Thoughts on "The Expert Mind"

I read The Expert Mind article this weekend and found the chess analogy interesting! What I mean is some of the experts felt that there were people that were pre-destined to be great in one certain area while, another would have to work very hard to come even close to being as good. Teachers even felt or believed that there were some students who had natural talent and that they would know it when they saw it. But others felt that there really was no way that from one game or one recital that they would be able to see if their performance stemmed from pre-destined talent or ability. With hard work and lots of practice a few felt that with family and parents encouragement the childs abilities could grow and become very developed and talented just like children with natural abilities. As long as they didn't stop their learning or growth by becoming complacent, they could become grandmasters with lots of effort and practice!
I started learning the flute when I was 10 yrs old. Some thought that was to young and figured my mom to be foolish to have me taking lessons at such an early age. I soon became so good that anyone who heard me told me that I had mastered my instrument. I stopped practicing so much because I felt I had learned all that I could. However, it wasn't till I came upon someone greater at the flute than I was, that I had become complacent. I had stopped my growth. I swallowed my pride and continued with my lessons so that I could once again be great! I think many people do this when they feel they have accomplished the goal that they had set out to do! It's important to have these learning moments in life to help us grow! One more thing that the article talked about was that every year children are learning things at an earlier age all the time! Much sooner than you or I did and they are becoming greater at it sooner than we did too! I don't feel like a person is ever to young or to old to learn a skill!