DarklordKyo said:
For some reason, no matter how much I practice stuff, I somehow never get better (hell, sometimes, I get worse for some reason). Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can better myself despite this? (and don't say it's all in my head, it's not, I literally get worse sometimes when I practice something).
Practice RIGHT. Over-practicing makes it harder to learn things, as well as leaving you more likely to get injured in sports. Practice for a while, take a break, practice later on, or tomorrow. Also, sometimes take a break completely.
Example: I was DESPERATE to crack my brother's best time on Gran Tursimo 3 on a track, and the harder I pushed myself, the slower my times were. So I quit. Drove some other tracks, ended up playing other games, and basically ignored the goal of beating his time on that track. Then I came back and CRUSHED it by over two seconds on my third try after not playing the game at all for two weeks.
Sometimes you just need to take a break and concentrate on something else before your mind will figure out what you were doing wrong and you will get it right.
My brother used to do the same thing while skating. Can't master the Kick Flip? Take a few days off, come back and try again. He got it the first day after taking a week off of skating.