The process to overcome low energy states and facilitate learning and achievement
In the article Finding your best self = finding contentment, satisfaction, peace and joy, I gave a very broad overview of how we can channel our energies creatively, set goals and achieve them, reaching states of joy, relaxation and life satisfaction. I also described an example of an aspiring guitarist along their journey to finding mastery and the typical challenges one might encounter in that journey. In this article, I dive into the challenges in more detail, describing their manifestations and best response strategies for each. The first in the series is on the state of mindlessness.
Idleness, a state of purposelessness and inertness. We experience it during periods of low physical energy, lack ideas or things to do. The mind in this state is unfocussed, roaming, susceptible to distractions. The emotional state is typically low, there are either no well defined feelings or feelings of negative energy present. For an inspiring guitarist, this may present itself as lack of interest in the activity, feelings of emptiness, emotional depletion and lack of vision. Other common occurrences of this state are the feeling of inadequacy, frustration at the slow progress and the ruminations about giving up. The mind sees giving up as an end to suffering, an easier way out. Is it an easier way out really though?
A guitarist may then choose to neglect their hobby for days if they are in this state of mind, as their reward circuitry cannot see the point in practicing. This can happen for many reasons. The guitarist may not see how the skill they are using is relevant and meaningful, how it may help to serve other people, making them happy and subsequently evoking feelings of happiness within the guitarist. Also, they may simply not have good learning habits. Poor learning habits may lead the guitarist feeling like they are failing and not good enough to be that virtuous person that they wish to be and have dreamt about becoming. The guitarist example is a useful one, yet to make this more relevant to you, can you think of what virtues you would like to develop? What do you imagine?
If one cannot see how the skills they are learning are useful and can help them to make a difference in life. one can do several things to address these concern and arrive at joy and satisfaction of learning something new, arrive at fulfillment through making music together with others, in the case of the aspiring guitarist.
I) The person suffering from the above hindrances can ask themselves why the activity is relevant to them. Why did they start? Where are they hoping to end up? Have they changed along the way? Can you visualize these into a clear mental picture?
Answering these questions surrounding motivation can help somebody to determine whether the activity is still right for them. Maybe the guitarist's personal values have changed and they no longer believe that developing their guitar skills is aligned with their life goals. What will this mean to the aspiring guitarist? Perhaps by checking in with their values, asking themselves the question I, they may realise that the vision of success and meaning has shifted to new priorities. If that is the case, it is important to acknowledge that and move in the direction of meaning, action and positive development. Only then will one be truly in touch with motivation, truly in peace, actively developing. If the guitarist finds that playing the guitar is still a fundamental goal, as they visualise themselves playing in a band, creating authentic music and connecting with people in the process, then they have confirmed they primary goal is still the most important one.
Having the knowledge of our current motivators and direction, and frequently inspecting it is a good way to remain relevant and true to our goals. How do we start gathering momentum in our activity/direction of development?
II) Seeking external motivation: If the skills one is seeking to develop are still relevant after we have answered question I), we can increase our motivation further by taking energy from the world around us.
The way to do this is engage with the topic/field we are aiming to develop in. For an aspiring guitarist, this may be going to see other guitarists perform concerts, listening to music and reading about the lives of other successful musicians and the impact of music on people as a whole. In doing this exercise, we clarify our meaning, size up the potential impact of our work/hobby and define our expected outcome. Positive energy attracts agency, gratitude and an action prone mind set. Connecting with the right people, people who understand your values and direction without questioning them and support you along the way, are of paramount importance for success. In the initial stages of the activity, this will be a challenging yet vital part. We need to be committed, enthusiastic and seeking and chances are that, sooner or later, we will make the connections with people who are equally driven by the same goals.
III) Once we are sure the activity is what we want to pursue and in order to definitively move away from idleness, we have to plan a realistic schedule of practice. Typically it is planned on a weekly basis and must be repeatable every week. While no one schedule is optimal, an optimal schedule has some general principles.
It has to be a manageable amount of effort. We cannot expect to have to give more energy than we have on any given day or week. A schedule has to be compatible with our energy levels, life demands and other commitments.
It has to involve a manageable budget. Cost management is essential. Most actions require financial investment. Planning a budget for the activity and sticking to the budget is important to making the endeavor sustainable long term. Exploring options of cost reduction may be a good idea but beware of sacrificing quality for cost, as this will move you away from your final goal.
You may need somebody to keep you accountable. A confidant can help you navigate the challenges surrounding your aspirations and keep you committed when the times are hard. Science research has shown that having one or two of these people around you increases the chances of success yet bragging to many people tends to demotivate you.
IV) It is all about the journey: Focus on the process, not the outcome.
The guitarist's friend may ask them "How is the hobby going? Have you sold out your gigs yet?" Can you see a problem with this question? Are these goals achievable? Are they well considered, given the guitarist's actual level of play and experience? People who are unaware of the process to mastery will not help us get there. They will frequently ask unhelpful questions which, if taken at heart, can be discouraging. Beware of how you take input from people about the things you care most about, as caring about something can often lead us feeling vulnerable to other people's judgement and belief in the potential success of the endeavor.
Why is the guitarist's friend's question unhelpful? It is an outcome based question. They are implying the guitarist can somehow control if their gig will be sold out or not. In reality, this is outside of the guitarist's realm of control. They can practice diligently, connect with other musicians to create a band, produce music, advertise it and hope people appreciate it. The above few lines outline a process. Focus on the process.
Once again, it is all about the journey. The quality of our journey, not the final destination, determines our happiness levels in life. Life is a process and it is most useful of thinking of events as stepping stones along the way. Attaching too high value on any given event along the way uses our life resources and distracts us from concentrating on the flow of life.
V) Reflection and assessment - What is the present state of the activity? How has it evolved over the past period?
Stopping at regular intervals to reflect on the events is vital. The duration of each reflection period may depend on how much activity has been happening lately, the natural cycles of the activity and personal preferences. The frequency of these reflection periods depends on the cycle duration of the activity one engages in. Defining an action period is essential. This allows us to set goals to be achieved during the allocated period of time. During the reflection stage, useful questions are:
What were the important moments in this time period?
What were the expected learning points?
Did the events go as expected?
Did I learn from the events? What are the learning points?
How will I approach this situation next time I encounter it?
What will I focus on during the next action period?
VI) Cultivating gratitude and kindness
It is important to acknowledge that no man can go through life alone and develop their potential without guidance and help. Developing a habit of noticing when other people are doing acts of kindness towards us moves us into positive energy states and reminds of the importance of ourselves, in turn, to act kindly to others. Start small, like asking people how they are doing and then actually caring to hear the answer. You can build from there onto taking larger acts of kindness, if it feels good and you feel like you have the resources to do so.
Acknowledge and be mindful of the help we get along the way to achieving our goals and move us into more lasting states of happiness.
The best way to reflect on the above questions I) - VI) is by writing down your observations in a journal and talking to a life coach or a supportive listener about them. Writing allows to develop ideas and fill gaps, crystallizing our position and maximizing learning and retention. Speaking with a life coach to add more structure and tools to this toolkit is an option if you still feel you require extra help setting the structure up.
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