Never Miss a Workability Post

Have you ever tried to address an issue with your posture or perhaps how to perform an exercise, like a squat, using the proper form?  When you take your time, you can get yourself into the right position.  You can focus your attention and do the exercise very slowly and correctly, but it all starts to go a bit wonky when you start doing many reps and increase your speed.  Our mind thinks, "I’ve got this" after just a quick instruction session, but our bodies are not quite up to speed.  The pattern that we are trying to correct has been habituated, oftentimes, for years and years.  

One of the things our clients tell us is that they feel frustrated when endeavoring to change an unworkable pattern because out in the real world they struggle to apply what they have realized in their session with us.  The problem is the same as with the squat.  Our minds think, "oh, ok, I understand why I did that and now I know it doesn’t work, I won’t ever do that again."  But when we are met with the same stimulus, we often repeat the old pattern.  What just happened? 

Well, in essence, we’ve created a sort of rut in the ground for ourselves and everytime we meet that point of road, we slip down into it.  But with time and proper attention, you can fill back in that rut with fresh dirt so that you can walk right on top of it.  But that takes time and courage because oftentimes those ruts are filled with emotions and fear. 

What is often most helpful is a change of expectation so that you are able to put in the time and effort without feeling discouraged every time you slip.  You don’t need to never fall into that rut again.  That is too high an expectation.  It’s like doing the squat without ever having your knee be slightly misaligned.  It’s going to happen.  And when it does, you notice it and the next rep is a bit better. 

Changing an unworkable pattern takes awareness, attention, courage, and time.  And if you create the proper expectations around that, you can do that work in a satisfying and effective way. 

To awareness, attention, courage, and time