When I was 23 I was determined to learn to ride a unicycle. I was already a competent juggler – surely it should be possible? I even knew a few people who could do it. Finally I had a week off work and designated it as time to crack the unicycle. Day after day I got on it and fell off it, got on it, fell off it. I sometimes travelled a few feet, but mostly didn’t. And, readers, I’m sorry to tell you that I never did crack it.
As I look back now I know what was missing. My determination was there but what I didn’t have was the curiosity, the questioning……..how do other people do it? What are they doing that I’m not doing? How could I approach this differently? Who is around to help me?
What I was doing (and I even knew I was doing it) was doing the same (wrong) actions over and over. And naturally nothing changed and I never did learn how to ride a unicycle.
And other such questions…..
Now when I’m learning something new, or when I’m stuck with something – it might be an internal change I need to make and to use the Lightning Process for, or just something going wrong with my computer – then I know to approach it with a gentle curiosity. Using the Lightning Process with gritty determination and a feeling of frustration literally doesn’t work.
Instead of my determination leading me to desperation, I can usually remember to be curious about what I can do differently, and to get help if I need it.
Is there somewhere you’ve got stuck? What can YOU get curious about? How can you approach it differently? Who could offer some help?
Because, as we all know – or think we know – doing the same thing over and over will NEVER get us a different result.
What is it in your life that you are doing over and over and not getting the result you want? How curious can you be about creating a new, more exciting result?
