When was the last time you did something that was mentally challenging? How long did you try to succeed before giving up?
Yesterday, I introduced a knot-tying challenge to my family members and myself. There were 40 cards of knot examples and we all sat around and tried to make some of the easiest knots. Family trend? Most of my family members gave up after doing a couple knots once or twice and went and played video games, watched TV or played a game on a cell phone. I was flabbergasted!
You can't do a knot once or twice and consider it learned. You have to do that one knot 20 or 50 or 100 times and then you've got it down. You can do it with your eyes closed. And you feel good about yourself because you found something new to challenge yourself and you progressed from when you first started. And you know that the knots you try afterward are built on the first knots you learned. Sure, it's much easier to find it boring and walk away, but it doesn't have to be knots. Maybe it's learning an instrument or painting, or doing Sudoku or something, ANYTHING that stimulates your brain. This applies to physical activity as well.
We played again later in the evening and there was more emphasis put on mastering knots, helping the others learn knots you mastered and being solid on the knots you then knew before moving on. And then going back and re-practicing to keep it fresh in your mind. The television in the room still got in the way, but it's up to the individual how to react to a challenge. I knew I found an activity that interests me as I lay in bed last night visualizing how to make knots.
It can be a challenge in this world of flashing bright lights, loud distractions and brain-free activity to take the time to work on something that presents more interaction and thought process. But spending time on an activity and knowing you have made progress, you've expanded your mind and you were better than when you first began? That's a more satisfying feeling than sitting through a television marathon, that's for sure! Besides, when all your gadgets power down and lose battery life, what do you have left? If you've learned something new, you have a talent that you didn't before. Can you imagine, if everyone waiting at the airport, instead of being on the phone or a laptop, had a slice of rope and were practicing knots? Or if they were learning sign language? Or if they were folding origami? No one is really born knowing how to do these things. And no one is probably going to require you learn them once you stop going to school or summer camp. But it's part of lifelong learning to constantly challenge yourself and find something new and unique that excites you!
So, what is your new activity and goal? A new language, sport, instrument, sudoku, knot-tying, origami, juggling? How hard is it for you to rise above the impulse to give up, walk away and plop yourself down in front of a screen?
_____
Whether you think that you can, or that you can't,
you are usually right.Henry
Ford
By the way, here's a link to the knot game: Knot So Fast
