The Two Most Important Things for Progress
I’m not going to lie; for most of my life I have undertaken every endeavor with a feverish passion. When I learned to play violin I sawed on it for endless hours, stubbornly wrestling it into submission. Later, when I decided I wanted to start writing Android apps, I approached it with the same fervor. Am I the best violist in the world? Nope, not by a longshot. Are my Android apps worthy of distribution? Again, nope. In both these instances, just like a myriad of other interests, I wanted the goal immediately. I thought myself too smart to benefit from the experience of path to the goal. Of course, when pursuing interests with that kind of intensity, any semblance of balance in my life was starkly absent.
It wasn’t until I started hitting the gym to improve my self image that I was forced to slow down and spend the time necessary to actually progress. Let’s face it, no matter how many hours you work out, it takes time for the muscles to respond and grow. Luckily I work a job that doesn’t leave me much energy at the end of the day for a gym session, so my workouts really only consisted of a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays. After a few months of consistently maintaining that schedule, the changes in my body became quite obvious, and I realized I had achieved what I really didn’t believe was possible when I started. I have since shifted my gym sessions to early mornings before work, but have kept the consistency.
What I have learned from working out, my take-away, if you will, is that consistency and balance are the two most important things for growth, not intensity. I’m not saying that intensity doesn’t have its place in growth; what I am saying is that it takes a backseat to consistency. All my current endeavors have benefited from this new approach. I’m learning Spanish at a much faster rate, my strength training is continuing to progress without injury, and my professional life is no longer a miserable cross to bear. When each of my little interest, whether it be a hobby or an occupational task, is guaranteed its own little sacred allotment of my time, everything progresses together in a harmony that is actually quite enjoyable.