Wednesday, February 20, 2013

it takes effort to be effortless

it's a big fat paradox, but adult life has taught me that paradoxes consist a lot of the biggest truths in life.

this particular one hit me while i was in the shower today, deliberately showering in the dark, so that i can block out mental chatter, close my eyes, and reframe my thinking so that i can proceed to work calmly instead of in a forced manner.

don't try to study, i told myself. just become a studious person. by which of course i meant, that instead of forcibly and begrudgingly pushing myself to doing things that feel unnatural, i should internalize the character of a person who does not need to be forced to do these tasks.

it takes effort to be deliberately effortless. when rachel ray or jamie oliver make 30-minute or 15-minute meals, they don't simply hack into it out of nowhere after getting out of bed, they prepare the ingredients beforehand, set up the kitchen a certain way, pre-plan fast ingredients into the recipes, so on and so forth.

Seems backwards, doesn't it? If it takes effort, then it can't be called effortless.
After four hours of deliberating, Mary Kate finally finds the perfect "I just pulled random stuff out of my closet and put them on" look.
Well, the trick is devoting effort towards a different direction. To plan action in an efficient way, so that you end up working smart, instead of hard.

to effectively be able to go through life in an easy breezy covergirl manner, you have to step back too, and not just walk forward. slowly and steadily. you know how they say that "life is a marathon, not a race"... You have to stop every once in a while to change tires or whatever to stay in shape and in the game for longer.

That's the piece of the puzzle that takes a back seat in a lot of the stuff I used to read about mind power and the like. Beware of anything you read that makes change sound like magic. It is like flipping a switch, but you have to translate the change in your mind onto your life on your own. There is still some work to be done after you've flipped that switch. So don't get so disheartened right away. Mind power does exist. But you have to put it to use practically.

But that's my personal experience. I'm no expert.

How about you guys? Do you ever take time to recollect yourself before you go through a big undertaking? Or are you effortlessly effortless? Can you just plow on without too much thinking/meditating beforehand and still produce great results? (I want to think that time will come eventually that I'll be able to be that way. Momentum and stuff.)

Anyway.


Life Updates:


  • In a few days, a new puppy will be arriving to our house! it's a chipoo, that is, a chihuahua poodle mix, and I'm weirdly so excited to potty train it! haha.
  • I've finally kinda started on my paper. But things have yet to become intense! But at least I'm starting a lot earlier than I normally would have. (which is too little too late)
  • In case I haven't announced it yet, Beardy has already bought his plane ticket for June! YAY!
  • Eldest brother had been doing a lot of decorating and our house feels more and more like a home.
  • Going out to buy groceries still makes me feel very happy.
  • I recently subscribed to this site after reading an article that was very enjoyable. :)


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