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Originally Posted by Pequod  In addition to my previous post: did these stunts help me? (I did many more like these)
Surprisingly, not really. In those days I was so shy that I couldn't have a conversation with a guy, lest with an attractive girl. It was just a short bust of tremendous willpower, but without any sustained effects. The gain was mostly in learning that nobody is watching me, and a training in courage. But it also left me depleted in energy, and I needed a lot of time recovering.
What did help in the end was sustained low-intensity effort (I joined Toastmasters, started to do improv, became a leader in the students-society, started traveling to other countries on my own, studied NLP, did psychotherapy, venturing in PD). Really a LOT of effort was needed to break out shyness and it cost me several years of hard work and pushing myself time after time. |
I've seen similar patterns in my own life. The short burst of willpower gives you a peak experience, but it takes time to raise your default to that level. Although the peak experience isn't sustainable right away, the benefit is that it helps you clarify where you want to go.
My first 30-day trial of the raw food diet was around 6 years ago. It was a peak experience to be sure (amazing happiness and mental clarity), but it took too much discipline to maintain it back then. However, that experience gave me a clear idea of a new level I eventually wanted to reach. Then the challenge was to figure out how to raise my default to that level. It took several years to lock in that new level and make it realistic and sustainable, but it sure was worth the effort.