Normalizing and Gradually Eliminating Dependence on Effort
When we practice something, the media and many other influences often portray the image of having to train until you're spitting blood. This might be true if you find that high-intensity hardcore training suits you well.
But for a lazy person like me, with poor willpower and determination, I've realized that high-intensity effort isn't quite my thing. This post is for people like me.
We usually perform, learn, and showcase our best when in a normal state of mind.
A normal state of mind is just... normal.
Like when we play Mario, brush our teeth, wash our face, do the dishes, or chat casually with friends.
Or when we sit and solve math problems, practiced writing as a child, read Dragon Ball, played marbles, or ran around in the rain with friends.
As normal as sugar in a box of milk, nothing special to mention.
But then we are pushed out of this state by greed and fear.
Greed to excel. Starting to tackle exercises beyond our ability, sacrificing playtime. Learning becomes a burden, not a natural activity. The more you learn, the more tired you get.
Fear of being seen as stupid by parents or feeling inferior because of one poor performance. Next time you face that subject, you dread it, and the more you learn, the more tired you get.
As we grow up, the greed and fear multiply many times over. Greed for money, women, influence, status. Thus, our approach to any subject is filled with greed and fear.
As children, if there was greed and fear, we could still escape them because:
The requirements of the system were low compared to our innate talents.
The uncertainty of the task was low.
There were not many implicit responsibilities or triggers that amplified greed and fear. So, when we returned to normal after these deviations, we recovered quickly compared to real life.
When we grow up and enter real life, the factors of greed, fear, uncertainty, and burdens increase manifold.
Maintaining a normal and relaxed mindset while working, learning, or training becomes much harder than in our youth.
As children, eating, sleeping, and studying were fine. As adults, we must handle tasks.
As children, we chatted with friends; as adults, we worry about communicating with superiors, subordinates, or business partners.
Hence, the need to learn and train to expand our mind and knowledge. Knowledge and skills are the "scope," while a normal state of mind, even when facing complex chaos, is the "heart."
Greed
Returning to the main point, greed for women, money, etc., means wanting things quickly. But life is like a game:
Wanting things slowly will make them slow. Wanting them quickly will make them even slower.
(Being normal and relaxed is best.)
Wanting fast results leads to skipping the basics - the humble practice and accumulation of foundational knowledge and experience. Without basics, intuition, and connection through vast time spent on fundamental issues, how can you advance to medium or advanced levels?
Greed and fear are two sides of the same coin.
Sometimes people aren't greedy for power or status but fear being looked down upon.
Sometimes it's not about wanting to handle many things but the fear of being unrecognized if you do less.
Fear leads to greed for the grandiose, fearing being seen as mediocre, leading to the same entanglement.
The more greed and fear, the more effort needed to compensate, and the less joy there is. Over time, one gets tired and quits.
Another factor disrupting normalcy is overexposure to standards from the virtual world.
Watching fighters in movies look cool compared to real training. After a few days, if the teacher doesn't look as cool, you get bored. Why train?
Movies solve a complex problem in 2-3 hours, but real life requires months or years of study and experimentation. Why bother when you can play games for instant gratification? After gaming, you feel empty, so you watch heroes save the world, then watch dance videos for relief.
Virtual joys drain the joy of solving real-life problems. What keeps us attached is pleasure or joy.
Life has many rules. One is that life will push you into situations where your mind and abilities feel normal - an equilibrium.
Nothing mystical here. If your heart and scope are good, you'll know how to advance or at least defend your current position.
If your skills are poor and your mind isn't calm when facing challenges, you'll make mistakes, leading to a drop in rank.
Building heart and scope:
Choose real-world activities based on your desires, resources, and budget.
Master the basics, then practice. If a technique is too hard, pause, reinforce your weaknesses, then try again.
Keep a normal mindset to appreciate small, simple achievements. Make training a daily habit like brushing teeth.
Once you truly master something, it becomes normal, forgotten, or done naturally without thought.
Remember learning to spell as a kid? Now reading books feels normal. Or tasks at your first job that were confusing but later became second nature.
Nice day, folks. Meme on. Enjoy the normal days.
P.S.: I'll write more on breakthroughs and normalizing decline. This post normalizes creation.
Vannguyen
