EPTFor as long as I can remember, I've had gradually different perceptions regarding skills. If you asked me what I thought when I was 8, I would have told you it was by being born with skills. At the age of 14, I would have told you determination and practice. It wasn't even very long ago, but I had a rather narrow-minded way of thinking. Back then, I believe the most important thing that determined skills were results through victory. If X beats Y, then surely X is better than Y - this was my unabridged mindset when it came to skills.
Now, at the age of 19, I can say that "skills" is such a general term, that one cannot merely label someone with a simple rating. Sure, you might say that there are A rank, B rank, and S-class members of each activity; however, can you say that even a B rank will always lose vs an S-class? No, because simple statistics alone cannot prove the validity of one's skills, although stats do help. So then, how the hell do you go about measuring one's skill? This is much easier to engage at the amateur level, where you consider two basic things:
Mindset - It all starts with the right attitude. The first step is to set a goalpoint; if you set it at the intermediate level, chances are, you'll only stay at the intermediate level. How far you advance will begin with how far you want to advance. Picturewise, I see it like climbing the stairs up to higher levels, but you'll only stay at the level you designate as your destination.
Action - So you set your mind into becoming good at something. Now, you must take action; in other words, time to get off your ass and begin practicing. It's simple as that: Just do it. However...
**Note**: There is a wrong way to practice. In bowling, for example, it's very difficult to get back on the right path if you don't use the proper form to begin. Of course, this won't matter much if you're just having fun or fooling around.
For the most part, I believe determination matters at the amateur stage (how serious you are with the designated activity). One might even say that true skills lie dormant until you climb higher up the ladder: when I started to play starcraft with a group of kids from school, it was all about who can get units faster, drag click + a, and watch the pretty colors.
Let me pause my thoughts here and write more later as I gather and organize my thoughts. There are aspects that I can't form into words yet, and in came a few rather unhappy customers. Stay tuned if you want to hear more of my boring thoughts :o. It only gets more complicated as skills progress.
