“Take Time To Deliberate, But When The Time For Action Has Arrived, Stop Thinking And Go In.”
“Take Time To Deliberate, But When The Time For Action Has Arrived, Stop Thinking And Go In.”
5 things you can do to get your mojo back
Nutshell Nudge
Stress less, live more. Sometimes you need to throw yourself into action in order to get the snowball rolling.
My nephew taught me a lesson, and he doesn’t know it.
He got me thinking about the process of how we approach and master a new challenge.
He went snowboarding for the first time and told me about this fun but exhausting new experience.
Being athletic, mid-twenty, a skateboarder, and a few times a surfer, he wanted to try snowboarding, a natural extension of the other two-feet-stuck-on-one-board kinda sports. (I on the other hand prefer those sports where I have each foot on a separate white-ever-something, may it be the non-moving ground, two pedals, or two skis.)
His teachers were the snow, a friend sliding ahead of him, his previous two-feet-on-one-board experiences, and his butt. And his mindset. And that friend pushing him to get up and to keep going.
Now, let’s see what happened.
Here are 5 helpful lessons from falling down in the snow applied when you face a challenge, want to learn something new, or approach an unfamiliar task.
1- Don’t Overthink - Just Try
Stress less, live more. Sometimes you need to throw yourself into action in order to get the snowball rolling.
We tend to overthink things (I certainly do) which often keeps us from getting even started to do what we so want to do. We get paralyzed by all the steps we see ahead of us and don’t even dare to do the first one.
My nephew just jumped on that board and let it go. He then started to face a bunch of challenges, but at least he did the first step, got in motion, and from that point on figured things out.
“Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
2- Being Conscious Of Your Actions – Makes Improving Easier
Being constantly rushed and pushed, we tend to keep going without thinking.
My nephew had just a few days in the winter mountains to try out and learn snowboarding, so following his first instinct was to jump on the board and keep trying to get down the hill.
Consciousness kicked in, realizing that he could have way more fun and achieve more if he takes a moment in between to become aware of the connecting dots. He noticed that the familiar movements from his skateboard experience were not only helpful but that he could change something well-known to something new to gain better results in the new environment.
Next time you find yourself learning, creating, or producing something new, appreciate your life and work experience (no matter how long or short they are) and transfer helpful insights to the present situation.
3- You Have A Choice – Be Aware Of It And Choose
After falling so many times on his butt he got tired of hurting his bones and muscles and told himself: either I get my act together, concentrate and be aware of what I am doing or I make it harder on me by not trying to be more efficient but keep mindlessly throwing myself down the slope, hoping it will all work out at the end of the hill.
When he said that I thought to myself, right on! so true, we have a choice with any project we fight through!
We can plow through, not stop and reflect, not try to improve and find efficient possibilities to make a project, a chunk of work, or a new skill more effortless.
Or, we can slow down become aware of our actions and make a decision on what works better and concentrate and focus on the new steps. Staying focused, aware, and disciplined is more exhausting than mindlessly hustling forward. That’s why we tend to do things without paying attention. But the satisfaction and higher results will reward you in the end when you make the effort to pay attention.
Next time you get stuck, try to slow down, lean back and reflect on how your activity is unfolding so far and what you could change to make it more smooth, effortless, lighter, and more rewarding.
Sometimes it might just be about turning a little screw in the system, adjusting it, or a mind shift, or a slight change in your perspective that will make a big difference.
4- Slowing Down And Speeding - Go Hand In Hand
To race in sports, going faster and pushing your speed in various sports, you also have to slow down. You don’t want to race headless and mindless down the hill or around the track as it would not really get you faster to the goal.
Slowing down in between speeding allows you to reflect and adjust.
Professional athletes know that. They practice hard and take breaks to recover, refresh and reconsider their moves.
To speed up on the slope my nephew needed to slow down and reconsider his movements when to lean in when to hold back, when to break, and where to turn.
5- Embrace A Support System Of People Believing In You
My nephew’s friend went ahead on the snowboard to demonstrate the basic positions and movements. For the rest of the journey downhill my nephew was on his own, but many times when he landed on his butt the friend stopped and encouraged and pushed: Com’on, get up! Get up! You can do it! Keep going!
If you fall down, you need your mindset to push you up and a friend to encourage you to keep going.
“Your support network is the solid ground from which you can propel yourself upwards.” – Anna Barnes, author
Little Guideline: What Helps You To Move Forward In Life?
Hitting once in a while ground – then getting up, over and over again.
Having the mindset to make it happen.
Having support around you that encourages you and believes in you.
Slow down once in a while to reflect, readjust, reconsider, and relearn. Then speed up again.
Pay attention and notice things. See what others might not see and move ahead with more diligence and insight.