Most growth happens beyond our current capacity.
Maintenance is good and healthful, and at times (and in some aspects of our lives) that’s exactly what we should be doing. But if we want to develop—in terms of skill, in terms of thoughtfulness, in terms of strength or balance or other sorts of physical dimensionality—we usually have to go beyond what we’re able to do, today, and then suffer and flail around a little bit to achieve those gains.
It’s possible to go too far too fast, of course. I’m semi-regularly guilty of this, as I’ll get excited about something and will want to learn all I can learn, do all I can do, and I’ll burn myself out, injure myself, or in some other way slam up against the reality that I’m just not there yet.
The place I’d like to be is still out of reach. It won’t be forever (if I stick with it), but right now I’m not the version of myself that can safely lift that much weight, perform that creative act, or manage that collection of time investments. And acting like I am is a recipe for discomfort, pain, and (often) the sort of frustration that can cause a person to just give up.
After 40-years of full-body slamming into these sorts of walls, I’ve gotten better at preempting my enthusiasm with a reminder to focus on attempting things that are ever so slightly more difficult than what I’ve done before, but no more than that.
Rather than trying to double the distance I typically run, overnight, I’ll add a tenth of a mile every week or two.
Rather than deciding to fill my calendar with new social events after years of solitude, I’ll give myself time to adjust to one new consistent social ritual before I consider adding another.
This is a more ponderous approach to growth than the alternative, but I can say with some authority that giving your body and mind time to adjust to the new reality you’re attempting to implement is a lot safer, more productive, and more likely to stick than methods that leave you drained or injured.
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