#119 Make anything a fulfilling skill

ByLukas
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Learning a skill isn’t so much about getting better – that’s just a side effect.

It’s about discovering new ways of doing the same thing – just because you can, and just because you’re curious.

Doing the same thing, this time precisely – then doing it again, not precisely at all.

Doing the same thing, this time deliberately, carefully thinking about every step – then doing it again, not thinking about any steps at all.

When you stay curious, you learn to discover nuances you couldn’t perceive before.

When you stay curious, you learn to be deliberate until you can be intuitive.

When you stay curious, you learn to become less blind to what’s already here.

And when you stay curious, you realize there’s not much more to a fulfilling life than sculpting away, day by day – and anything can be a fulfilling skill.

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    #180 Progressive Insight

    ByLukas

    Performance gap: the frustrating gap between how you know something should be done in an ideal world and how you currently do it. 

    One implication of the performance gap: you don’t have to master this skill today.

    Another implication, maybe even more important: your idea of how something “should be done” is probably wrong anyway.

    Because as you practice and gain mastery, you’ll also gain progressive insight: a more nuanced intellectual understanding of the skill you’re practicing.

    What I thought was a “good” yoga session six months ago, I now see as a session full of misalignment and cramped muscles.

    What I thought of as a solid piece of writing six months ago, I now see as an argument full of holes and points of improvement.

    Sometimes, progressive insight is just about more nuances.

    Sometimes, progressive insight shows that your initial intellectual understanding completely missed the mark.

    There’s only one way to find out: practice: Sculpt away, day by day. 

  • #4 When the best story in the world has already been written…

    ByLukas

    When the best story in the world has already been written… why do I write?

    Because writing is not a choice – and neither is telling stories.

    Because stories are never finished.

    Because the best stories in the world are written over and over again.

    Because a story well-told depends on who you’re telling it to.

    Because we all tell the same stories anyway, but that one little change, that one new interpretation can make the difference between touching someone or missing the mark.

    But what IS the best story in the world?

    I don’t know.

    I do know they don’t have to be very elaborate to have impact:

    For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

    Ernest Hemingway

    When someone, sometime, stumbled upon six words that can evoke so much… How can I NOT continue my own search for stories and the words to tell them?

    P.S.: Credits to Jony Mitchell for writing the best song in the world.

    P.P.S: Extra credits for singing the most heartfelt version even after suffering a stroke and having to relearn to talk and sing.

    P.P.P.S.: Credits to The Tallest Man on Earth for showing that a new interpretation can make even the best song in the world reach new heights, and providing the inspiration for this post.

  • #328 Why do you love it so much?

    ByLukas

    Why do you love writing, despite the fact that the act of writing is often a drag?

    Why do you love running, despite the fact that the act of going for a run is often a chore?

    Why do you love learning languages, despite the fact that the act of practicing is often riddled with frustration?

    Why do you love it so much?

    And wouldn’t it feel good to remind yourself of that love every day… so you make sure the love is there to stay?

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    #86 Practice daily, measure progress on average

    ByLukas

    The article I publish today may be worse than one I wrote 2 months ago.

    I may struggle today with a guitar piece I played effortlessly last week.

    And when I meditate today, my mind may be all over the place, even though last week it was calm as water.

    On any given day, I may feel that I’m making progress, that I’ve reached a plateau, or even that I’m going backwards.

    But it doesn’t matter.

    Progress isn’t always visible in daily practice. But without daily practice, there is no progress.

    If I stick to daily practice, on average, I’ll get better. I’ll start having more good days than bad. And slowly but surely, my ‘bad days’ will start being better than what I consider a ‘good day’ right now.

    Progress, averaged out is what it’s all about.

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    #69 Evening Questions

    ByLukas

    I like to journal in the morning.

    But if I’d journal in the evening, this is what I’d ask myself:

    “Were my actions today actions of the person I choose to be? Or were they actions of a person driven by old patterns, habits and limiting beliefs?”

    “Did my actions bring me closer to where I choose to go? Or did they keep me stuck in a place I really don’t want to be anymore?”

    “Did my actions make me feel good about myself? Or did they make me resent myself?”

    What can I do differently tomorrow?

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