As the end of the year approaches, many of us are prone to consider how this year has unfolded and what we’d like to do differently in the coming year. For many that might mean improving in a skill for work or learning a new skill for a personal hobby. But that begs the question “How do we learn new skills and abilities?” How do we improve on the skills we currently possess? There is an emerging debate among researches and sports scientists about this very topic, with one approach, known as “Ecological Dynamics” which examines how we as humans perceive and act within a given environment. As we look for opportunities or “affordances” to act we can choose what seems possible and desirable. However, for most of us, there are certain solutions that become more likely for us, as we are attracted to use them as a “go-to” solution. These attractors lead us to use the same solution for a variety of problems to varying levels of success. The problem that we often run into is, having one solution for many problems often falls short. This is known as being monostable. These solution patterns neurologically are then often reinforced through the old adage, “neurons that fire together wire together” making the proclivity to use a specific action more likely. To go from a novice to a skilled expert one needs to have more than one technique or movement pattern. Consider a musician for instance. To be proficient in guitar playing will require different hand movements, strumming rhythms and positioning on the frets depending on whether you are playing “Back in Black” or Bach’s “Air on a G String”. So how do we become more adept in building skills? Through “the Way of the Intercepting Fist”
Bruce Lee is famous for his personal philosophy to “be like water”. This illustration highlights the principle of adaptability, shifting and changing depending on the environment to get to what you want to go. Water can go over, around, under, through small cracks, and given enough time and intensity can erode new path through something as hard as stone. He used this principle in developing his fighting style, Jeet Kun Do, also known as “The Way of the Intercepting Fist”. It was an approach to fighting that was rooted in pragmatism, keep what works and discard the rest. What that means in practical terms is often while practicing skills, limiting your solution patterns in order to explore unused or new methods. You have to remove your “go-to” strategies for solving problems to explore new ones. In doing so, you lessen the grooves worn by the initial attractors, and work to become “metastable” meaning one set of attractors does not have a stronger pull than others. In this way you are freed up like water, to shape and shift to the environmental limitations and opportunities presented. You can be more present to your surroundings, taking in all the given information and selecting from there. A person who is monostable, who always uses the same strategy or technique will not see the various other potential options available to them. Each and every time they will try to go over the rock, no matter how big, or if there are cracks, or other pathways available.
While this is a basic overview of how skills can be developed for learning the guitar, or soccer, or how to paint, we can also apply this to daily living. Think about how you tend to manage stress, worry, disappointment, fear, joy, hope, and happiness. When you experience challenges in relationships are you monostable, always going to a certain coping skill like shutting down emotionally, or erupting in an angry outburst? When work gets hard are you attracted to pulling out your phone to be distracted or do you always go the gym, or get a drink? How mono or metastable are you in your life? In living a robust life, we want to have a variety of responses and options at our finger tips in order to navigate life. Every challenge and circumstance is going to have unique restrictions and affordances that lead to opportunities, yet if we have been so habituated, if the grooves of our behaviors are so deep that we usually or always fall into certain responses we will be limited in our ability to respond well. So, what are patterns or habits that are your “go-to” strategies for navigating work, family, friends, or even yourself? Are there responses you need to restrain yourself from doing and set your attention elsewhere to see what other options may be available to you? Like water, if you can’t go over it, can you go around it, under it, or even find the cracks to go through it?