The Art of Self-Improvement and Being Self-Critical

Improving at any endeavor is not easy. It requires time, dedication, and above all, self-reflection. Self-reflection is a necessity, as it is the tool which allows us to evaluate which areas in particular need improvement and how they can be remedied. For some tasks, self-reflection and hindsight analysis may be extremely quick and almost unconscious, but for others it is not so easy. In any case, retrospective review is extremely important when seeking to get better at any task, and League of Legends is no different - except, perhaps, because League is so complex, reviewing one's performance is a tad more difficult!

If your goal is to get better at the game and get more results (whether it be in tournaments, solo queue, etc.), strap in. Today, I'm going to give you a a few brief tips on how you can improve on your improvement. The key lies in the art of being self-critical.

First and foremost, you must have the mindset. Learn to take greater responsibility for mistakes made in game (e.g. failed ganks, macro misplays, everything). Always be asking yourself the question, "Was there anything I could have done better in that situation such that my team would've had a better outcome?" In the early stages of developing this mindset, it better to err on the side of taking too much responsibility than too little. This is because you want to be considering as many (if not every) possibility you can - you don't want to miss out on potential improvement points as you're just getting started. You'll refine this mentality as you move forward (more on this later).

Having this mindset of frequently critically reviewing your own play is extremely beneficial for a few reasons:

- Opens your mind to to the possibilities of different lines of play (e.g. maybe I should've used this ability first instead of that one)

- Centers your thought process on your own control of game - learning to accept the parts of the game that are out of your control

- By consciously thinking about these things, you will naturally remember any mistakes you made (and what to do instead in the future) more vividly than had you simply let it pass through your mind or dissmissed it.

There are others, but these are 3 of the bigger ones. Practice this mindset whenever you can. To start, after you lose a game, take 2-3 minutes to quickly reflect on the match. Think about what went wrong, and how the game left your team's control - next, envision what YOU could have done better that may have changed that outcome. Even if it was something minor (that wouldn't have changed the outcome of the match), make a mental - or physical - note of it. This is the improvement process at its finest, self-reflection at work. If you really get into it, start thinking about what you could've done better in the matches you won.

If your goal is to get better at the game - to truly improve, and to see better results (whether it be climbing the ladder or winning tournaments for $$$), you must learn to expect more out of yourself, and be self-critical whenever you make mistakes. If you miss a free cs, don't just let it pass by - consider how you could've gotten it (maybe used an ability, asked your support to prime the minion, or maybe you just mistimed it, etc.). If you watch professional player's streams, you'll notice they often chastise themselves for missing easy cs like this!

The second important concept when it comes to self-improvement and the art of being self-critical is structuring which things you're looking out for at any given time. Sometimes, it is best to note down everything you can - you'll absorb knowledge at a fast pace, improving by leaps and bounds. But for intermediate players (where most people are), focusing on one domain for a little while will likely yield more efficient results. The two domains are macro and micro play.

In other words, when looking to get better, for one game, try to focus on your strategic decision-making or your micro-level execution, and pay particularly close attention to whichever of these two domains you chose when you evaluate your play. Micro plays are easy to evaluate, because execution is fully within your control. Did you miss a skillshot? If so, what could you have done in order to land it (position yourself better, wait for a better opportunity to use the ability, use CC first then land the easy target, etc.)? Mechanics are something that are popular to talk about, but are rarely practiced. CS'ing falls under this category; in your next game, make it a point to attempt to get every free cs you're given (i.e., you aren't being harassed by the enemy laner or getting ganked) - in other words, don't accept any unforced errors from yourself! Taking all of these little advantages will add up and have a significant impact on your overall gameplay.

Our last topic of discussion for today's article is Macro evaluation, which is a little bit harder. The reason that it's difficult is because not only do you have to consider the numerous variables in any given game which change how a game plays out, but the fact it's also a team game - you are not in control of how everyone else plays, nor what their own personal strengths and weaknesses are. This is not to say that your team is holding you back - in fact, your team has probably made calls which were correct but you disagreed with. The road goes both ways!

Considering games at a high-level is best done through replay analysis, so use a replay service if you aren't already (or stream your games and watch the vods). With regards to macro play and shotcalling, there are other resources out there to help you with that - but keep in mind that this is an important aspect to self-improvement: questioning your own decision making. Should you have been splitpushing bot when the other team was grouping for baron? Does seiging the enemy team's composition work - maybe you should've told your team to try a 1-2-2 push? There a number of choices in any given situation, so be sure to take a quick look back and consider whether the one you took was the right one, and whether you could have made a bigger impact on the game.

There's a common misconception that playing as many games as you can is the fastest way to get better. But there's a difference between engaging in the activity, and actually practicing (this same principle holds true for many things in life). Grinding out games mindlessly won't help you improve (and if it does, it'll be at a slow pace); taking the time to consciously reflect on the game is a proven method to identify problem areas and focus improvement time more precisely. You'll likely get more out of playing just one game and analyzing it in detail than playing 3 in a row and hoping for the best.

Finally, there is one important point to consider regarding being self-critical. Sometimes, there may really have been nothing you could have done - you may begin to see mistakes where you played fine. As you become more and more familiar with the game and how it's supposed to be played (watching professional footage or high-level vods, etc., will help you get a handle on this), you'll begin to be able to tell what things you should've changed and what was out of your control. This capacity is called wisdom! With experience, you'll get better at the art of being self-critical.

That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed the article. If you'd like to discuss anything League or have comments/feedback, or just want to say hi, feel free to follow/tweet me @k0nduit (with a zero instead of an 'o') and I'll get back to you.

Until next time.

konduit