The French Art of Not Trying Too Hard
by Oliver Pourriol
This book by Oliver Pourriol was recommended to me, ironically, by one of the hardest working people I know. And the title resonated well with my current goal of removing superfluous strain from the way I work and live. I've come across this concept before, for example in Derek Sivers' blog post Relax for the same result or in my years playing cricket seriously. However, this book goes so much further, really giving you a feeling of ease–I couldn't stop underlining some brilliant ideas.
Embrace imperfection
“Writing isn’t about producing one perfect sentence after another, but about correcting your first, imperfect sentence in the one that follows, and so on. What really matters when you’re building a wall isn’t the first stone, but the ones that follow, which interlock, as far as possible, and end up between them forming a wall along with that first stone. Continue. Keep moving forward, don’t look back. The exercise of writing without crossing out seems difficult until you try it. You don’t believe you’re entitled to make mistakes; you think you’ll be paralyzed by the idea that you can’t go back. In fact, the opposite happens as soon as you accept that you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to lean on the imperfection of your first sentence to make the next one emerge. You’re freed from the anxiety of always having the possibility of retracing your steps. There is something liberating about the irrevocable. Don’t get me wrong. No one’s asking you to be perfect—just act as though you are. Suspend judgment on what you’ve done and free yourself from it by moving forward. [...] “It becomes a gift, for in eliminating the possibility of going back to undo what you’ve already done, you allow yourself the possibility of inventing something by carrying on. We learn to write by writing, not by deleting. And this method creates its own momentum. [...] Imperfection ceases to be a problem, and instead becomes a launching pad. ”
The feeling these lines convey really changed my life for the better. I started writing more, the words began flowing. We started delivering more at work--somehow perfectionism leaks to the rest of your team as well. Workouts, side projects and work goals became less of items on a checklist, and more of things that were just happening without me being aware of them happening.
The next step, and the next step, and the next step
I recently watched a viral video of the NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang claim that he doesn't wear a watch because now is the most important time. I've been wary of that thinking, since it can induce a lot of anxiety: "I need to do something now", "I'm wasting my time", "Is this the best use of my time?". But combining the previous comment of embracing imperfection with the idea that you don't have ever to start, all you have to do is continue, was quite revealing.
“Big changes often happen indirectly, through the accumulation of tiny decisions. Continue what you’re doing, just do it better, rather than starting afresh every other day: the end result will be both more spectacular and sustainable. Don’t make a clean sweep, don’t wipe all your pieces off the board. Of course, it’s tempting. But surprise yourself, and keep the game going, instead of turning your back on it. You can always start again once it’s finished. For the time being, ask yourself what move is possible—even if it’s only a tiny one—in order to enjoy the game and make it interesting.”
We're often most overwhelmed by a pursuit before we undertake them, and existing pursuits sometimes go unnoticed. Infact, many people find a pursuit doesn't meet their expectation of it once they've started on it--and as Pourriol would say, suspend your judgement until you've began. And once you've begun, all you have to do is continue.
“The main error is to wait around doing nothing, holding your pen, or with your life on hold. Patience is a virtue, but there is a negative form of expectation—namely, expecting too much of yourself. Nothing grows through that kind of waiting. If you don’t know how you can get out of this kind of stagnation, do what Stendhal did: borrow your first sentence or your first action from someone else, and continue it. Continuing allows you to ride on other people’s momentum instead of having to use your own.”
Change is instantaneous, only letting go is gradual
“If you set out confidently your chances of achieving your goal are infinitely greater. A bit like in archery: an arrow that is fired cleanly has already hit the bull’s-eye; its flight is already accomplished at the instant it leaves the bow.” [...]
“To start out well is to end well, in the same movement. You mustn’t try. You must succeed the first time. And therefore, until you feel the presence of the endpoint, until you feel you’ve reached it, you can’t actually begin. You could, you should, but still you hesitate.”
“Stendhal’s great secret, his special trick, was to write straight off . . . This gave his writing a certain wide-awake, ‘got-it-first-time’ quality, something unexpected and sudden . . . If we hesitate, we are lost.” A profound remark. We do not hesitate because we are lost, but are lost because we hesitate.”