Doing & becoming
Experience is the mother of wisdom.
Proverb
At an early age, my heart would choose letters over numbers and my math performance in school would be lame. By the irony of life, I became a tax lawyer and, after years of being visited by unwelcoming figures, the unfamiliar arithmetic universe became home and I found myself able to navigate there with intimacy and ease.
As I, you might become good enough in whatever you want, provided you repeat the action continuously over time with sincerity and care. Rather than building theories on the perfect conditions of temperature and pressure for starting an activity, just start it and learn by doing.
While starting the activity might be easy, keeping up the commitment of repeating it is often challenging especially when there is a longer waiting period between practice and the fruits of action. However the higher you set the bar, the most rewarding the experience would be as its fruits extend beyond the newly acquired habit or competence.
Developing an ashtanga yoga self-practice can be a great place for that. As it happens in several activities we engage in, the inception is often exciting as gains in strength, flexibility, concentration are experienced. Then, the practitioner reaches a plateau where changes take longer to materialize. At this moment, the original enthusiasm starts to fade away and visits to the mat slowly become less frequent.
In order to counteract such behavior, it is key not to focus on the ultimate goal but rather on the development of a sustainable system. For such purpose, it is worth having a strategy addressing each stage of the feedback loop as explained by James Clear in Atomic habits.
Above strategy can be used for both building and sustaining good habits as well as quitting bad habits by doing the opposite of what is recommended in each stage, e.g. cue: make the activity invisible; crave: make it unattractive; response: make it difficult, reward: make it dissatisfying.
As I, you might become good enough in whatever you want, provided you repeat the action continuously over time with sincerity and care. Rather than building theories on the perfect conditions of temperature and pressure for starting an activity, just start it and learn by doing.
While starting the activity might be easy, keeping up the commitment of repeating it is often challenging especially when there is a longer waiting period between practice and the fruits of action. However the higher you set the bar, the most rewarding the experience would be as its fruits extend beyond the newly acquired habit or competence.
Developing an ashtanga yoga self-practice can be a great place for that. As it happens in several activities we engage in, the inception is often exciting as gains in strength, flexibility, concentration are experienced. Then, the practitioner reaches a plateau where changes take longer to materialize. At this moment, the original enthusiasm starts to fade away and visits to the mat slowly become less frequent.
In order to counteract such behavior, it is key not to focus on the ultimate goal but rather on the development of a sustainable system. For such purpose, it is worth having a strategy addressing each stage of the feedback loop as explained by James Clear in Atomic habits.
- Cue: make the activity obvious. Set a time and a place for the practice which is suitable with your routine and usage of the house and commit to it. Often the days you feel less motivated are the days you need it the most. Have the yoga gear (mat, props, etc) visible as this works as a reminder/reinforcement of your commitment.
- Crave: make the activity attractive. Pair it with something you enjoy. Light your favorite incense, practice with an empty stomach and reward yourself with a delicious mindful meal after, alternate self practice with a group practice where the community element contributes to strengthening your commitment.
- Response: make the activity easy. Start small, downscale it. Do a few rounds of sun salutations, a couple of standing, and finishing yoga postures. Keep in mind: too fast, too soon = injury.
- Reward: make the activity satisfying. Feed its execution through study, playfulness, creative exploration of new ways of doing it. Monitor and track your progress as the feeling of success fuels the wheel.
Above strategy can be used for both building and sustaining good habits as well as quitting bad habits by doing the opposite of what is recommended in each stage, e.g. cue: make the activity invisible; crave: make it unattractive; response: make it difficult, reward: make it dissatisfying.
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