Joshua Foer notes, for example, that the top memory champions seemed to focus on three things: their technique, their goals, and receiving feedback on their performance. Focusing on these three things creates a cycle of growth, where the performance feedback fuels the refinement of the technique, which advances the goals. Importantly, goals should not be externalities like “coming in first place,” but should instead be achievable milestones on the road to progress, like “improving my time to complete task X by ten seconds.”
— The Joy of Craft (Claes Zane), Loc. 1485–8