We live in a world that’s addicted to quick solutions, easy fixes, and anything brand new.
We want to hear the most recent podcast, to have the newest iPhone, and we can “Google that s**t” to get instant answers.
In a culture of instant gratification, it’s become increasingly difficult to remember that we’re part of a world that is made up of repetition of the ‘same old - same old’. We forget that nature itself repeats itself - it’s recursive:
The sun comes up every day and then sets.
The moon cycles monthly.
The deer in my backyard mate every November and give birth the next June.
Every 365 days we celebrate the holidays and then find ourselves on January 1st planning our next year.
Here we are, welcoming another year of life, and honestly it feels new, but it also feels the same - an annual repetition.
Does that seem like a let down? Well, it could feel like a let down if, like most of us, you’re addicted to the Smart phone, your feed, or how many likes you got on your Instagram post.
So here’s the life hack.
Recognize that everything repeats itself and start getting back to craving repetition and baby steps like a child.
Remember when you were a kid (or if you have kids now you’ll totally get this) and you asked your parents to read the same bedtime story book to you every single night? You didn’t care if you heard it over and over again! And god forbid they skipped a page, you noticed and called them out on it!
I think I’ve seen The Little Mermaid and the Lion King about 50 times because my little sister wanted to watch it every single day when I was her caretaker.
Kids crave repetition. And they need it to learn and become masterful at life
When you read a book a for the second time, you are a different person than you were the first time around. That's what makes repetition interesting and not boring - it’s who you’ve become in between!
For example, it would be ridiculous to do one yoga class and then say, “Yep, I’ve mastered yoga - been there, done that!”.
Practice is practice - it’s not about completion and accomplishment, it’s about process and self discovery through, you guessed it, repetition.
If you’ve got a big, hairy, audacious goal (BHAG) to grow bigger this 2018, it’s important to let go of the idea that you can reach that goal quickly without serious commitment, repetition, perseverance, study, and practice.
Any BHAG I've ever reached or art form I've mastered has come about from the repetition of baby steps and chunked down daily actions.
My 500 Hour level yoga teacher training students often share that they want me to give them more new material in my trainings. While I certainly strive to share new information that they’ve never heard before, I remind them about the importance of repetition too.
To become a great yoga teacher and yogi, you have to ‘lather, rinse, and repeat’ in multiple scenarios across a timeline of study until things are so familiar they become part of you. It’s why we encourage our students to repeat the same module topics multiple times if they want to!
Once you come to terms with the fact that mastery requires repetition, you will be aligned with the recursive nature of the Universe and mastery of your goals will be right around the corner.
Rinse. Lather. Repeat.
Happy New Year, everyone!
If this resonates, leave a comment telling us about something you got really good at through repetition!