08/01/2022
Are you watching yourself boil?
We've all heard the addage that a "watched pot never boils."
This also reminds me of an episode in Star Trek Next Generation in which Data (a sentient android fascinated with the human experience) is testing this very adage by watching a pot of water boil. And he, being an android with a chronometer programmed into his neural network, can't understand the relativity of time that is expressed in this phrase because in his experience his pot of water boils in exactly the same amount of time every single time he does his experiment.
But we as human being understand that this phrase is not meant literally. We know that it simply shows the human experience of time as relative to what it is we are doing with it. If we are doing something we are deeply involved in time flies, but when we are undergoing something uncomfortable time can feel like it is moving at a snails pace.
And there is another way to look at this experience. And that is when we are trying to reach a goal and we are focused on where we want to be and how much you still have left to accomplish towards this goal.
Think back to the last time you were working towards a goal. For me it was very simple when i was working on a crochet project for a stuffed teddy bear for my kids. I realized that I was essentially trying to watch the pot boil constantly evaluating my progress and calculating how much is left to do. And I realized that doing this made me dread and feel frustrated and overwhelmed with what I was doing and how slowly it seemed to go.
And so I shifted my focus to simply being present with every stitch I made and remembering that I enjoy crocheting not for the outcome but even in the process and the movement of creating each and every stitch.
When I did this, guess what happened? I started enjoying my work and built a nice rhythm. And before I knew it, I had made a lot of progress without feeling like it took any time or effort at all.
And I realized that I have the same choice in working towards all of my goals, whether it is personal healing, accomplishing projects or creating things. All those things are simplly built up of a bunch of "present moments" in which we choose to do something that moves us forward. And when we focus on those moments instead of the outcome, we can speed up time and before we know it we will have reached our outcome in a more effortless way and with less overwhelm.
Another example is fitness. If you want to be able to deadlift 200 pounds and every time you lift weights all you focus on is that you are not yet at 200 pounds and calculate how long it will be before you reach that goal you will be more likely to feel like you will never get there and it will be harder to keep yourself motivated. But if instead you enjoy adn celebrate every moment of effort you make and every little progress before you know it you will be where you want to be.
One more example is recovering from a trauma. We know we would like to just be "over it" and be "back to normal" or "enjoy life again." And comparing where you are to where you want to be all the time is discouraging. But when you mindfully choose to be present and accept where you are and take responsibility for choosing the things that will move you forward and celebrate the progress and the increasing moments of joy, and connection, and peace, and safety, etc before we know it what used to be the height of our experience is now the valley of our experience because our new height has adjusted up.
So don't just watch yourself boil. Don't focus on not being at the outcome yet. Enjoy every part of the process and focus on wha tis happening in the moment. even though the water seems still, on an atomic level the heat is doing things that are not always visible right away, but that does not mean nothing is happening. Set the goal, but then focus on the moments that make up your progress and enjoy the journey.