I’ve come to believe that to become really good at anything, there has to be a near-obsessive amount of time and single-mindedness to that one thing. I think quite a bit about Malcolm Gladwell and his ten thousand hours theory to attain mastery (and then wrote a book about it!
Oh my gosh this was so interesting to think about. I can't express how much I relate to this. To this day I wish I could do college like five more times so I can also study acting and animation and zoology and photography and and and. In fact that's often my biggest creative worry, that I *don't* obsess over quality enough because my creativity is spread so thin over All The Things. I get bored of certain mediums or certain genres quickly. The interest comes around again and again, but I still don't feel like I've best figured out how to navigate this sort of merry-go-round and juggling of seriously too many creative interests to manage lol.
All this is so interesting. And so relevant! One of the things I struggle with, hugely, is that I feel like I can only work really well at something when I'm doing one thing at a time intensely (the opposite of multi-tasking) but that living - being a writer, a mother, a wife, a human - requires so much multitasking. And so, it's about stripping things away and being disciplined about the things we say yes to and not diluting our efforts and attention. But that's hard. Oh, and I'm a Diet Coke addict too and tell myself every day: you must stop, you must stop, you must stop! Tips on how to quit most welcome!
You’re putting words to thoughts that often swirl around in my head re creativity and productivity! But you’re not giving yourself credit for commitment—like with running, for instance: you’re committed to it and disciplined about it, and know what kind of runner you are at this age. That’s worth something! Also sometimes I want to smack Cal Newport. But his formulation does seem thoughtful.
I love Cal, Newport! My son read, digital minimalism and recommended to me and I have been telling everyone I know to read it. I think I have discovered one way in which we differ! I am a recovering perfectionist, but that makes you a good balance for me. These are interesting thoughts I’m definitely as I get older, leaning toward doing less but doing it well, just not perfectly
So many great thoughts and questions here! I love the pace of slow excellence, all three items appeal! I struggle with the natural pace aspect in my writing, always trying to speed up, hurry and finish. I think both writing and running lend themselves to obsessiveness.
I was a high school musician and thought I wanted to be a music teacher. Music was life. And then I went to Ithaca College and realized that I was not even remotely obsessed with music compared to those around me. Their single-mindedness was actually off-putting. I wanted to learn about and do everything else, too!! I still loved music, but I knew I was never going to make it. I'm glad I tried it, but I'm even more glad I transferred and found something else....
I too wonder what could have been if I had actually dove into music with the same focus as the others. I had the talent. I rarely find the drive to go that deep in to anything. I've actually considered that perfectionism, in its way: why try if I can't be perfect. I fight against that all the time and do a lot of "it's fine" hand-waving. Perfect is the enemy of good. Etc.
I did end up fixating on quilting for a long time and did get quite good at it. But then I burnt out, but that's mostly related to people. Now i have about 10 different paths I'm trying to pursue and wondering how I can focus...and if there's actually some undiagnosed ADHD involved. Or maybe it's menopause. SIGH.
Thanks for the food for thought this morning. I didn't mean to run on so much, LOL, but I'll likely be thinking about this for a bit yet!
All things gravitate to homeostasis. It keeps me comfortable. (Code for unmotivated)
A little more allostasis* would shake things up. Of course, that involves some risk to body - and mind.
Allostasis often occurs by acts or circumstances occurring upon, to, or within us. Creating one’s own allostatic state is something I could obsess about but if achieved, might be healthier than obsessing. 😊
*”Allostasis means “achieving stability through change”. Allostasis refers to the process that returns homeostasis, and it recognizes that “set points” and other boundaries of control may change with environmental conditions.”
OR, regrouping, new paradigm, new ‘normal’, bouncing back ( different, but better)
Now I’m obsessing about my obsessing over my obsession with obsessing.
This is goooood stuff Amy!
Something to my mother said yesterday while watching the eclipse - consider the “Power of Pause”. Makes you stop and think - are we moving to move because a pause gives us anxiety to just be with ourselves? Are we over achieving or high achieving?
The thought that struck me yesterday is that so much of the world actually paused yesterday to actually enjoy a natural wonder, and paused nearly at the same time. Whether it was on the interstate highways in VT and NH which were jammed like Los Angeles from border to border just to take in the full eclipse or from border to border of full parks.
I’m going to pause now and obsess how I haven’t paused without looking at my tech….
Oh my gosh this was so interesting to think about. I can't express how much I relate to this. To this day I wish I could do college like five more times so I can also study acting and animation and zoology and photography and and and. In fact that's often my biggest creative worry, that I *don't* obsess over quality enough because my creativity is spread so thin over All The Things. I get bored of certain mediums or certain genres quickly. The interest comes around again and again, but I still don't feel like I've best figured out how to navigate this sort of merry-go-round and juggling of seriously too many creative interests to manage lol.
All this is so interesting. And so relevant! One of the things I struggle with, hugely, is that I feel like I can only work really well at something when I'm doing one thing at a time intensely (the opposite of multi-tasking) but that living - being a writer, a mother, a wife, a human - requires so much multitasking. And so, it's about stripping things away and being disciplined about the things we say yes to and not diluting our efforts and attention. But that's hard. Oh, and I'm a Diet Coke addict too and tell myself every day: you must stop, you must stop, you must stop! Tips on how to quit most welcome!
You’re putting words to thoughts that often swirl around in my head re creativity and productivity! But you’re not giving yourself credit for commitment—like with running, for instance: you’re committed to it and disciplined about it, and know what kind of runner you are at this age. That’s worth something! Also sometimes I want to smack Cal Newport. But his formulation does seem thoughtful.
I love Cal, Newport! My son read, digital minimalism and recommended to me and I have been telling everyone I know to read it. I think I have discovered one way in which we differ! I am a recovering perfectionist, but that makes you a good balance for me. These are interesting thoughts I’m definitely as I get older, leaning toward doing less but doing it well, just not perfectly
So many great thoughts and questions here! I love the pace of slow excellence, all three items appeal! I struggle with the natural pace aspect in my writing, always trying to speed up, hurry and finish. I think both writing and running lend themselves to obsessiveness.
I was a high school musician and thought I wanted to be a music teacher. Music was life. And then I went to Ithaca College and realized that I was not even remotely obsessed with music compared to those around me. Their single-mindedness was actually off-putting. I wanted to learn about and do everything else, too!! I still loved music, but I knew I was never going to make it. I'm glad I tried it, but I'm even more glad I transferred and found something else....
I too wonder what could have been if I had actually dove into music with the same focus as the others. I had the talent. I rarely find the drive to go that deep in to anything. I've actually considered that perfectionism, in its way: why try if I can't be perfect. I fight against that all the time and do a lot of "it's fine" hand-waving. Perfect is the enemy of good. Etc.
I did end up fixating on quilting for a long time and did get quite good at it. But then I burnt out, but that's mostly related to people. Now i have about 10 different paths I'm trying to pursue and wondering how I can focus...and if there's actually some undiagnosed ADHD involved. Or maybe it's menopause. SIGH.
Thanks for the food for thought this morning. I didn't mean to run on so much, LOL, but I'll likely be thinking about this for a bit yet!
All things gravitate to homeostasis. It keeps me comfortable. (Code for unmotivated)
A little more allostasis* would shake things up. Of course, that involves some risk to body - and mind.
Allostasis often occurs by acts or circumstances occurring upon, to, or within us. Creating one’s own allostatic state is something I could obsess about but if achieved, might be healthier than obsessing. 😊
*”Allostasis means “achieving stability through change”. Allostasis refers to the process that returns homeostasis, and it recognizes that “set points” and other boundaries of control may change with environmental conditions.”
OR, regrouping, new paradigm, new ‘normal’, bouncing back ( different, but better)
Now I’m obsessing about my obsessing over my obsession with obsessing.
This is goooood stuff Amy!
Something to my mother said yesterday while watching the eclipse - consider the “Power of Pause”. Makes you stop and think - are we moving to move because a pause gives us anxiety to just be with ourselves? Are we over achieving or high achieving?
The thought that struck me yesterday is that so much of the world actually paused yesterday to actually enjoy a natural wonder, and paused nearly at the same time. Whether it was on the interstate highways in VT and NH which were jammed like Los Angeles from border to border just to take in the full eclipse or from border to border of full parks.
I’m going to pause now and obsess how I haven’t paused without looking at my tech….