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Make the unknown known
Friday, 19 October 2007
What prevents us from doing what we know we should? What is the root cause of procrastination? Why is it that even when we can clearly see what needs to be done, still we're paralysed?
These are difficult questions. And of course, there's no simple answer. But I think a lot of the cause of procrastination lies in fear of the unknown.
Think about the history of humanity. Whoever or whatever designed us, we clearly weren't built with the modern world in mind. There's a lot of physical evidence showing for the vast majority of human history we lived a much simpler existence. Indeed, there are tribes of hunter-gatherers living such existences today.
That's what our designer had in mind for us - from a tribesperson in Africa to the head of a multinational corporation. To live a simple, tribal life. To see the same small group of people every day, and do the same tasks time after time.
But of course, most of us don't live such lives today. We're surrounded by strangers. Our jobs grow ever-more comlpicated. Our lives get filled up with so much stuff it's difficult to keep track.
All around us the unknown looms like a cold, black shadow. It may be that stranger who starts talking to you at a party, or the tax return you have no idea how to complete. There's so many complex things around us that it's easy just to shut-down and try to ignore them.
Yet tackling the unknown is where most personal growth lies. It's the most important path to success.
Once, Roger Federer would never have held a tennis racquet in his hand. He would have had no idea which way a ball would bounce at him as it came across the net. Everything about the game would have been alien to him.
Yet over years of practice, the millions of unknowns about the game of tennis became known to him. He tried again and again until he could predict with confidence exactly where the ball would bounce, where to hit it to disadvantage his opponent, and which position to stand in to maximise his power.
This analogy can be transferred to almost all learned skills. You have to overcome your fear and hesitation of the strange. You have to get over your pride and risk humiliation. You have to face the burning realization that you're an amateur - inexperienced to the point of hopelessness.
And little by little you must build up a structure in your mind of how a particular field operates. Whether it's attracting members of the opposite sex, getting a good job, or excelling in a sport, this is the strategy you must take.
Face the big scary shadow of the unknown. And push back on it until it lifts to reveal the landscape underneath.
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