Do something everyday for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.
—William James
No, I don’t do that every day, I don’t have to. Opportunities to practice come by themselves often enough. As Alex Mathers says,
Happy people expect problems.
The main thing is to use them for skill development when they do come.
A couple have come to me recently and I managed to tackle one of them yesterday. I tuned into parasympathetic breathing to relax my body and clear my head and then thought like a physicist. I broke the problem down into manageable parts, started with the easiest one and worked from there. I didn’t hesitate to phone for help when I needed it, and didn’t argue when once I was told incorrect information. I just told the fellow what the website was saying and he was convinced. I focused on understanding what was happening, going over it many times so it felt familiar. I may have to do it again in the future, and now it should be easy.
I ended up feeling reasonably chuffed about the whole experience. Which is good, because the more that happens the less likely I am to waste time and energy worrying and fussing about problems. Just tackle them and keep learning and growing.
February 7, 2025
