The Neuroscience of Deliberate Practice

Psychologists have been exploring the physical mechanisms that drive people's improvements on hard tasks. Adam Grant: Scientists increasingly believe Myelin, a layer of fatty tissue that grows around neurons acting like an insulator, allows cells to fire faster and cleaner. This new science of performance argues that you get better at a skill as you develop more Myelin around the relevant neurons, allowing the corresponding circuit to fire more effortlessly and effectively. To be great at something is to be well Myelinated., writes Grant.