November 19, 2015
“I’m bored!” I whined, annoyingly.
How do I know I was annoying? Maybe it was because I was 6, and well, they all are. Maybe it’s because I can remember my mother’s exasperated reply, “Well if you’re bored, I can find you something to do.”
Work! That meant chores, homework, or some other unpleasantness that only adults seem to think needs done. Eck!
Learning to Fiddle
Sometimes we just feel stuck. It’s like we took all the bubble gum away from that chomping child, and, for reason unbeknownst to us, stuck it right under our butts.
Even when we have time away from work, and obligations, we don’t know what we’d like to do. We sit at home on our days off feeling some unspecified pressure to be productive. To do something. And if we can’t find something meaningful we fiddle. Not on a violin- learning to do that would probably be an actual solution. We fiddle. We fiddle around on Facebook. We fiddle around with housework, basically moving our mess from one area of the house to another. We fiddle around making extensive plans which always seem to fall either into the category of “things we would have done anyway” or “things that don’t need done.” We create work out of thin air. Magic dust!
Despite everything, it is often very hard for me to find new and exciting activities I’d like to do. However, I do know of a solution. When I can get myself to use it, it works like a charm. The solution has 3 parts, Energy, Excitement, and Engagement. Otherwise known as EEE [pronounced: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!] (Don’t teach it to any 6 year-olds. You won’t like me, and I won’t like me.)
E is for Eeeeeeeeeeee!
I guess before we get going, I should tell you what the hell we are talking about. Basically it’s about learning a new skill. Skill is a bad word though. It sounds too much like work. Instead, from now on I need you to call it your new ‘ability.’ That’s something we will enjoy. It sounds like learning how to use a new superpower!
Believe it or not learning is something we all love to do. It’s just that, often, we’ve had to learn a lot of boring stuff. Now it’s your turn to play around and learn a new a superpower!
Energy
It’s sort of a trick because this is really the first ability we need to tap into. Even though I know how much I love learning new abilities, I still get bogged down trying to come up with what I would like to learn. It’s equally tough sticking with it, and not reverting back to fiddling. I’m guessing if you’re not completely sold on the whole process, it’s even harder.
If I’m going to pick out an ability I’ll enjoy learning how to do, I need to get excited about it. To do that I need to have a good amount of energy!
Well, its not too much of a mystery where this comes from. Hopefully. We’re not going on green-tea IV’s, coffee enemas, twice a day sleep patterns, and whatever that one thing on the one show was. This is 6 year-old stuff: nutrition, and exercise. That’s it. A little bit of both goes a long way. (By the way, there is a great one page strategic guide to improving your nutrition, and fitness in my Daily Act of Defiance 14 Day Challenge Workbook.)
Nutrition
For now it’s less about not eating certain foods, and more about eating some foods you probably don’t. Most of us don’t eat enough vegetables, and fruits. Yeah, we could probably cut down on some junk food as well, but for now lets at least focus on getting some nutrition into our bodies.
So here are some good options for you:
Juice/Smoothies
This is my favorite option because it is easy, tastes good, and I can intake a lot without being as full from eating a ton of green vegetables. If you are interested in this, check out Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead on Netflix, or rebootwithjoe.com. (You may have to take what they say with a grain of salt at times. However, it gets me excited, and is a great guide to get started. Also for our purposes here, we are not talking about doing a fast, just adding nutrition to our day.)
Salad Bar
Are you going to lose a lot of weight eating a salad, with a cup of salad dressing on it? Probably not. Are we talking about loosing weight? Nope. Find a supermarket that has a salad bar, and load that thing up with as many different vegetables as you can find. Variety is important. After that, put on whatever cheese, dressing, and bacon you want.
Vegetables at Dinner
If the ideas above don’t interest you, at least start adding a side vegetable to your dinner. I don’t care if green beans don’t go with Taco-Tuesdays. Heat some up in the microwave anyway! Then eat a lot of them.
Exercise
Secondly, to spike that energy we need some exercise. Again, just work on getting started. I’m thinking walks around the neighborhood. Daily. It’s not necessary to go all Jackie Chan on this project. Just focus on moving around enough to get you going a little bit. A 20 minute walk outside has amazing results. Walk at a brisk pace, and you’ll feel it soon!
Excitement
Ok our first ability is in progress. Now it is time to get excited! That’s really the whole reason we need the energy. It’s tough to break into learning something new when we’re not that excited about it. It’s downright impossible to get excited with the bubblegum under our butts. However, while energy is the most important thing to have before getting started, there are a few more issues to keep in mind.
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself
Don’t worry about the big picture, or how you are going to learn your superpower. If you worry about everything you’ll need to know, you’ll never start. Don’t worry about not being good either. No one is good at the beginning. That is to be understood, and accepted. With practice you’ll probably get better. Maybe you won’t. It doesn’t really matter. This is about having fun learning a new ability. Yeah it would be nice to get good at it, but that’s not really the point. Enjoy the process.
Choose an Ability That Sounds Like Fun
Picking a new ability to learn in your free time is about fun. Don’t you dare choose one because you think it would be practical to learn! If you are excited, and intrigued by it- knock yourself out. However, if you are making your choice because it is something you think you should do, that’s a big no-no.
Let It Be Fun
Enjoy what you are about to do. Be playful with it. Stop taking it so seriously. Learn how to mess around with your new ability. Don’t let this become work. Yes, it will take practice. Yes, you may not always feel like practicing. However, let yourself be amused with it. This is even more important for the next section to stay engaged, but even now let the idea seem fun.
Engagement
Here’s where we really get going. Time to fill our time with learning a superpower we enjoy. Time to practice. It depends on what you are doing, but most new abilities come best when you practice daily. Even if it is only 5 or 10 minutes at the beginning. Matthew Henkler calls this Embrace the Suck Until You Don’t. (<–Really worth reading.) We want to be spending time learning something we enjoy learning, but superpowers are still hard. It’s the challenge that helps make it fun.
Find a way to record the time you spend learning. Even just a calendar to check off days is good. I’ve started using Coach.me, and so far I think it’s a helpful app to keep me on track.
Then throw in some support. Tell people what you are doing. “Yeah Bob, I didn’t know what Japanese fire twirling was either, but turns out you do not want to do it next to a 6 year-old!” For one, it is a whole lot of fun to tell people what you are doing, especially if it is out of the ordinary. However even when it’s not, it is amazing the number of people who’ll tell you how much they wish they could do that.
Furthermore, your family, friends, and colleagues are also likely to ask you how it’s going from time to time. This is valuable support to keep going, or pick back up when you’ve fallen off a bit.
Eeeeeeeeeeeee!
“I’m bored!” I whined, annoyingly.
How do I know I was annoying? Because it was yesterday, and I was annoying the hell out of myself!
There’s nothing to do. I’m tired. Whats for lunch? Nap time?
Nope, time to learn a new superpower, I decided. Up, up, and away!
-Michael Speck
Disclaimer: Process not designed to teach you to fly. All inquiries involving flying should be directed to your nearest 6 year-old.