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Debunking the "1,000 hours of practice" myth
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Posted by Daly de Gagne
Nov 14, 2011 at 04:25 PM
My apologies to JB - I had mistakenly said Dr Andus introduced the article in question, but when I reviewed the thread just now, I saw it was JB.
Daly
Quoted text:
Alexander, thanks for referencing my post on benefits of getting an early start. Indeed, I believe many, if not most of us, may have times of days which are better suited to some tasks more than to others.
More recently I wrote another blog post which may also have relevance to this discussion - it looks at the notion of conscious awareness being beneficial, especially when we face the experience of overwhelm. I suggest that mindfulness practice enables the kind of conscious awareness which enables us to experience and react in a useful manner to those thoughts which interfere with our ability to be focused, and to work in an optimal manner.
This blog post may be found here: http://www.exuberanteclectic.com/2011/10/conscious-awareness-key-to-getting.html
The operative words in the article JB (corrected) introduced may be in its title: If You?re Busy, You?re Doing Something Wrong: The Surprisingly Relaxed Lives of Elite Achievers - and those words are ?surprisingly relaxed.?
We think of relaxation as something we do when we are not working, as the antithesis of work - but my experience, distorted as it often has been with issues related to ADHD and executive dysfunction, is that my best intellectual activity, or my best work as a chaplain or therapist, has occurred in the so-called flow state, which to me is very similar to being relaxed.
I think as research accumulates with regard to mindfulness practice, it may be said our best chance of achieving that kind of state may be through regular practice. It may not make us gifted in what we do, but it will perhaps shift our relationship to the stuff of our life in a way which enables a more relaxed approach. And with that go notions such as being focused, have greater awareness, being able to learn and understand without ?friction,? and so on. Having said that, I need to emphasize one does not practice mindfulness for any ?goal? or ?purpose? other than the practice. So while it is true certain contexts of our life - stress, overwhelm, chronic pain, grief - may lead to our taking up the practice, we do not do so with a specific goal.
Daly
Posted by Chris Murtland
Nov 14, 2011 at 05:10 PM
Daly, I think that’s a very useful distinction, and I would say that it might not just be useful, but required in many situations. If I am programming with no conscious outcome orientation, my program won’t work. I’d also hope that the folks who designed the plane I’m on were actively conscious of the desired outcome.
I personally don’t think flow and being conscious of the desired outcome are mutually exclusive in many realms, but for writing fiction, for example, I can see how a conscious outcome orientation would be an impediment.
Chris
Daly de Gagne wrote:
>Attachment to conscious outcome is not a useful outcome orientation.
>Conscious
>awareness of what one’s desired outcome is at the time one needs to be aware of it can be
>very useful.
>JBfrom
>wrote:
>>Correct. Conscious outcome orientation removes one from flow, because it
>precipitates a cascade of conscious attempts to take control from the
>subconscious.
Posted by JBfrom
Nov 14, 2011 at 05:35 PM
You misunderstand the conscious/subconscious distinction I am using.
In this context, it is synonymous with the inner monologue.
For example, when programming, you have a subconscious “visualization” that is far more rich and deep than anything you could express in your inner monologue.
Posted by Daly de Gagne
Nov 14, 2011 at 05:55 PM
I am not sure, JB, whether I have misunderstood you, or you have misunderstood me.
From what you’ve written it would seem as though you are equating consciousness with inner monologue - I would not agree that conscious awareness equates to inner monologue, although at times it may include an inner monologue. A mindful person is able to be aware that an inner monologue may be occurring, to observe it, and to choose whether to attend to it, to return to awareness of the breath (a good way to shift gear, as it were), or to bring mindful attention to the task or whatever else is at hand.
One can be consciously aware without having an inner monologue, and without having thoughts.
Inner monologue may or may not be helpful - so much depends on the situation, the context. Inner monologue conceivably could be a useful exercise at a critical juncture in a process, but in another situation, where the monologue is of a scolding nature, or is obsessing with whether one will meet a deadline, it can be clearly maladaptive. Unless, of course, it leads you to do something differently that is worthwhile. The point is not to become attached to the inner monologue, or to judge it, but rather to observe, to accept, and then think/feel/do what is appropriate.
Conscious awareness is much more than cognitions, and defies an ability to be defined as either “this” or “that.”
If the visualization of which you speak is subconscious, it is hard to say whether it is in the form of a visualization or not because it is “out” of consciousness. Visualization in the context then is a metaphor to say that the subconscious has in whatever form a concept which may be more comprehensive than what one is consciously aware of.
The process of creating is one which brings this concept to both mental and, as appropriate, a behavioral or physical manifestation.
The interplay of conscious and subconscious during this process is one which is complex, and more often than not, not one which most people have awareness of. Nonetheless, the interplay does play a role in many activities of life, and even in how we live our lives; this interplay can impact both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of our lives, including work and play, which may not always be mutually exclusive.
The critical factor in all of this from a mindfulness perspective, is that one’s stance is that of the observer. Practice in mindfulness allows great flexibility in the various activities of daily life, whether programming, ball room dancing, or enjoying a sunset.
Daly
JBfrom wrote:
>You misunderstand the conscious/subconscious distinction I am using.
>
>In this
>context, it is synonymous with the inner monologue.
>
>For example, when
>programming, you have a subconscious “visualization” that is far more rich and deep
>than anything you could express in your inner monologue.
Posted by JBfrom
Nov 14, 2011 at 06:53 PM
Clearly I need to avoid pronouns. I was addressing Chris, not Daly with that previous comment. Overall I think Daly’s understanding of it is pretty good.
Although Daly’s last post misinterprets what I’m referring to by “subconscious”.
I don’t mean that which is below one’s conscious awareness, but rather that which is generated by one’s subconscious and then bubbles into consciousness, as opposed to thought processes that are initiated and directed by the logical inner monologue.
In general, I find the inner monologue to be detrimental, and seek to stay in a mind like water state as much as possible.