PARADOX: A Training Principle
Do you ever have those thoughts? Like: I’ve figured this whole ‘life’ thing out now… I just have to do this, this and this, every day, and I’ll be happy, rich, successful. There’s nothing else to it.
I know I do!
We can’t help but to engineer our lives somewhat; to find the perfect happiness hack; to master the art of living, and to make a perfect simple science of it…
Intelligence, after all, as a wise man once said, is about making the complicated things more simple.
Amen to that!
So what’s the problem with all this? Why can we not help but to fail, time and time again?
‘PARADOX’ people… that word that those of you who know me hear me mutter about all too often.
We all (sort of) know what it means: dualism, the two extremities of all things and where they meet, yin and yang etc. But who can possibly apply it to their life? Is it even possible?
Think of a runner’s training program throughout the year… as far as I can tell, it’s PARADOXICAL to say the least! Rest periods, race weeks, training blocks that build and then decrease again. Right!?
The same could be said for the daily routines of many athletes, artists and career people of all kinds.
So we’re all doing it already then, it seems, though perhaps admittedly some better than others (think burnouts, injuries, super duper lazy people etc)…
If so then how might we embrace this, accept it and strive (or unstrive) to do it better?
1) Honour the ACTION! Make sure you schedule in and make yourself accountable for the extreme stuff – as in those things that you really love to put all of your energy into, even if it can be a little intense at times. Showing up for the REAL WORK will make your rest / play time more enjoyable and easy to surrender to.
2) Rest right! This might mean an expensive massage, a high quality movie night, or an elaborate dinner party. Either way, allow yourself that ‘self-forgetful’ experience… it’s not about doing it well or being ‘good’ at anything. It’s deliberately the opposite! Hence the paradox becomes complete…
3) MEDITATE… sorry folks, it’s that word again. Meditation is really the art of ‘checking in’ with where you are on the energetic / paradoxical spectrum. Sometimes you might feel like flying but within a few minutes of breathing you realise you’d be better off having a nap (story of my life!). And vice versa, once seated and observing one’s breathe, some creative force might overtake you, inviting you into new exciting territory!
So we have the yin, the yang and that thing which mediates in between… simple right!? Well, sort of, but easier said than done.
Good luck paradox-ing your lives everyone. Enjoy the ups and downs, and everything in between…
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