Combining relaxation with activity
It’s the idea that the more we try to do something, the worse we become at it.
Suppose, for instance, that you are learning how to ride a bike for the first time. You are told to hold the handlebars a certain way, to push off with this foot, to pedal at that speed, to sit in a specific position, to hold your balance here, and so on. There is a small book’s worth of micro-instructions when learning to ride a bike. When we ride a bike, we know all these things, but we do not try to do them. They just happen.
In Huxley’s words, it’s “combining relaxation with activity.”
27
459 reads
CURATED FROM
IDEAS CURATED BY
By curating the content I consume, I document my journey through time and space.
Being stuck in overthinking and feeling bad about it makes it a vicious cycle. Sitting back and relaxing makes it easy.
“
The idea is part of this collection:
Learn more about motivationandinspiration with this collection
How to choose the right music for different tasks
The benefits of listening to music while working
How music affects productivity
Related collections
Similar ideas to Combining relaxation with activity
What is emotional acceptance?
Often we have an uncomforable feeling, such as sadness, fear or shame, our first reaction is to reject that feeling.
We may tell ourselves that feeling is a bad feeling that we do not want to have. Then we may do something to try to get rid of the feeling, such as trying to push it awa...
Change begins with your view
With an awareness about psychological reactance, you have the power to recognize and disarm it.
Instead of flaking on commitments because of a knee-jerk feeling, you can change your perspective on the situation.
By changing the dialogue, you empower yourself. Now you’re in charge. Yo...
Overarching Lessons Between Deep Work and Messy
- If we don't produce anything, we won't be of any value to the economy. Technology is rapidly evolving and staying as we are is not going to cut it. Push yourself to try new things.
- Autonomy is the key to getting work done. It is important to have a workspace where you have control ...
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates