Slaying the SoM Demon
Published: Wed, 10/02/13
What difference does 'state of mind' make to whether you
can do something or not? Is there such a thing as a 'success
state of mind' or a 'failure state of mind'? Or is it
that if you are successful in accomplishing something that is
important to you then 'state of mind' is not something that
gets in the way? Or, to put it another way, is the 'right
state of mind' just one of the things that needs to be put into
place so that you can do the job along with the right tools,
materials, finance, assistance, expertise and any other resources
you need? If that is the case then finding the right 'state of
mind' sounds like a minimal problem compared with overcoming
technical problems or recruiting the right people to work with. In
fact, even better than that, a 'state of mind' only seems
to exist in the absence of anything better to think about. This is
why we get hit with worries and fears at four o'clock in the
morning when we should be sleeping. Once you actually get on with
something then our state of mind about it usually changes quite
suddenly.
This is of course much easier with physical activities. I can be
convinced that I don't have the right state of mind to use my
kettle bell for example. So I agree with myself that I will pick
up the KB and do two repetitions of two basic exercises, result?
State of mind changes to one of weight training and a workout
becomes possible. Stances have been non-negotiable with my
'state of mind' for the past 20 years and that has meant
that I have done the stances every day. That is why I tell people
who say they want to do Stav that they must make the Stances part
of their daily lives and other training will be possible. If doing
the stances is governed by 'state of mind' then no matter
how keen you say you are on Stav you won't get very far. You
want to be a warrior? Win the battle with SoM first!
It seems to be harder to overcome a reluctant SoM when engaging
with mental activity of some kind. Taking a physical action seems
to be different from thinking so it seems simpler to begin a
practical task than a creative one. But every day writers and
other creative types wake up utterly convinced that they are never
going to write another word. So they come up with various
techniques to get started and the ones who manage this get on and
make their living.
Guess what? This morning I woke up convinced I wasn't in the
state of mind to write a daily post. So what did I write about?
Exactly.
In training in Stav, or any martial type training, fitness,
self-defence, learning an art are all part of it but really they
are sub-goals. The real battle is repeatedly slaying the state of
mind demon. (even though he disguises himself as a squirrel, if
you haven't read my article at http://www.iceandfire.org/ you
might find it interesting).
regards
Graham
PS I was getting closer to solving the mystery of the power
failure which seems to originate from an extension lead in my
kitchen. Before I go any further I should tell you that my back
door opened onto the garden which was rather damp being pretty much
laid on a swamp. Also, for some reason Crewkerne generally has a
massive population of slugs. So having the creatures in my kitchen
wasn't exactly unusual, most mornings I had to pick up and
throw out half a dozen from my sink and work tops. But a slug
cause a power cut? Surely not!