Practicing: The Struggle is Real

Struggle is inevitable. It’s easy to want to avoid struggle because it can be an unpleasant experience.

The meaning of ‘struggle’ is essentially effort. Some definitions add that this effort is strenuous, or specify that the effort is against an opposing force or obstacle.

Avoidance ends up failing. Avoiding struggle can create internal struggles. Denial provides decreasing relief to internal struggles but maintaining denial takes effort. At that point one has to deal with an increasing internal struggle and an external one is still out there waiting. Struggle cannot be avoided.

The definition of struggle indicates effort against resistance. But the definition doesn’t assign how struggle has to feel while exerting this effort.

I find that as I approach struggle differently I’m seeing that it’s not inherently frustrating; even by definition. Struggle can feel like play, or flow state. As cheesy as it sounds, it turns out attitude is important. Integrity and presence can make a big difference in the experience of struggle.

Integrity

Integrity is being whole. With integrity you’re in tune with your self authentically. What you are doing aligns with what you want to do and motivation thrives in this setting. Success grows sweeter. Things one “has to do” in order to develop become things one wants to do because of that development.

Present Awareness

Time traveling is risky business. Practicing from the future instead of from where one actually is in the present commonly leads to frustration. “Should” is not real - it’s speculation at best. The present is the closest to reality and gives us a great place to start.

Play

I’ve been gotten more into play as an element in practice. I used to play a lot of Rocket League and the free play mode in that game comes to mind. In ‘free play’ you can set up conditions/rules in order to focus on different areas you’d like to develop. Or just make up your own as you go.

Listening to stories (and practice tapes) from great improvising musicians made me realize that this is actually quite common in wood shedding.

The struggle is real, but struggle isn’t limited to frustration.