The human brain is remarkably adaptable, but real learning requires time and patience. This is especially true when training your brain for dictation.

When starting out, it's tempting to rush through the early speed levels just to get to a higher wpm. But much like learning a musical instrument, you must be willing to build a solid foundation first.

Appreciate where you are in your journey. Embrace the plateau. This gives your brain the necessary time to create new neural pathways specialised for that speed. Writing shorthand requires eight operations; seven are mental and only the eighth is physical. All these processes are going on simultaneously. Maturating at each level strengthens the underlying foundation upon which greater speeds are built. It does not work well any other way. 

Everything good needs time. Don’t do work in a hurry. Go into details; it pays in every way. Time means power for your work. Mediocrity is always in a rush; but whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing with consideration. For genius is nothing more nor less than doing well what anyone can do badly. - Amelia E. Barr

Accept the time it takes to properly train at each speed level for the gift it will ultimately provide you - neural networks finely tuned for that pace (and beyond). This does not mean you should not push yourself. As we discussed in our post "Introducing Instability," it is vital to do so. But you must recognise when to push and when to focus on making sure the foundation for future growth is solid.

Doing so will help support a lifetime of shorthand excellence.