Arno Ilgner's Blog, page 2
October 10, 2022
Slow Down to Speed Up
Quick Progress
One of our biggest challenges in mental training comes when we’re progressing quickly. Our strategy for improving is working. We have plenty of external evidence of progress, so we aren’t interested in improving our mental game or changing our strategy. This works for us until it doesn’t anymore, like when we hit performance plateaus. We speed along until we completely stop.
Strategies have time limits. At some point they lose their effectiveness. In order to break through performance plateaus, one has to slow down and go deeper. Once we’re there, we can learn new skills to speed our progress. We slow down to speed up.
For instance, when we practice the skill of falling, we may begin with a strategy that’s based on external evidence of our progress. The bigger the fall we take, the more progress we make. However, at some point, the distance of the next fall will be out of our comfort zone. We might power through to get it over-with, or we might remain fearful, fail to learn the skill and shut down our progress. When we base our progress on external evidence we build a shaky foundation that doesn’t support our future growth. If we want to make real progress, we’re going to need a solid foundation that comes from within.
Photo by Fionn Claydon on Unsplash
Look for Ways to Slow Down
Instead of speeding up the process just to get through it, look for ways to slow it down. We slow down by shifting our attention down, out of the mind, and into the body. We become interested in our internal evidence of progress by going deeper within ourselves to find the edge of our comfort zones. We ask ourselves: “What length and type of fall am I comfortable taking?” Then, we take small steps into stress, by taking slightly longer falls. We don’t practice to get the fall over-with; we’re motivated to process the stress, of slightly longer falls, into comfort. In order to do this properly, one must develop subtle awareness.
Subtle Inquiry
We pay attention to the subtleties of how we’re breathing, where we’re looking, and our falling posture, during the fall.
Are we holding our breath or exhaling during the fall? If we’re exhaling, then are we extending the exhale throughout the fall?
Are we looking at the rock or looking down into the fall zone? If we’re looking down, then are we seeing what’s in the fall zone or is our attention focused in the mind, thinking about what we’re doing?
Are we tensing the body and holding the rope, or do we have proper falling posture? If we’re falling with proper posture, then are we moving into the fall from our center or not?
Such inquiry allows us to dig deeper into the subtleties of how we’re falling.
Somatic Awareness
We focus our attention on the body, sensing how we’re breathing, where we’re looking, and our body positioning as we practice. We pay attention to the feeling of becoming more comfortable. If we feel comfortable, we have evidence that we’re falling correctly. Then, we can take a longer fall. That process focuses our attention on the body, not the mind.
Mental training requires us to become more aware of our motivation. Are we motivated by achievement, taking a big fall, or are we motivated by learning how to fall? The former keeps us on a performance plateau because we don’t learn how to fall or diminish fear of falling. The latter allows us to learn a skill and diminish a fear, which are requirements for improvement. Understanding the limitations of achievement motivation allows us to shift how we’re motivated. We understand that a slow, incremental learning process is what ultimately speeds our progress. We slow down to speed up.
Practice Tip: Motivated to Process Stress
All climbers have some degree of fear of falling. How much fear do you have? What length or type of fall are you comfortable taking? Find the edge of your comfort zone and then slow down to speed up.
Slow down by going deeper. Shift your attention out of the mind and into the body. During falling practice, pay attention to how you’re breathing, where you’re looking, and your falling posture. Make sure you’re exhaling throughout the fall, looking down, and positioning your body with your arms/legs shoulder-width apart and bent. You’ll have evidence that you’re falling correctly if you’re becoming more comfortable. Then you can add more stress by taking a longer fall.
One of our biggest challenges in mental training comes when we’re progressing quickly. Our strategy for improving is working. We have plenty of external evidence of progress, so we aren’t interested in improving our mental game or changing our strategy. This works for us until it doesn’t anymore, like when we hit performance plateaus. We speed along until we completely stop.
Strategies have time limits. At some point they lose their effectiveness. In order to break through performance plateaus, one has to slow down and go deeper. Once we’re there, we can learn new skills to speed our progress. We slow down to speed up.
For instance, when we practice the skill of falling, we may begin with a strategy that’s based on external evidence of our progress. The bigger the fall we take, the more progress we make. However, at some point, the distance of the next fall will be out of our comfort zone. We might power through to get it over-with, or we might remain fearful, fail to learn the skill and shut down our progress. When we base our progress on external evidence we build a shaky foundation that doesn’t support our future growth. If we want to make real progress, we’re going to need a solid foundation that comes from within.
Photo by Fionn Claydon on Unsplash
Look for Ways to Slow Down
Instead of speeding up the process just to get through it, look for ways to slow it down. We slow down by shifting our attention down, out of the mind, and into the body. We become interested in our internal evidence of progress by going deeper within ourselves to find the edge of our comfort zones. We ask ourselves: “What length and type of fall am I comfortable taking?” Then, we take small steps into stress, by taking slightly longer falls. We don’t practice to get the fall over-with; we’re motivated to process the stress, of slightly longer falls, into comfort. In order to do this properly, one must develop subtle awareness.
Subtle Inquiry
We pay attention to the subtleties of how we’re breathing, where we’re looking, and our falling posture, during the fall.
Are we holding our breath or exhaling during the fall? If we’re exhaling, then are we extending the exhale throughout the fall?
Are we looking at the rock or looking down into the fall zone? If we’re looking down, then are we seeing what’s in the fall zone or is our attention focused in the mind, thinking about what we’re doing?
Are we tensing the body and holding the rope, or do we have proper falling posture? If we’re falling with proper posture, then are we moving into the fall from our center or not?
Such inquiry allows us to dig deeper into the subtleties of how we’re falling.
Somatic Awareness
We focus our attention on the body, sensing how we’re breathing, where we’re looking, and our body positioning as we practice. We pay attention to the feeling of becoming more comfortable. If we feel comfortable, we have evidence that we’re falling correctly. Then, we can take a longer fall. That process focuses our attention on the body, not the mind.
Mental training requires us to become more aware of our motivation. Are we motivated by achievement, taking a big fall, or are we motivated by learning how to fall? The former keeps us on a performance plateau because we don’t learn how to fall or diminish fear of falling. The latter allows us to learn a skill and diminish a fear, which are requirements for improvement. Understanding the limitations of achievement motivation allows us to shift how we’re motivated. We understand that a slow, incremental learning process is what ultimately speeds our progress. We slow down to speed up.
Practice Tip: Motivated to Process Stress
All climbers have some degree of fear of falling. How much fear do you have? What length or type of fall are you comfortable taking? Find the edge of your comfort zone and then slow down to speed up.
Slow down by going deeper. Shift your attention out of the mind and into the body. During falling practice, pay attention to how you’re breathing, where you’re looking, and your falling posture. Make sure you’re exhaling throughout the fall, looking down, and positioning your body with your arms/legs shoulder-width apart and bent. You’ll have evidence that you’re falling correctly if you’re becoming more comfortable. Then you can add more stress by taking a longer fall.
September 26, 2022
Helpful Helping
Tennessee Wall
I was climbing with a friend, Joey Redman, at Tennessee Wall many years ago. Joey was leading a beautiful route called Cakewalk, a crack climb with a small roof and crux about halfway up the route. Joey climbed confidently to the roof, but then struggled to climb through the crux. He’d climb into the crux, fall off, and get frustrated. I was eager to climb and was impatient with how much time it was taking him. I offered to lead the route. Joey agreed, so I lowered him to the ground. I led the pitch and Joey followed, climbing through the crux without falling.
How Can I Help?
In a previous lesson we outlined a progression for improving communication in relationships. We concluded that when we want to support others it’s helpful to ask “How can I help?” “Helping” however, can be misunderstood. We can become dependent on each other, reinforce our weaknesses, and thwart the learning process.
“Helping” may be interpreted differently depending on whether it’s done from a victim’s or warrior’s perspective. Each perspective is affected by one’s ego and motivation, and the behaviors they produce.
Helpless Victim & Helpful Hero
Victims have egos that need validation and reinforcement. They interact in a relationship in ways that satisfy their own needs, which shifts support away from the relationship and satisfies their egos.
Motivated by comfort, victims avoid struggling and stress. They also get frustrated and act impatient. These behaviors thwart learning and growth for themselves and any relationship they’re in.
Victims interact in relationships by cooperating in codependent ways. Typically, one person plays the helpless victim while the other plays the helpful hero. They depend on each other and perpetuate behaviors that reinforce their egos.
This is what Joey and I did. Joey behaved by playing the helpless victim, getting frustrated and seeking comfort by escaping the situation. I behaved by playing the helpful hero, being impatient and seeking comfort by taking over the role of leading the route. We cooperated in a mutually dependent way that didn’t allow Joey to remain engaged and learn.
Warrior Approach Using Awareness
Conversely, warriors look for ways to develop awareness of limiting aspects of the ego. They interact in a relationship in ways that satisfy the needs of the relationship, which keep them focused on seeking ways to support each other.
Motivated by stress, warriors welcome struggling and staying engaged. They’re curious and patient. These behaviors support learning and growth for themselves and the relationships they’re in.
Warriors interact in relationships by cooperating in interdependent ways. Neither person plays helpless victim nor helpful hero. Rather, they participate in behaviors that reinforce their relationship.
Awareness helps us break out of victim codependency. The people playing the helpless victim role become aware of their dependence on being rescued. The people playing the helpful hero role become aware of their dependence on rescuing others. With awareness they can find ways to stay engaged in the struggle.
Joey reflected on his experience. He told me that he wished I would have let me struggle with it a little longer. He was aware that he lost an opportunity to learn and that I had contributed to taking that opportunity away from him. Joey’s awareness helped us begin to support each other in an interdependent way, to be warriors.
Interdependent Cooperation
Warriors pay attention to the struggle itself so they can notice things they can do to support the struggle of others. Rather than playing the helpless victim, they can notice if there’s too much stress, seek ways to diminish it, so they can process it and learn. Rather than playing the helpful hero, they can notice how stressed others are, give suggestions to diminish stress, and help them redirect their attention to the task so they can learn.
Joey and I realized that we could act as warriors. I could remain patient, allowing him time to struggle; he could remain curious, allowing himself time to learn. We would cooperate in an interdependent way to support his learning.
Practice Tip: Interdependent Helping
Warriors know stress is necessary for learning. So, instead of being rescued from stress or rescuing others from stress, interact in ways that are interdependent.
If you need help, don’t play the helpless victim. Be aware of how stressed you are, whether or not you can process that level of stress, and how you need to be supported so you can stay engaged and learn.
If you want to provide help, don’t play the helpful hero. Be aware of how much stress the other is experiencing, make suggestions for diminishing stress if needed, and help redirect their attention to the task.
I was climbing with a friend, Joey Redman, at Tennessee Wall many years ago. Joey was leading a beautiful route called Cakewalk, a crack climb with a small roof and crux about halfway up the route. Joey climbed confidently to the roof, but then struggled to climb through the crux. He’d climb into the crux, fall off, and get frustrated. I was eager to climb and was impatient with how much time it was taking him. I offered to lead the route. Joey agreed, so I lowered him to the ground. I led the pitch and Joey followed, climbing through the crux without falling.
How Can I Help?
In a previous lesson we outlined a progression for improving communication in relationships. We concluded that when we want to support others it’s helpful to ask “How can I help?” “Helping” however, can be misunderstood. We can become dependent on each other, reinforce our weaknesses, and thwart the learning process.
“Helping” may be interpreted differently depending on whether it’s done from a victim’s or warrior’s perspective. Each perspective is affected by one’s ego and motivation, and the behaviors they produce.
Helpless Victim & Helpful Hero
Victims have egos that need validation and reinforcement. They interact in a relationship in ways that satisfy their own needs, which shifts support away from the relationship and satisfies their egos.
Motivated by comfort, victims avoid struggling and stress. They also get frustrated and act impatient. These behaviors thwart learning and growth for themselves and any relationship they’re in.
Victims interact in relationships by cooperating in codependent ways. Typically, one person plays the helpless victim while the other plays the helpful hero. They depend on each other and perpetuate behaviors that reinforce their egos.
This is what Joey and I did. Joey behaved by playing the helpless victim, getting frustrated and seeking comfort by escaping the situation. I behaved by playing the helpful hero, being impatient and seeking comfort by taking over the role of leading the route. We cooperated in a mutually dependent way that didn’t allow Joey to remain engaged and learn.
Warrior Approach Using Awareness
Conversely, warriors look for ways to develop awareness of limiting aspects of the ego. They interact in a relationship in ways that satisfy the needs of the relationship, which keep them focused on seeking ways to support each other.
Motivated by stress, warriors welcome struggling and staying engaged. They’re curious and patient. These behaviors support learning and growth for themselves and the relationships they’re in.
Warriors interact in relationships by cooperating in interdependent ways. Neither person plays helpless victim nor helpful hero. Rather, they participate in behaviors that reinforce their relationship.
Awareness helps us break out of victim codependency. The people playing the helpless victim role become aware of their dependence on being rescued. The people playing the helpful hero role become aware of their dependence on rescuing others. With awareness they can find ways to stay engaged in the struggle.
Joey reflected on his experience. He told me that he wished I would have let me struggle with it a little longer. He was aware that he lost an opportunity to learn and that I had contributed to taking that opportunity away from him. Joey’s awareness helped us begin to support each other in an interdependent way, to be warriors.
Interdependent Cooperation
Warriors pay attention to the struggle itself so they can notice things they can do to support the struggle of others. Rather than playing the helpless victim, they can notice if there’s too much stress, seek ways to diminish it, so they can process it and learn. Rather than playing the helpful hero, they can notice how stressed others are, give suggestions to diminish stress, and help them redirect their attention to the task so they can learn.
Joey and I realized that we could act as warriors. I could remain patient, allowing him time to struggle; he could remain curious, allowing himself time to learn. We would cooperate in an interdependent way to support his learning.
Practice Tip: Interdependent Helping
Warriors know stress is necessary for learning. So, instead of being rescued from stress or rescuing others from stress, interact in ways that are interdependent.
If you need help, don’t play the helpless victim. Be aware of how stressed you are, whether or not you can process that level of stress, and how you need to be supported so you can stay engaged and learn.
If you want to provide help, don’t play the helpful hero. Be aware of how much stress the other is experiencing, make suggestions for diminishing stress if needed, and help redirect their attention to the task.
September 19, 2022
When Will You Push Back Against Busyness?
Here’s a cool 10-minute audio about “Quiet Quitting.” Apparently the younger generation is tired of being pushed beyond a healthy work/life balance. Employers demand more and more of our time, which diminishes time with family and friends, and doing things outside of work.
What about you? Are you striving through your busyness toward some future career goal? Are you neglecting your important relationships in the process? Quiet Quitting is a way to examine what is truly important in your life.
Do you think there’s a need to push back against the unending pursuit of being productive?
Listen and post your thoughts. I’m curious to hear them.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/112248...
What about you? Are you striving through your busyness toward some future career goal? Are you neglecting your important relationships in the process? Quiet Quitting is a way to examine what is truly important in your life.
Do you think there’s a need to push back against the unending pursuit of being productive?
Listen and post your thoughts. I’m curious to hear them.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/112248...
September 12, 2022
A Progression for Better Communication
Dripping Faucet
I had an argument the other day with Jane, my wife. She was angry because I hadn’t fixed a dripping faucet that I’d agreed to fix a week prior. It was keeping her awake at night and she felt I didn’t support what was important to her. I was offended because I’d intended to fix it. I didn’t feel supported because I’d been working on other important things and felt criticized for forgetting the faucet.
We tend to think other people shouldn’t behave as they do and take it personally when they criticize us. From my perspective, I was doing important work. I felt that she should be able to remind me in a nice way to fix the faucet. From her perspective, I was ignoring something that was important to her: her need for rest. We were both behaving badly and were communicating in a childish fashion. Fortunately, we both realized our bad behaviors and began investigating ways to communicate better and support each other.
There’s a progression for improving communication.
First, criticizing the ego and others’ identities: The ego creates an identity of importance—a self image—based on achievements. When our achievements are criticized, the ego becomes threatened and focuses on defending itself. Attacking other people’s egos causes them to defend themselves, reinforces each party’s perspectives, and destroys any ability to communicate. This first state is an example of a victim’s approach to life. Victims take a step backward into comfort, disengage, and protect their egos.
Second, a shift to criticizing others’ behaviors: By criticizing the behaviors of others, we shift attention from ego identity to actions. People aren’t bad; their behavior is bad. This is more helpful. Doing this is less threatening to others and gives them some space to observe what they did so they can seek ways to change their behavior.
Third, a shift to offering them support: Here we move beyond criticizing other people’s egos or criticizing their behaviors. We shift our attention toward ways we can support and stay connected with others. This is the most helpful. This third state is an example of a warrior’s approach to life. Warriors take a step forward into stress, engage, and protect the relationship.
We can apply two tools that position us for offering support.
First, “It’s not about me.” The ego gets offended when other people criticize us. However, how others act isn’t about what we did. Other people have a choice to communicate with hate or love. If they communicate with hate, then they’ve chosen to communicate that way.
Second, “They’re doing the best they can, given their abilities.” We tend to think other people should act nicer. But, given whatever their past experiences have been, they’re doing the best they can. Some survival behaviors are learned during childhood that aren’t effective for adult communication. Understanding this allows us to become more compassionate with others and ourselves. It helps us understand that “bad” behavior isn’t about flaws in the person; rather, there are flaws in one’s behavior, which can be changed. This doesn’t mean we allow others to shirk responsibility for behaving badly. We hold them accountable for their actions, but interact with them in ways that can help them develop “good” behaviors.
Supporting Ourselves with a Free Mind
These two tools position us for having a free mind, one that can focus our attention in a supportive way. A free mind begins by accepting a situation as it is, so our attention can flow spontaneously as needed. Allowing the ego to get offended or thinking others should act nicer, simply distracts our attention.
We can also apply this process for creating a supportive relationship with ourselves. We can have an “argument” with ourselves. We fall off a route and internally argue with ourselves, thinking we shouldn’t have fallen.
First, the ego gets offended. Its image and importance are threatened, so we fall victim to self-loathing behaviors. This keeps us separated from the situation, with our attention focused on supporting the ego, instead of solving the problem of why we fell.
Second, we can shift our focus to our behavior, our actions. We did something, or didn’t do something, that caused the behavior, the fall. We don’t see ourselves as flawed; we see our behaviors, our actions, as flawed. There’s something flawed in our actions that contributed to the fall. What was it? This is more helpful.
Third, we can offer support. We realize “It’s not about me.” The fall doesn’t mean we are flawed people. We also realize “We’re doing the best we can, given our current abilities.” We know we can improve, but for this particular effort, we did the best we could. Knowing “It’s not about our ego” and “We’re doing our best” allows us to accept situations quickly so our attention is free to flow spontaneously, as needed, so we can learn. This is most helpful.
Photo by Sylvain Mauroux on Unsplash
Supporting Others and Staying Connected
Supporting others and ourselves doesn’t shirk responsibility for bad behavior. Support actually creates the circumstances that allow us to take responsibility for our bad behavior. Knowing “It’s not about me” and “They’re doing the best they can, given their abilities” allows us to stay connected and support others.
Jane and I asked how we could help each other. I suggested she pick up the faucet repair kit to save me some time. She suggested I fix the faucet today, so she can have a restful night’s sleep. Offering support allowed us to accept the situation quickly and take action. Doing this improved our communication, collaboration, and helped change our childish survival behaviors into effective adult behaviors. That connection changed our perspectives and shifted our attention from our egos to the relationship. It also got the faucet fixed that day and a restful night’s sleep for Jane that night.
Practice Tip: How Can I Help?
Instead of being a victim, be a warrior. Take a step forward into stress, instead of a step backward into comfort. Doing this keeps you engaged in the situation to effect change. Whether interacting with others or yourself, ask: “How can I help?” Asking this question moves you toward staying connected so you can solve whatever problem is facing you.
How Can I Help? others: Others will tell you something you can do to support the relationship. This helps you know what’s important for them and allows you to take effective action.
How Can I Help? myself: There’s something you can do to help yourself. Stay curious about what's important for solving the problem. Knowing this allows you to take action and learn.
I had an argument the other day with Jane, my wife. She was angry because I hadn’t fixed a dripping faucet that I’d agreed to fix a week prior. It was keeping her awake at night and she felt I didn’t support what was important to her. I was offended because I’d intended to fix it. I didn’t feel supported because I’d been working on other important things and felt criticized for forgetting the faucet.
We tend to think other people shouldn’t behave as they do and take it personally when they criticize us. From my perspective, I was doing important work. I felt that she should be able to remind me in a nice way to fix the faucet. From her perspective, I was ignoring something that was important to her: her need for rest. We were both behaving badly and were communicating in a childish fashion. Fortunately, we both realized our bad behaviors and began investigating ways to communicate better and support each other.
There’s a progression for improving communication.
First, criticizing the ego and others’ identities: The ego creates an identity of importance—a self image—based on achievements. When our achievements are criticized, the ego becomes threatened and focuses on defending itself. Attacking other people’s egos causes them to defend themselves, reinforces each party’s perspectives, and destroys any ability to communicate. This first state is an example of a victim’s approach to life. Victims take a step backward into comfort, disengage, and protect their egos.
Second, a shift to criticizing others’ behaviors: By criticizing the behaviors of others, we shift attention from ego identity to actions. People aren’t bad; their behavior is bad. This is more helpful. Doing this is less threatening to others and gives them some space to observe what they did so they can seek ways to change their behavior.
Third, a shift to offering them support: Here we move beyond criticizing other people’s egos or criticizing their behaviors. We shift our attention toward ways we can support and stay connected with others. This is the most helpful. This third state is an example of a warrior’s approach to life. Warriors take a step forward into stress, engage, and protect the relationship.
We can apply two tools that position us for offering support.
First, “It’s not about me.” The ego gets offended when other people criticize us. However, how others act isn’t about what we did. Other people have a choice to communicate with hate or love. If they communicate with hate, then they’ve chosen to communicate that way.
Second, “They’re doing the best they can, given their abilities.” We tend to think other people should act nicer. But, given whatever their past experiences have been, they’re doing the best they can. Some survival behaviors are learned during childhood that aren’t effective for adult communication. Understanding this allows us to become more compassionate with others and ourselves. It helps us understand that “bad” behavior isn’t about flaws in the person; rather, there are flaws in one’s behavior, which can be changed. This doesn’t mean we allow others to shirk responsibility for behaving badly. We hold them accountable for their actions, but interact with them in ways that can help them develop “good” behaviors.
Supporting Ourselves with a Free Mind
These two tools position us for having a free mind, one that can focus our attention in a supportive way. A free mind begins by accepting a situation as it is, so our attention can flow spontaneously as needed. Allowing the ego to get offended or thinking others should act nicer, simply distracts our attention.
We can also apply this process for creating a supportive relationship with ourselves. We can have an “argument” with ourselves. We fall off a route and internally argue with ourselves, thinking we shouldn’t have fallen.
First, the ego gets offended. Its image and importance are threatened, so we fall victim to self-loathing behaviors. This keeps us separated from the situation, with our attention focused on supporting the ego, instead of solving the problem of why we fell.
Second, we can shift our focus to our behavior, our actions. We did something, or didn’t do something, that caused the behavior, the fall. We don’t see ourselves as flawed; we see our behaviors, our actions, as flawed. There’s something flawed in our actions that contributed to the fall. What was it? This is more helpful.
Third, we can offer support. We realize “It’s not about me.” The fall doesn’t mean we are flawed people. We also realize “We’re doing the best we can, given our current abilities.” We know we can improve, but for this particular effort, we did the best we could. Knowing “It’s not about our ego” and “We’re doing our best” allows us to accept situations quickly so our attention is free to flow spontaneously, as needed, so we can learn. This is most helpful.
Photo by Sylvain Mauroux on Unsplash
Supporting Others and Staying Connected
Supporting others and ourselves doesn’t shirk responsibility for bad behavior. Support actually creates the circumstances that allow us to take responsibility for our bad behavior. Knowing “It’s not about me” and “They’re doing the best they can, given their abilities” allows us to stay connected and support others.
Jane and I asked how we could help each other. I suggested she pick up the faucet repair kit to save me some time. She suggested I fix the faucet today, so she can have a restful night’s sleep. Offering support allowed us to accept the situation quickly and take action. Doing this improved our communication, collaboration, and helped change our childish survival behaviors into effective adult behaviors. That connection changed our perspectives and shifted our attention from our egos to the relationship. It also got the faucet fixed that day and a restful night’s sleep for Jane that night.
Practice Tip: How Can I Help?
Instead of being a victim, be a warrior. Take a step forward into stress, instead of a step backward into comfort. Doing this keeps you engaged in the situation to effect change. Whether interacting with others or yourself, ask: “How can I help?” Asking this question moves you toward staying connected so you can solve whatever problem is facing you.
How Can I Help? others: Others will tell you something you can do to support the relationship. This helps you know what’s important for them and allows you to take effective action.
How Can I Help? myself: There’s something you can do to help yourself. Stay curious about what's important for solving the problem. Knowing this allows you to take action and learn.
September 5, 2022
How Does the Mind Influence the Body?
In this episode of Reframing Your Reality, Alia Crum of Stanford explains how our beliefs about food and exercise affect our bodies. What happens in the mind, doesn’t stay in the mind. It’s directed to and manifested in the body.
Here are some findings:
Allergens, like peanuts, have less side effects when we believe the body’s immune system is working well in response to them.
Believing that we’re not getting enough exercise, even when we are, negatively affects the exercise we get.
Our beliefs about the nutritional quality of food determines how much nutrient value we receive.
They suggest finding a balance between:
Informing yourself of the values of healthy eating behavior, and
Identifying mindsets that make you want to do those behaviors.
They conclude by recommending to always do both the mental and the physical:
Investigate mindsets that support the body, and also eat well and exercise.
Being inspired by what you eat, how you exercise, and what you do–for their own sake–may be the best mindset to have while we’re figuring this all out.
Here are some findings:
Allergens, like peanuts, have less side effects when we believe the body’s immune system is working well in response to them.
Believing that we’re not getting enough exercise, even when we are, negatively affects the exercise we get.
Our beliefs about the nutritional quality of food determines how much nutrient value we receive.
They suggest finding a balance between:
Informing yourself of the values of healthy eating behavior, and
Identifying mindsets that make you want to do those behaviors.
They conclude by recommending to always do both the mental and the physical:
Investigate mindsets that support the body, and also eat well and exercise.
Being inspired by what you eat, how you exercise, and what you do–for their own sake–may be the best mindset to have while we’re figuring this all out.
August 29, 2022
Characteristics Over Preferences
Did I Really Need to Choose?
I had an interesting experience doing yoga on my patio during a beautiful autumn day. As I shifted into Triangle pose, I stretched my right arm to the sky and looked up. I noticed a beautiful blue sky. “That color of blue has always been my favorite color,” I said to myself.
Then, I noticed the brilliant colors of the maple tree leaves. They were changing from green to orange, yellow, and red. It was beautiful. I wondered if I preferred the changing colors of the leaves over my favorite blue sky. Did I really need to choose between them?
Experiences, Choosing, & Connection
Experiences are composed of many parts that complement and contrast each other; no individual part stands alone separate from the whole. How the blue sky and colored leaves complement and contrast each other is more interesting than the blue sky alone. Together they give us a deeper feeling of beauty and connectedness.
The mind’s general preference is for comfort. I remember my brother and I choosing our favorite colors when we were young. He chose yellow; I chose blue. “Blue is a better color than yellow because it’s calming,” my ego told me. My ego wanted the comfort of choosing a better color than my brother, so it manufactured a reason to support its choice. Why would “calming” make choosing blue a better choice? The ego doesn’t care about the validity of the reason. It just wants some justification to make it feel better.
Choosing a favorite color may seem like a small thing, but such experiences build on one another. The ego’s preference for comfort builds a value system based almost entirely on feeling more important than others, seeking preferences that distract our attention from working on our weaknesses.
Photo by Brook Anderson on Unsplash
Preferences & Characteristics
This preference for comfort also influences our climbing. Perhaps we’re traditional climbers. Our egos might say: “I prefer traditional climbing because it involves more risk and requires more mental focus than sport climbing.” This may or may not be true, but again, the ego doesn’t care. It only needs a manufactured reason so it can puff itself up.
A better word to use than “preferences” would be “characteristics.” Characteristics include all aspects of a situation, not just the ones we prefer. I perceive a scene as I hold the yoga Triangle pose. Its characteristics consist of blue sky, colored leaves, etc. Including all characteristics helps me perceive the scene as a whole. Doing this expands my awareness of the interconnectedness of the individual characteristics and gives me a more complete understanding of it. Blue is brilliant because of its contrast with the colored leaves.
I perceive my inner mental state during climbing. Its characteristics include the mind, the body, and how they influence each other. Perhaps I’m thinking about being at the next comfortable stance, influencing my body to rush through the stressful climbing. Noticing this, I slow down to influence my thinking, shifting my attention to dealing with the present stress.
Perhaps I’m over-gripping because I’m afraid of falling, influencing my mind to think about falling instead of climbing. Noticing this, I relax my grip to influence my mind, shifting my attention to think about what I need to do to climb. What I do with my body influences my mind and vice versa. Observing my inner state helps me notice this interconnection, respond to it effectively, and not fall victim to my ego’s preferences.
Making the Shift to Expanded Awareness
Shifting from preferences to characteristics is pragmatic. We look at all characteristics of a situation because we need to know all the components of the risk. If we only prefer the comfortable components, then we might ignore the fall consequence and take an inappropriate risk; or, we might ignore a rest stance because we’re rushing to the next comfort zone and perform poorly.
Much of mental training has to do with expanding awareness. Having favorites and preferences interferes with this process. They shrink our awareness, parsing out comfortable parts to keep and stressful parts to ignore. When we look beyond preferences, we begin to connect the parts into an interconnected whole. Instead of looking for blue, we look for how all colors complement and contrast each other to create beauty. Instead of looking for climbing situations that prop up the ego, we engage new climbing situations that allow us to learn.
Practice Tip: Preference for Weaknesses
Do you prefer sport climbing over gym climbing; trad climbing over bouldering? There’s nothing wrong with having a preferred type of climbing you enjoy. But, if you want to grow as a climber, then have a preference for developing your weaknesses.
Here are some suggestions:
Do other types of climbing that aren’t your preferred type.
Go to new climbing areas that you haven’t visited.
Climb routes you’ve never done.
If you are mostly on-sighting, then start a redpoint project, or vice versa.
Do some mental training if you’ve only focused on physical training.
These will expose your weaknesses so you can learn from them. Having a preference for your weaknesses, will help you grow as a climber.
I had an interesting experience doing yoga on my patio during a beautiful autumn day. As I shifted into Triangle pose, I stretched my right arm to the sky and looked up. I noticed a beautiful blue sky. “That color of blue has always been my favorite color,” I said to myself.
Then, I noticed the brilliant colors of the maple tree leaves. They were changing from green to orange, yellow, and red. It was beautiful. I wondered if I preferred the changing colors of the leaves over my favorite blue sky. Did I really need to choose between them?
Experiences, Choosing, & Connection
Experiences are composed of many parts that complement and contrast each other; no individual part stands alone separate from the whole. How the blue sky and colored leaves complement and contrast each other is more interesting than the blue sky alone. Together they give us a deeper feeling of beauty and connectedness.
The mind’s general preference is for comfort. I remember my brother and I choosing our favorite colors when we were young. He chose yellow; I chose blue. “Blue is a better color than yellow because it’s calming,” my ego told me. My ego wanted the comfort of choosing a better color than my brother, so it manufactured a reason to support its choice. Why would “calming” make choosing blue a better choice? The ego doesn’t care about the validity of the reason. It just wants some justification to make it feel better.
Choosing a favorite color may seem like a small thing, but such experiences build on one another. The ego’s preference for comfort builds a value system based almost entirely on feeling more important than others, seeking preferences that distract our attention from working on our weaknesses.
Photo by Brook Anderson on Unsplash
Preferences & Characteristics
This preference for comfort also influences our climbing. Perhaps we’re traditional climbers. Our egos might say: “I prefer traditional climbing because it involves more risk and requires more mental focus than sport climbing.” This may or may not be true, but again, the ego doesn’t care. It only needs a manufactured reason so it can puff itself up.
A better word to use than “preferences” would be “characteristics.” Characteristics include all aspects of a situation, not just the ones we prefer. I perceive a scene as I hold the yoga Triangle pose. Its characteristics consist of blue sky, colored leaves, etc. Including all characteristics helps me perceive the scene as a whole. Doing this expands my awareness of the interconnectedness of the individual characteristics and gives me a more complete understanding of it. Blue is brilliant because of its contrast with the colored leaves.
I perceive my inner mental state during climbing. Its characteristics include the mind, the body, and how they influence each other. Perhaps I’m thinking about being at the next comfortable stance, influencing my body to rush through the stressful climbing. Noticing this, I slow down to influence my thinking, shifting my attention to dealing with the present stress.
Perhaps I’m over-gripping because I’m afraid of falling, influencing my mind to think about falling instead of climbing. Noticing this, I relax my grip to influence my mind, shifting my attention to think about what I need to do to climb. What I do with my body influences my mind and vice versa. Observing my inner state helps me notice this interconnection, respond to it effectively, and not fall victim to my ego’s preferences.
Making the Shift to Expanded Awareness
Shifting from preferences to characteristics is pragmatic. We look at all characteristics of a situation because we need to know all the components of the risk. If we only prefer the comfortable components, then we might ignore the fall consequence and take an inappropriate risk; or, we might ignore a rest stance because we’re rushing to the next comfort zone and perform poorly.
Much of mental training has to do with expanding awareness. Having favorites and preferences interferes with this process. They shrink our awareness, parsing out comfortable parts to keep and stressful parts to ignore. When we look beyond preferences, we begin to connect the parts into an interconnected whole. Instead of looking for blue, we look for how all colors complement and contrast each other to create beauty. Instead of looking for climbing situations that prop up the ego, we engage new climbing situations that allow us to learn.
Practice Tip: Preference for Weaknesses
Do you prefer sport climbing over gym climbing; trad climbing over bouldering? There’s nothing wrong with having a preferred type of climbing you enjoy. But, if you want to grow as a climber, then have a preference for developing your weaknesses.
Here are some suggestions:
Do other types of climbing that aren’t your preferred type.
Go to new climbing areas that you haven’t visited.
Climb routes you’ve never done.
If you are mostly on-sighting, then start a redpoint project, or vice versa.
Do some mental training if you’ve only focused on physical training.
These will expose your weaknesses so you can learn from them. Having a preference for your weaknesses, will help you grow as a climber.
August 22, 2022
Does Your Perception Create Your Reality?
Do you think that how you perceive the world is reality?
Stanford researcher on mindset, Alia Crum, would challenge your affirmative answer. Here’s a recent interview with her on Hidden Brain about how your mindset determines your reality. It’ll challenge your perception of reality and the mindset you create about it.
Crum shared an experience during her graduate school phD program when she was really stressed. A friend noticed her state and said something that seemed to change her mindset about stress. He said, “It’s just a cold, dark night on the side of Everest.”
His point was: what did you expect? You can’t climb Everest and not struggle through cold and dark–stressful–experiences. Likewise, she couldn’t achieve her phD without having stressful experiences.
And why wouldn’t it be this way?
You can reflect on anything you’ve done that was hard–like being a parent, having a healthy relationship with your partner, or succeeding on the next harder climbing grade–and realize those are the experiences that created real meaning in your life. Stress is what made you who you are today.
Consider that your perceptions are your perceptions, which create your reality. We have mindsets that create subjective perceptions of objective reality. We are subjective beings and we project our subjectivity on objective reality. Our beliefs, perceptions, and experiences are always a subjective interpretation of objective reality.
Photo by Ehab Al-Hakawati on Unsplash
Here are some additional points and questions from the interview I found interesting:
What is mindset: core assumptions we believe about ourselves. Beliefs about our abilities, about stress, about our worthiness.
The question to ask about mindset:
Is not: Which mindset best reflects reality?
Is: Which mindset will help me most in the long term?
Mindsets aren’t right or wrong. Rather, you view them based on how they serve you. For example:
Do you believe stress will be debilitating to your health and wellbeing? If so, then you will feel out of control when you’re stressed.
Do you believe stress will enhance your health and wellbeing? If so, then you will feel more in control when in stress.
How much does your brain shape how you perceive the world? The brain’s goal is to predict the future. That future prediction impacts your perception.
How much does the way you think shape your ability to respond to challenges? You use heuristics and confirmation bias to think about what’s important. These influence your perception of reality.
We shouldn’t believe that stress is always bad, nor believe that stress is always good. Rather, you determine whether you’re in balance. If you’re stressed too much, then stress will have negative effects on you. If you can cycle between stress and comfort, then you’re more likely to process the stress when you’re in it.
The total effect of anything you do is a combined product of:
What you’re actually doing, and
What you think about what you do.
The conclusion for me is that you create your own version of reality. Being a subjective being, you can’t perceive objective reality in its truest form. But you can accept that you’ll have days that are dark and cold–that are stressful–and accept them as normal. That acceptance gives you a reality check on your life and helps guide you toward a mindset that’s helpful for engaging it.
Practice tip: Apply Your Mindset
Notice when you’re in stress and how you’re reacting to it.
Remind yourself of why you’re engaged in the stressful activity.
Frame the stress in how much you care about what you’re doing.
Shift your attention to breathing, relaxing, and your senses.
Redirect your attention to the current task in the stressful situation.
Stanford researcher on mindset, Alia Crum, would challenge your affirmative answer. Here’s a recent interview with her on Hidden Brain about how your mindset determines your reality. It’ll challenge your perception of reality and the mindset you create about it.
Crum shared an experience during her graduate school phD program when she was really stressed. A friend noticed her state and said something that seemed to change her mindset about stress. He said, “It’s just a cold, dark night on the side of Everest.”
His point was: what did you expect? You can’t climb Everest and not struggle through cold and dark–stressful–experiences. Likewise, she couldn’t achieve her phD without having stressful experiences.
And why wouldn’t it be this way?
You can reflect on anything you’ve done that was hard–like being a parent, having a healthy relationship with your partner, or succeeding on the next harder climbing grade–and realize those are the experiences that created real meaning in your life. Stress is what made you who you are today.
Consider that your perceptions are your perceptions, which create your reality. We have mindsets that create subjective perceptions of objective reality. We are subjective beings and we project our subjectivity on objective reality. Our beliefs, perceptions, and experiences are always a subjective interpretation of objective reality.
Photo by Ehab Al-Hakawati on Unsplash
Here are some additional points and questions from the interview I found interesting:
What is mindset: core assumptions we believe about ourselves. Beliefs about our abilities, about stress, about our worthiness.
The question to ask about mindset:
Is not: Which mindset best reflects reality?
Is: Which mindset will help me most in the long term?
Mindsets aren’t right or wrong. Rather, you view them based on how they serve you. For example:
Do you believe stress will be debilitating to your health and wellbeing? If so, then you will feel out of control when you’re stressed.
Do you believe stress will enhance your health and wellbeing? If so, then you will feel more in control when in stress.
How much does your brain shape how you perceive the world? The brain’s goal is to predict the future. That future prediction impacts your perception.
How much does the way you think shape your ability to respond to challenges? You use heuristics and confirmation bias to think about what’s important. These influence your perception of reality.
We shouldn’t believe that stress is always bad, nor believe that stress is always good. Rather, you determine whether you’re in balance. If you’re stressed too much, then stress will have negative effects on you. If you can cycle between stress and comfort, then you’re more likely to process the stress when you’re in it.
The total effect of anything you do is a combined product of:
What you’re actually doing, and
What you think about what you do.
The conclusion for me is that you create your own version of reality. Being a subjective being, you can’t perceive objective reality in its truest form. But you can accept that you’ll have days that are dark and cold–that are stressful–and accept them as normal. That acceptance gives you a reality check on your life and helps guide you toward a mindset that’s helpful for engaging it.
Practice tip: Apply Your Mindset
Notice when you’re in stress and how you’re reacting to it.
Remind yourself of why you’re engaged in the stressful activity.
Frame the stress in how much you care about what you’re doing.
Shift your attention to breathing, relaxing, and your senses.
Redirect your attention to the current task in the stressful situation.
August 15, 2022
The Ultimate Goal: A Free Mind
A Free Mind
This year, consider setting the ultimate goal: having a free mind. Too often we find the mind in a mental prison of its own making. The prison is comfortable because it’s familiar, but we’re not meant to live there. Finding the key frees the mind so it can go wherever it needs to go, so we can live fulfilling lives. But how do we find the key?
Accessing what extreme athletes call “the flow state” is an example of a free mind operating in sports. Flow can also occur when a jazz group gets into its groove. Or when samurai fight well. The flow state is a state that allows attention to “flow” moment to moment with the situations we’re engaged in, uninhibited by a mind that resists what’s happening.
The Middle Way
An important part of freeing the mind, so it can flow, requires finding a middle way through action. Instead of either/or, it’s both/and. We move beyond the polarities of right/wrong and good/bad, thinking situations are either “right and good” or “wrong and bad.” When the mind is attached to “right” and “good” it resists accepting the “wrong” and “bad” that’s occurring in the present moment. This distracts our attention. Therefore, instead of latching onto “right” and “good” and avoiding “wrong” and “bad” we find a way through both.
We balance right/wrong. We might do something wrong, that we consider a mistake. Instead of seeing mistakes as wrong, we see them as necessary for learning. We don’t have to identify with mistakes, creating a negative self image. We can accept responsibility for the mistake and look for the learning opportunity.
We also balance good/bad. We might be in a stressful situation and label it bad. Instead of seeing stress as bad, we see it as necessary for learning. We move beyond the “bad” label and stay curious about what we need to learn. By balancing right/wrong and good/bad we free the mind to focus on learning.
Learning Through Both/And
Learning includes both mistakes and stress, aspects of the experience we tend to label “wrong” and “bad.” Yet both are necessary and inevitable for improving. We work through stress, make mistakes, and learn from them. A flexible mind finds its way through the middle of right/wrong and good/bad, and frees it from its comfortable prison.
For example, we make a plan for climbing, engage, and fall. Instead of being attached to our plan being right, we find a middle way that blends us with the rock. We make a plan, but modify it as we learn what’s necessary for climbing. We might expect a hold to be big and find out it’s small when we grab it. Instead of staying attached to our plan being right, we modify how we use the hold or choose a different one.
Relationships
Relationships can be stressful, causing us a lot of anxiety. Perhaps we have an argument with our mates. We might expect them to be kind to us, but instead they criticize us. Instead of staying attached to our opinion being right, we modify our approach. We listen to them to understand their concerns and find ways we can help.
The middle way is not about being spineless and not standing firm on issues important to us. It actually requires more mental strength than being rigidly attached to being right. We’re all in a constant state of learning. Being rigidly attached to a particular way of understanding reality limits learning. Accepting our limited understanding, positions us to remain curious to situations we find ourselves in; so we can learn. Accepting our limitations is a lot harder than insisting we’re right.
Standing Firm & Staying Engaged
We stand firm on staying engaged, whether on a climb or in a relationship. We stay engaged with the rock by finding ways to blend what we’re doing with what the rock requires. We stay engaged with others by finding ways to create better understanding between us. We’re fiercely committed to standing firm on staying engaged.
The middle way allows our attention to flow together with the situations we’re engaged in. Whether us and the rock, or us and our mates, together we become greater than the sum of the parts.
Flow
That’s how flow works. Life really is one interdependent whole. Each “thing” connects with other “things” in such a way that together support the whole. We expand beyond our individual ego selves and become something greater…life itself, flowing together naturally through experiences. We flow together to create something bigger and better than we can do individually.
The key to freeing the mind from its comfortable prison is the middle way. We take steps toward what we tend to resist—mistakes and stress—and find we don’t need a key at all. The action of fiercely stepping forward opens the prison door by itself. Then we can live fulfilling lives, allowing the mind to go where it needs to, so we can stay connected to learn and grow.
Practice Tip: Escape the Mental Prison
Do you find yourself getting annoyed by mistakes you make or rushing through stressful situations? These are examples of a mind in its prison. Get out of prison by fiercely taking steps.
First fierce step: Be willing to make mistakes. Acknowledge you’ve made a mistake, accept responsibility for it, and identify what you learned from it. Then, apply that learning in your life.
Second fierce step: Stay engaged in stress. Breathe, relax, and stop thinking. Listen! Stay receptive to the rock or the other person you’re speaking with. Doing this will keep you engaged.
This year, consider setting the ultimate goal: having a free mind. Too often we find the mind in a mental prison of its own making. The prison is comfortable because it’s familiar, but we’re not meant to live there. Finding the key frees the mind so it can go wherever it needs to go, so we can live fulfilling lives. But how do we find the key?
Accessing what extreme athletes call “the flow state” is an example of a free mind operating in sports. Flow can also occur when a jazz group gets into its groove. Or when samurai fight well. The flow state is a state that allows attention to “flow” moment to moment with the situations we’re engaged in, uninhibited by a mind that resists what’s happening.
The Middle Way
An important part of freeing the mind, so it can flow, requires finding a middle way through action. Instead of either/or, it’s both/and. We move beyond the polarities of right/wrong and good/bad, thinking situations are either “right and good” or “wrong and bad.” When the mind is attached to “right” and “good” it resists accepting the “wrong” and “bad” that’s occurring in the present moment. This distracts our attention. Therefore, instead of latching onto “right” and “good” and avoiding “wrong” and “bad” we find a way through both.
We balance right/wrong. We might do something wrong, that we consider a mistake. Instead of seeing mistakes as wrong, we see them as necessary for learning. We don’t have to identify with mistakes, creating a negative self image. We can accept responsibility for the mistake and look for the learning opportunity.
We also balance good/bad. We might be in a stressful situation and label it bad. Instead of seeing stress as bad, we see it as necessary for learning. We move beyond the “bad” label and stay curious about what we need to learn. By balancing right/wrong and good/bad we free the mind to focus on learning.
Learning Through Both/And
Learning includes both mistakes and stress, aspects of the experience we tend to label “wrong” and “bad.” Yet both are necessary and inevitable for improving. We work through stress, make mistakes, and learn from them. A flexible mind finds its way through the middle of right/wrong and good/bad, and frees it from its comfortable prison.
For example, we make a plan for climbing, engage, and fall. Instead of being attached to our plan being right, we find a middle way that blends us with the rock. We make a plan, but modify it as we learn what’s necessary for climbing. We might expect a hold to be big and find out it’s small when we grab it. Instead of staying attached to our plan being right, we modify how we use the hold or choose a different one.
Relationships
Relationships can be stressful, causing us a lot of anxiety. Perhaps we have an argument with our mates. We might expect them to be kind to us, but instead they criticize us. Instead of staying attached to our opinion being right, we modify our approach. We listen to them to understand their concerns and find ways we can help.
The middle way is not about being spineless and not standing firm on issues important to us. It actually requires more mental strength than being rigidly attached to being right. We’re all in a constant state of learning. Being rigidly attached to a particular way of understanding reality limits learning. Accepting our limited understanding, positions us to remain curious to situations we find ourselves in; so we can learn. Accepting our limitations is a lot harder than insisting we’re right.
Standing Firm & Staying Engaged
We stand firm on staying engaged, whether on a climb or in a relationship. We stay engaged with the rock by finding ways to blend what we’re doing with what the rock requires. We stay engaged with others by finding ways to create better understanding between us. We’re fiercely committed to standing firm on staying engaged.
The middle way allows our attention to flow together with the situations we’re engaged in. Whether us and the rock, or us and our mates, together we become greater than the sum of the parts.
Flow
That’s how flow works. Life really is one interdependent whole. Each “thing” connects with other “things” in such a way that together support the whole. We expand beyond our individual ego selves and become something greater…life itself, flowing together naturally through experiences. We flow together to create something bigger and better than we can do individually.
The key to freeing the mind from its comfortable prison is the middle way. We take steps toward what we tend to resist—mistakes and stress—and find we don’t need a key at all. The action of fiercely stepping forward opens the prison door by itself. Then we can live fulfilling lives, allowing the mind to go where it needs to, so we can stay connected to learn and grow.
Practice Tip: Escape the Mental Prison
Do you find yourself getting annoyed by mistakes you make or rushing through stressful situations? These are examples of a mind in its prison. Get out of prison by fiercely taking steps.
First fierce step: Be willing to make mistakes. Acknowledge you’ve made a mistake, accept responsibility for it, and identify what you learned from it. Then, apply that learning in your life.
Second fierce step: Stay engaged in stress. Breathe, relax, and stop thinking. Listen! Stay receptive to the rock or the other person you’re speaking with. Doing this will keep you engaged.
August 8, 2022
How Well Can You Tell Fact From Opinion?
Pew Research Quiz
The Pew Research organization created this short quiz that reveals how well you can discern facts from opinions. Here’s their challenge: Test your ability to classify 10 news statements as either factual or opinion. Then see how you did in comparison with a nationally representative group of 5,035 randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online between February 22 and March 4, 2018.
Pew’s instructions for taking the quiz:
Regardless of how knowledgeable you are about each topic, would you consider each statement to be a factual statement (whether you think it is accurate or not) or an opinion statement (whether you agree with it or not)?
The quiz takes about two minutes. I urge you to stop now and take it.
PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE…TAKE THE QUIZ…
So, how did you do? What do you think is the main point? Certainly, the lower your ability to discern fact from opinion the more you’re playing the victim to your mind’s tendencies. That’s one important aspect of the quiz. But I think there’s a deeper lesson here. Any idea what it is? I urge you to stop now and reflect on that.
PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE…REFLECT FOR A FEW MOMENTS…
Photo by Ana Municio on Unsplash
From a mental training perspective, you certainly need to become more acutely aware of the mind’s limiting tendencies. You can’t act effectively on a lie. Opinions in many ways are lies. You need to see reality as factual as possible. That’s the first lesson.
Next, how did you take the quiz? Did you rush it or take time to think through each statement? In other words, did you take time to slow down and observe how the mind might want to answer each statement? Answering quickly can tend toward opinion, whereas slowing down can tend toward fact. Slowing down helps you notice your thoughts more. That helps you discern between awareness and thoughts, between facts and opinions.
Finally, did you pause as I urged you to do…to take the quiz and to reflect on how you took it? This is a real time experiment into the nature of your own mind. If you want to become more mentally fit, then you must develop an appropriate relationship with the mind. A foundational tool for doing that is your ability to slow down so you can observe and discern what’s happening up there in your head. So, slow down, slow down. There’s no need to rush, in taking this quiz, in climbing, or in life. Don’t rush. All you’ll find if you rush through life is death. I’d venture that you don’t want to rush toward that ultimate fate we all share.
The Pew Research organization created this short quiz that reveals how well you can discern facts from opinions. Here’s their challenge: Test your ability to classify 10 news statements as either factual or opinion. Then see how you did in comparison with a nationally representative group of 5,035 randomly selected U.S. adults surveyed online between February 22 and March 4, 2018.
Pew’s instructions for taking the quiz:
Regardless of how knowledgeable you are about each topic, would you consider each statement to be a factual statement (whether you think it is accurate or not) or an opinion statement (whether you agree with it or not)?
The quiz takes about two minutes. I urge you to stop now and take it.
PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE…TAKE THE QUIZ…
So, how did you do? What do you think is the main point? Certainly, the lower your ability to discern fact from opinion the more you’re playing the victim to your mind’s tendencies. That’s one important aspect of the quiz. But I think there’s a deeper lesson here. Any idea what it is? I urge you to stop now and reflect on that.
PAUSE, PAUSE, PAUSE…REFLECT FOR A FEW MOMENTS…
Photo by Ana Municio on Unsplash
From a mental training perspective, you certainly need to become more acutely aware of the mind’s limiting tendencies. You can’t act effectively on a lie. Opinions in many ways are lies. You need to see reality as factual as possible. That’s the first lesson.
Next, how did you take the quiz? Did you rush it or take time to think through each statement? In other words, did you take time to slow down and observe how the mind might want to answer each statement? Answering quickly can tend toward opinion, whereas slowing down can tend toward fact. Slowing down helps you notice your thoughts more. That helps you discern between awareness and thoughts, between facts and opinions.
Finally, did you pause as I urged you to do…to take the quiz and to reflect on how you took it? This is a real time experiment into the nature of your own mind. If you want to become more mentally fit, then you must develop an appropriate relationship with the mind. A foundational tool for doing that is your ability to slow down so you can observe and discern what’s happening up there in your head. So, slow down, slow down. There’s no need to rush, in taking this quiz, in climbing, or in life. Don’t rush. All you’ll find if you rush through life is death. I’d venture that you don’t want to rush toward that ultimate fate we all share.
August 1, 2022
Practice Versus Application
Flip the Switch
I did an interview with Kris Hampton of Power Company Climbing recently. He said he really enjoys the learning process, but feels he might stay in it too long. He asked me how to determine when to “flip the switch” to shift into redpoint mode? I told him there’s a difference between practice and application. We focus on learning during practice; we focus on testing our learning during application. Practice narrows our attention to learn skills; application expands our attention to apply what we’ve learned. Our best performance occurs when we “flip the switch” and commit our attention completely to application.
From Practice
Practice is a divergent activity. We have one point of focus: we need to learn. From that one point, we diverge into doing various activities that support it. This is an analytical process. We analyze sequences, rest stances, and fall consequences. Our attention narrows, taking a tactical approach to break down the challenge, so we can analyze each specific part and learn it.
Application is a convergent activity. We have many points of information (everything we’ve learned) that need to converge into one point (performance). This is an intuitive process. We integrate what we’ve learned into the context of the larger situation. Our attention expands, taking a strategic approach, to determine how we’ll apply the skills we’ve learned to the whole route.
There are many unknowns when we begin working on a route. The practice process is a way to change unknowns into knowns, such as learning climbing sequences. We take a tactical approach by learning sequences on specific sections of the route. The more we refine these sequences, the more we change unknowns into knowns. This shift allows our attention to expand to larger portions of the whole challenge, which is necessary for applying ourselves to redpointing. Once we’ve done our tactical work, we can “flip the switch” and be strategic to achieve the goal.
To Application
We need to know how to “flip the switch” from practice to application. We can escape the stress during practice. We cycle between comfort and stress, as we hang on protection and learn sequences. In application we don’t escape the stress. We commit to staying in it.
Knowing when to “flip the switch” requires awareness of the mind’s strong draw to its comfort zone. If we love the learning process and never test ourselves, then we’re stuck in our learning comfort zone. If we stay in redpoint mode and don’t make progress, then we’re stuck in our achievement comfort zone. We find balance between the two by cycling between practice and application. Cycling in a timely manner helps us be aware if we’re simply drawn to our comfort zones or moving beyond them.
Photo by Ben Kitching on Unsplash
Redpointing
Our redpoint performance will show us how much we’ve learned and whether or not we need to cycle back into practice. If we fall four times during several redpoint applications, then we may cycle back to the practice process. If we’re making progress by reducing the number of falls, then we may stay focused on application. In this way, our attention can narrow to do more tactical practice, or expand to strategically apply what we’ve learned to achieve the goal.
By knowing there’s a difference between practice and application, we’re better able to use our attention. We can narrow it to improve tactical aspects that need to be learned and then expand it to apply the best strategy to achieve the goal. The mind will want to stay in its comfort zones by staying too long in practice mode or application mode. Awareness of this tendency helps us not fall victim to it. From that awareness, we can learn what’s needed, but then “flip the switch” completely into application. We achieve our goal when we converge all the analytical learning points into one intuitive application.
Practice Tip: Flip the Switch
Are you practicing or applying? If you’re practicing, then you cycle between comfort and stress, hanging on protection and learning climbing sequences. If you’re applying, then you commit to staying in the stress, applying what you’ve learned. Decide which one you’re doing and commit your attention completely to one or the other.
Don’t stay in your practice comfort zone too long. Once you’ve determined you’ve learned enough, then “flip the switch” and commit to applying what you’ve learned. Commit to staying in the stress without escaping it.
I did an interview with Kris Hampton of Power Company Climbing recently. He said he really enjoys the learning process, but feels he might stay in it too long. He asked me how to determine when to “flip the switch” to shift into redpoint mode? I told him there’s a difference between practice and application. We focus on learning during practice; we focus on testing our learning during application. Practice narrows our attention to learn skills; application expands our attention to apply what we’ve learned. Our best performance occurs when we “flip the switch” and commit our attention completely to application.
From Practice
Practice is a divergent activity. We have one point of focus: we need to learn. From that one point, we diverge into doing various activities that support it. This is an analytical process. We analyze sequences, rest stances, and fall consequences. Our attention narrows, taking a tactical approach to break down the challenge, so we can analyze each specific part and learn it.
Application is a convergent activity. We have many points of information (everything we’ve learned) that need to converge into one point (performance). This is an intuitive process. We integrate what we’ve learned into the context of the larger situation. Our attention expands, taking a strategic approach, to determine how we’ll apply the skills we’ve learned to the whole route.
There are many unknowns when we begin working on a route. The practice process is a way to change unknowns into knowns, such as learning climbing sequences. We take a tactical approach by learning sequences on specific sections of the route. The more we refine these sequences, the more we change unknowns into knowns. This shift allows our attention to expand to larger portions of the whole challenge, which is necessary for applying ourselves to redpointing. Once we’ve done our tactical work, we can “flip the switch” and be strategic to achieve the goal.
To Application
We need to know how to “flip the switch” from practice to application. We can escape the stress during practice. We cycle between comfort and stress, as we hang on protection and learn sequences. In application we don’t escape the stress. We commit to staying in it.
Knowing when to “flip the switch” requires awareness of the mind’s strong draw to its comfort zone. If we love the learning process and never test ourselves, then we’re stuck in our learning comfort zone. If we stay in redpoint mode and don’t make progress, then we’re stuck in our achievement comfort zone. We find balance between the two by cycling between practice and application. Cycling in a timely manner helps us be aware if we’re simply drawn to our comfort zones or moving beyond them.
Photo by Ben Kitching on Unsplash
Redpointing
Our redpoint performance will show us how much we’ve learned and whether or not we need to cycle back into practice. If we fall four times during several redpoint applications, then we may cycle back to the practice process. If we’re making progress by reducing the number of falls, then we may stay focused on application. In this way, our attention can narrow to do more tactical practice, or expand to strategically apply what we’ve learned to achieve the goal.
By knowing there’s a difference between practice and application, we’re better able to use our attention. We can narrow it to improve tactical aspects that need to be learned and then expand it to apply the best strategy to achieve the goal. The mind will want to stay in its comfort zones by staying too long in practice mode or application mode. Awareness of this tendency helps us not fall victim to it. From that awareness, we can learn what’s needed, but then “flip the switch” completely into application. We achieve our goal when we converge all the analytical learning points into one intuitive application.
Practice Tip: Flip the Switch
Are you practicing or applying? If you’re practicing, then you cycle between comfort and stress, hanging on protection and learning climbing sequences. If you’re applying, then you commit to staying in the stress, applying what you’ve learned. Decide which one you’re doing and commit your attention completely to one or the other.
Don’t stay in your practice comfort zone too long. Once you’ve determined you’ve learned enough, then “flip the switch” and commit to applying what you’ve learned. Commit to staying in the stress without escaping it.
