“If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” — Zig Ziglar
Two “selves” within each of us [@gallweyInnerGameTennis2015]
- Self 1: the explicit, thinking part that tries to catch the ball
- Self 2: the implicit, non-thinking part that actually catches the ball The more Self 1 cares about achieving a goal, the more it interferes with the natural functioning of Self 2. This is why, counterintuitively, the less you care about something, the more easily, effortlessly and effectively it can be achieved.
The difference between “not caring” and “not intending”
- Caring is as described above, and comes with a sense of the outcome being important, that it (or we) would bad if the outcome weren’t achieved. There is a physical tension associated with it.
- Intending is the activation energy required to take a specific action. I can intend to catch the ball (or not) as it flies towards me, while not caring whether or not I actually catch it.
In this frame, the ideal combination to minimize or remove self-interference is to have a strong and unambiguous intention while caring as little as possible. The worst combination for our performance is to have a weak and ambiguous intention while caring strongly about achieving a particular outcome.
See also: