5/100 - Find your crutches and use them
Drawing from reference is a crutch.
Stencils are a crutch.
Auto-focus is a crutch.
Learning by copying the masterworks of the masters in your field is a crutch. This applies to artists, but also to coders, engineers, designers, sportspeople. If you aren’t trying to figure out how the best in your field do what they do, you are probably missing out on a great way to get better.
“1
A long stick with a crosspiece at the top, used as a support under the armpit by a person with an injury or disability.
...
1.1
In singular A thing used for support or reassurance.
‘they use the Internet as a crutch for their loneliness”
A tool designed to help you walk when you otherwise couldn’t is a crutch. Over the years the term ‘crutch’ has developed a negative connotation. It is often used to mean something that hinders development, that slows your growth.
But this is incredibly misleading. Crutches are tools that help you achieve more than you could otherwise. They are hard to use. They require skill and strength. Someone with a leg injury would have a much longer recovery period without using crutches to train themselves. They may never achieve the recovery that might be possible with crutches.
There are many people who need crutches or some other tool for mobility throughout their life. Crutches allow you to work harder. To go faster and farther. They let you gain strength.
Find the crutches that help you be better at what you want to do.