[quartz]

I have a dentist who loves to use the little remote camera to show me everything about my teeth and let me tell you: it doesn't make it any better!

Totally agree on the "understand to remove fear" side of things though.

When I was learning stick shift I had a terrible time until, frustrated after I had stalled the car for the umpteenth time, my dad stopped the lesson on "what to do" and instead spent a few minutes explaining what was actually happening inside the clutch system.

Suddenly it all made sense and I understood what I was actuating and why the feedback was the way it was. I became proficient quickly after that.

[teachrdan]

My father in law was a tennis coach. When a kid kept screwing something up, he'd stop them and ask in quick succession: "What's the capital of Illinois? Texas? Vermont?"

The kid would then, invariably, be able to hit the ball again. Sometimes all you need is a focused distraction to be able to perform.