with yourself to reach new heights, just for the sake of doing it.

The best improvers are fearless: they do not shy away from competition or from failure.They are competitive: they want to get to the next level, and the next, and next...
They are curious: they want to know why and how, and go out of their way to figure it out.
They are persistent: they try different things to improve, and keep trying.
They are open minded and make adjustments: sometimes you have to take a step back to figure out how to get over an obstacle.

Age isn't a number. It is a mindset. If you are hopeful, you are youthful. If you have desire, you have energy. And if it is important to you, you make time for it.