Early on, I was told by a wise and older international master that the most important thing to increase by playing strength was to reduce social interaction.
Initially, I resisted his advice (despite my low elo) and tried to maintain a full and vibrant social life, while also pursuing chess success.
Surprise, surprise. My chess rating did not improve.
As frustration gradually built over the long term plateau, I finally decided to be humble and implement this advice.
I minimized social contact. I reduced the amount I showered and brushed my teeth (as both [a] time saving and [b] an indirect way of reducing other people's desire to socialize with me). This initial application of will power (which I am reluctant to apply for too long since it can lead to burnout and drudgery) to socialize less led to a cascade of organic benefits too. For instance, as I socialized less, my social skills became weaker. I realized social ability is in part a lot like a muscle that quickly atrophies if you don't continually use it. Our brains and abilities are in a continual process of neuroplastic change. This was a blessing. Secondly, as I spent more focused on chess, my knowledge and capacity to talk about other topics (such as sports, tv shows, etc) decreased, which naturally meant other people perceived me as unworldly, strange and lacking in mutual talking points. Thirdly, as my chess rating started to go up, this led to a learning and gratification feedback loop. I became even more interested in chess and less interested in socializing since I knew that focused work at the exclusion of other interests would produce improvement.
So this was the advice given to me, which I ignored. And now it is the advice I pass on to you all too: reduce social interaction.
Man can only achieve mastery in a specific domain if he focuses. If you are digging to find water, it is much better to dig 1 deep well, than to spend the same energy on digging 10 shallow wells. Likewise, if we choose to remove clutter like social interaction from our lives, we have the best hope of achieving high ratings quickly.
🙏 Warm regards, Burrower 🙏
Initially, I resisted his advice (despite my low elo) and tried to maintain a full and vibrant social life, while also pursuing chess success.
Surprise, surprise. My chess rating did not improve.
As frustration gradually built over the long term plateau, I finally decided to be humble and implement this advice.
I minimized social contact. I reduced the amount I showered and brushed my teeth (as both [a] time saving and [b] an indirect way of reducing other people's desire to socialize with me). This initial application of will power (which I am reluctant to apply for too long since it can lead to burnout and drudgery) to socialize less led to a cascade of organic benefits too. For instance, as I socialized less, my social skills became weaker. I realized social ability is in part a lot like a muscle that quickly atrophies if you don't continually use it. Our brains and abilities are in a continual process of neuroplastic change. This was a blessing. Secondly, as I spent more focused on chess, my knowledge and capacity to talk about other topics (such as sports, tv shows, etc) decreased, which naturally meant other people perceived me as unworldly, strange and lacking in mutual talking points. Thirdly, as my chess rating started to go up, this led to a learning and gratification feedback loop. I became even more interested in chess and less interested in socializing since I knew that focused work at the exclusion of other interests would produce improvement.
So this was the advice given to me, which I ignored. And now it is the advice I pass on to you all too: reduce social interaction.
Man can only achieve mastery in a specific domain if he focuses. If you are digging to find water, it is much better to dig 1 deep well, than to spend the same energy on digging 10 shallow wells. Likewise, if we choose to remove clutter like social interaction from our lives, we have the best hope of achieving high ratings quickly.
🙏 Warm regards, Burrower 🙏
