Anyone can get caught in a dark place regarding how they view themselves and their progress in a skill. Making demands of ourselves to be our best can be a powerful motivating force; it can also be supremely destructive. In my own growth as both a swordsman and a dancer I have frequently reached a place where I felt I was far from meeting my own expectations. From that standpoint I have often been very hard on myself. I’m not learning quickly enough, I’m backsliding, I’m a poor practitioner, I’m stuck — these are all examples of things that I have said to myself.
When you’re looking at your practice in a hyper-focused way, it’s easy to pick out the flaws. From there, it's equally easy to lose the forest for the trees and see only the flaws. I see this behaviour often in both myself and many of my students. I see them become disconnected from their actual growth and where they are relative to where they were six months or a year ago.
When you find yourself in this place, it’s important to get perspective and explicitly review your attitude.
Getting Perspective
Where are you truly in your growth as a practitioner? Here are two useful ways to learn about this:
1. Write an honest accounting.
Sit down with a journal and review where you were six months before now. What did you know? How good were you at practicing it? What exercises were you capable of? Where were you struggling? Then compare with how you are doing, currently. Where are you now in your practice? What new skills have you learned or progress have you made, relative to the place you were in before?
2. Get an unbiased opinion.
It’s hard to see your own progress because your perspective is moving forward along with your growth. There will never be a time when you feel that you have finished the journey of learning. You will always have things to work on. In many ways, as individuals, we are the worst choice to review our own progress. So have someone else answer the questions from step 1 and take stock from their view.
Changing your Attitude
Generally, when we take stock, we realize that we are making progress but we’re having a hard time reflecting that in our attitude. So it’s time to make an attitude shift. I recommend taking the following steps:
1. Make a long-term commitment.
“I am going to work at this for at least three months before I reassess.” Ongoing critical assessment isn’t useful. All skills require time to acquire and a daily granular assessment is just a waste of time. Explicitly park the critical attitude for a while. When you feel those critical thoughts come up, just remind yourself that you’re going to assess on March 3rd so the critical eye can chill out for a bit.
2. Choose to change your attitude.
Attitudes are just deeply held strategies. We are often hard on ourselves because we believe that will motivate us to do better. Often these beliefs are mistaken or have attachments that are unhelpful. Driving yourself to be your best self and being mindful of how you can improve = good. Beating yourself up for where you feel you’re falling short = at best not useful, at worst demotivating.
Acknowledge your current strategy and embrace a new one: "For this period I am going to take stock at the end of each session, of how I have improved. I’m going to choose one thing to work on. I’m going to let go of critical dissection.” Try out a healthier strategy for a while and see how it goes. You can always review the new strategy at your check-in point (see step 1).
3. Partner up with a buddy.
Let someone know you’re changing your approach, how you’re changing your approach, and make a check-in time with them. Nothing is required of them other than to listen and help you hold yourself accountable.
4. Have a rhythm and a system.
I use my daily "to do" list app to check-in on my changes of approach, every day. I simply describe my process in a "to do" item. Then I read it, do my practice, and check it off each day. Other strategies can involve daily journalling, saying an affirmation (try writing it on your bathroom mirror), or making this part of your buddy check-in.
Attitude shifts take time and having a system will help you keep on track with this gradual shift.
If you’re in a stuck place right now, this plan can be followed in as little as 15 minutes. So what are you waiting for?
PS. The February Instructor Intensive is filling up! If you want to get in on 50-hours of rapier, longsword, and methodology, as well as our 8-month distance education program that follows, get on it right away!
Devon Boorman is the Co-Founder and Director of Academie Duello Centre for Swordplay, which has been active in Vancouver, Canada since 2004. Devon’s expertise centres on the Italian swordplay tradition including the arts of the Renaissance Italian rapier, sidesword, and longsword, as well as knife and unarmed techniques. Read more from Devon Boorman.