Nobody plays the hard pieces in year one. Every level you skip now is a level you’ll have to come back for.
STILLNESS
WHAT THIS MEANS
Skipped stages do not disappear from the sequence; they wait. You can force your way into a piece two years above you and produce something that technically resembles it, and the gaps show up later as a ceiling you cannot pass. Anybody stuck at a certain level is usually stuck on something they rushed earlier.
Be honest about where you actually are rather than where you would like to be. Play the piece at your level properly, all the way through, before you reach for the impressive one. If you are already stuck, go back and find the skipped thing instead of trying harder at the hard thing.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Which stage would you have to come back and redo later?
MORE IN PATIENCE & TIMING
- Older people aren’t patient because they’re slow. They’ve just seen how many problems solve themselves with time.
- A breakup feels permanent the first week. By month three you’ll catch yourself laughing at something and be surprised.
- In origami your first crane takes twenty minutes. Your fiftieth takes three. Speed is a side effect of patience.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.