Now what?
You feel calm. Composed. After all the craze of Furioso and Self sabotage, I feel like I am ready to do something. I shouldn’t.
Yup, it is indeed a trap. Whenever you feel ready, hold still. For more. For a little bit more. When it’s unbearable, you’re ready. Well, maybe.
It’s so counter-intuitive. You can’t just straight dive in. You will get to the exact same place you just escaped. You know you need to change it up. That takes mental effort.
I have never read Thinking, Fast and Slow, but that concept for sure applies here. You need to engage the slow, effortful and conscious part of your human being. Don’t do instincts. It’s going to hurt you.
Pick up a different book, Atomic Habits. Or any book about training for anything. Like a marathon. The key is to take it slow in the beginning and then gradually build up when you’re actually ready and you don’t realize it. You are not going to achieve anything right now, immediately, instantly. It takes time and conscious effort.
It goes directly against Push It to the Limit. Well, that song was in a movie about a drug lord who didn’t end well. There is a time when you can push it to the limit. It’s not ALL the time. It’s definitely not during training. You can push only when you’re comfortable with the basics and it’s a habit. When you are actually performing.
When you’re so comfortable that your fast brain is doing all the work, you can consciously choose to push it to the limit and over. One time. Maybe two times. But not all the time.
And when you are done with pushing to the limit? Relax! For god’s sake, take the time to unwind, decompress and relax. Take more time than you think.
And then go back to the beginning of this article and start over with another thing. One thing at a time increases focus and success. After all, “Slow is Smooth. Smooth is Fast”.
PS: It’s OK to fail and miss a beat some times. Be kind to yourself, you’re not a machine.