Tech IT Easy

A little less tech this time, though it could be argued that philosophy is the highest tech of all! Thinking about the book, “Zen in the Art of Archery,” first published in 1953 by Eugen Herrigel, a philosophy-scholar, already brings me in a spiritual mood, where I say that “teaching” is in fact only “releasing what is inside.”

What the book released in me then, was an appreciation of the non-conscious doing of things. If there is one “productivity” book that you should read, I would say it is this one because it just inspires you to keep doing what you are doing, because there is a higher purpose. The end-result is something akin to enlightenment.

The book uses the examples of archery, and later swordsmanship, to illustrate the process of Zen, which is a school of Buddhism. In regards to swordsmanship, Herrigel writes:

Among swordmasters [...] it is taken as proved that the beginner, [...] however courageous and fearless he may be at the outset, loses not only his lack of self-consciousness, but his self-confidence, as soon as he starts taking lessons. He gets to know all the technical possibilities by which his life may be endangered in combat […]. He is now forced to admit that he is at the mercy of everyone who is stronger, more nimble and more practised than he.

That is a parable for life if there ever was one.

In order to find the solution, you first have to identify the problem in the paragraph above. Is it that the pupil is less skilled than his peers? Or is it that he “loses not only his lack of self-consciousness, but his self-confidence?” The purpose of Zen, at least the way it is explained in this book, is to regain the latter through mastery of a given activity. But mastery can never be attained through endless practice alone. It is by reaching a stage where act without thinking, where “it” happens, rather than you making it happen.

I notice that same principle in a number of activities, such as running long distances, writing, painting, even in holding meetings.

• If you think while you run, you lose your rhythm.
• If you think while you write, something I’ve also called “research while you write,” you lose the flow.
• If you don’t have a prepared agenda before a meeting, you risk getting pulled into all kinds of directions.

You have to lower yourself into a state of instinct, shutting out your thoughts and “just do it.” Nike was inspired by Zen, and you never knew it…

Books like “The Now Habit,” make a similar point, that you have to reach that state of “now,” in order to do things well. Even “Getting Things Done,” is about removing the clutter in life, so that you can focus on the doing. I’ve only started reading such books since about three years ago, but I already feel that it’s starting to change me, to an extent where I can sit in a crowded room and just focus on what I need to do.

The purpose of any contest, of any activity, is not to master the technique, it is to master the situation. Herrigel writes:

“How does skill become “spiritual,” and how does control of technique turn into master swordplay? Only so [...] by the pupil’s becoming purposeless and egoless. He must be taught to be detached not only from his opponent but from himself. He must pass through the stage he is still at and leave it behind him for good, even at the risk of irretrievable failure.”

These last words are what you in fact hear over and over again from those we consider successful in (business-)life. To be successful, you must not only be good, but you must not be afraid to fail.

With those words, I think, I’ll leave you.
Vincent

Like

Unlike

Related posts:

1. "Positioning, the battle for your mind", a must-read by Al Ries & Jack Trout
2. The rise and demise of productivity software
3. 10 Traits of Great Teams
4. "The Art of Computer Programming": Donald E. Knuth on computer science and its maturity
5. An (informal) Entrepreneurial Brainstorming Session No. 1: Book summaries that are stories