I've always been someone who wants things to get done as soon as possible. So, when I was hit by failure after failure over the past few years, it affected me greatly.
What I've observed is that you can learn from failure in two ways :
1. Play the victim and never learn.
2. Take responsibility and learn from your mistakes.
For a long time I took the first approach, but what really changed me as a person was the second one - stepping back and accepting responsibility, making myself understand that I played a role in my failures too, even if it was a small one.
Once you take responsibility for your failures, you have to analyze where you went wrong.
As I've mentioned above, I am a very impatient person. The failures I've experienced, as well as my daily fasting, have helped me slow down a bit, but not completely.
I recently re-joined keyboard class (after 14 years), and my new teacher (who is awesome) made me realize that I was rushing through the lessons, because of which I would probably end up having problems later on.
What I was doing is, I was rushing through the song, trying to make it sound as much as the original as possible, within the shortest duration of practice/time. This made me overwhelmed, because I was trying to get something right immediately, which actually needed hours and hours of practice.
What I needed to do was, break down the song and practice each bar multiple times, so that overtime the entire song comes together flawlessly. And guess what, it works like a miracle! Slowing down not only helps one master the art, it also helps one enjoy the learning.
The lesson my keyboard teacher taught me reminded me of a TED talk I watched years ago, where Scott Geller speaks about exactly that - breaking things down, if it all gets too complicated/overwhelming. (Ironically, he gives the example of playing an instrument too.)
Here's the video :
This lesson of 'breaking it down' can be applied to every single area of ones life, be it academia, work, or lifestyle. For example, when people ask me for advice on how to begin their weight/fat loss journey, I tell them to start small. Simply speaking, it is breaking bigger habits down to smaller, more manageable ones. (Also read 'The 2 Minute Rule & The 5 Second Window.')
All we need to do is stop every now and then, and analyze whether we are rushing through life, or are we being mindful and making the most of the journey.
The answers to the most complicated life questions can be found within ourselves, but we have to learn to be patient and to give ourselves the love and motivation we've always craved for - then alone will everything fall into place. And remember, always have faith. You can do this!
Thank you for reading! Stay blessed!
©TheKindTempest