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Being able to focus on one task and banishing everything else. That is the zen of training.
“If a dumbbell falls in an empty gym, does it make a sound?”
We have enough stressors in our lives. The more opportunities we see around us, the more obligations we impose on ourselves. Personally, I experience stress mainly as a mental to-do list where new items appear at a higher rate than they are crossed off. Such a mental list that replays itself before your eyes from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep.
Especially in moments of rest, this can be very annoying. Because to what extent do you really have peace when that list whispers in your ear that you should actually be working? That nagging feeling in the background that prevents real relaxation.
Too many tabs, not enough time
At the time of writing, I see 18 tabs open in my browser. That’s not too bad for me. It is illustrative of the fact that I am always busy with a myriad of things. Multitasking is no longer reserved for women, but whether we should be happy about that is another question.
That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with variety or variation. On the contrary, I need that to stay motivated and engaged. But sometimes it’s nice to be able to focus on one task for longer than 10 seconds before your attention is demanded elsewhere. Especially since some tasks require a startup time. Those more complex matters that require you to concentrate on one task.
“What is the sound of one hand doing a barbell chest press?”
Furthermore, there are also many “useless” distractions. Emails and Facebook messages that demand your attention every time. Apparently just as hard to ignore as a phone that keeps ringing.
Whether social media itself is a stress factor is unclear [1,2]. For example, there is a case of spontaneous asthma caused by viewing Facebook. However, this involved a boy who viewed his ex’s page and apparently didn’t like what he saw.
But even when social media itself is not a direct stress factor, the distraction from more important matters is difficult enough. Anything that contributes to the fact that the mental to-do list just doesn’t want to get shorter can contribute to stress.
Zen arts
These days,
Mindfulness is hot. But the principles of Mindfulness are not new. Zen Buddhism has been trying to teach people to live in the here and now for centuries.
Koans are a kind of riddles from Zen Buddhism. Riddles that are not meant to be solved, but to be thought about as a meditative process. This can help to achieve calmness and clarity and to focus on one thing at a time and give it all your attention.
Famous examples are:
If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound?
What is the sound of one hand clapping?
Perhaps too airy-fairy for
the average Westerner. However, Zen offers several tools to obtain calmness and clarity.
Meditation in motion
The most famous is, of course, meditation itself. But meditating is damn difficult. While there is actually only one instruction:
Be.
Just be.
Anyone who has ever tried to sit and think of nothing will immediately realize how incredibly difficult that is. Even when you realize that it’s not about “not thinking” but about letting go and not lingering on emerging thoughts, it’s very difficult. Suddenly, not thinking about or lingering on thoughts for three seconds becomes quite an achievement.
It is much easier to fully concentrate on one task. There are many examples of this from the East, such as Tai Chi. I myself did another Zen art for a while, Iaido, the art of drawing the sword. But also things like flower arranging (
ikebana) and Japanese calligraphy (
shodo). Here, it’s not about the result, but the focus you have on performing the task (the result will follow naturally). The Japanese have elevated this in various ways to an art form where even something as simple as pouring tea becomes an experience.
Zen in training
However, you don’t have to swing a sword or perform an ancient tea ceremony to achieve the effects of zen. Zen can be found in all tasks you perform. The only requirement is that you fully concentrate on that one task.
And that is exactly what (strength) training does for me. I can remember one time when I was carrying a certain concern that dominated my thoughts all day. I don’t remember what it was. Probably one of those bold, red-highlighted subjects on the to-do list in my head whose due date had long since passed. In the evening, I went to train. On the way back home, the concern resurfaced. However, I realized that I hadn’t thought about it at all during the entire training session.
It’s not surprising that we avoid certain distractions by escaping to the gym. Most people are smart enough not to take their mobile phones with them. But even the distractions we carry in our heads are often not resistant to the purifying effect of the gym.
Zen in rest
Now, Zen involves concentrating on the task at hand and nothing else. If you see it as your task to just have a good time, then chatting between exercises is fine. But if it’s about results, then a little Zen can help you even further.
Focus during the exercise will be fairly self-explanatory. If you want to achieve the maximum in terms of weight or reps, you will have to concentrate on the exercise and breathing. But even during rest breaks, focusing on the exercise has advantages. I wrote earlier about a study that suggests you can do more reps if you visualize the next set during rest. I’ve tried it, and it works. During the rest, you’re still mentally doing the exercise and counting the reps until you’re ready to do them for real.
Zen in everything
Ultimately, the goal is, of course, that you can tackle any other task with the same dedication and attention. In practice, I find that impossible. It also goes against what you learn as a process manager. It’s not “lean” to focus on one task, not efficient. Waiting for your bread to come out of the toaster before making coffee is obviously not smart.
If you have little time, try to use it as well as possible and do as much as possible. You try to make use of every second. Luckily, I still have the gym to recover by turning off my mind and engaging my muscles.
References
- D’Amato G, Cecchi L, Liccardi G, Pellegrino F, D’Amato M, Sofia M. Social
networks: a new source of psychological stress or a way to enhance self-esteem?
Negative and positive implications in bronchial asthma. J Investig Allergol Clin
Immunol. 2012;22(6):402-5. Review. PubMed PMID: 23101183
- pewinternet.org/2015/01/15/psychological-stress-and-social-media-use-2/
- Achat H, Kawachi I, Levine S, Berkey C, Coakley E, Colditz G. Social networks,stress and health-related quality of life. Qual Life Res. 1998 Dec;7(8):735-50. PubMed PMID: 10097622.
