The only skill you need for a productive 2021 is juggling
By: Anuj Jaiswal
Tags: Life Lessons, Personal Growth, Life, Productivity, Personal Development

The easiest way for us to turn into a fanatic is by believing that somehow we control the outcome.

The only thing we can control is the process, not the outcome. The reverse has never worked for anyone in history, nor will.

This advice, like all the advice, was easy to give and much harder to act on in my own life.

But if there is something that has made this teaching very alive within me was learning to juggle.

I want to show you how juggling can help you be more productive. (Also who wouldn’t like few tricks in his sleeves?)

But first, let’s understand how hooking ourselves on the outcome kills our productivity.

The biggest enemy of productivity

Seth Godin is a marketing genius, he has been publishing a blog every day for 20 years. He has written 19 bestsellers without missing a deadline. So who would be better than Seth to explain to us the dangers of hooking on the outcome?

In his new book practice, Seth Godin writes,

“If we try to attach ourselves to the outcome, we will sacrifice the process.” and“The practice is its own reward.” The practice involves showing up.”

The problem of outcome-based action is not new, it seems we have been hooked to the outcome since our schools.

It started with a question to our teachers,

Will this be on the test?

What we meant was, we are willing to study for the test if our teachers are willing to trade the questions that will pop up in our exams.

This attitude of working only if the outcome is promised, for most people, has leaked in their minds and then flooded in every activity they do and has been the most productive destructive mindset of the 21 century.

Because if productivity is nothing but the output we give, and output is nothing but showing up to work, then the thing that stops us from doing the work is attachment to the outcome.

The goal-oriented approach makes our action insincere, and our process suffers.

When our process suffers, our work suffers which makes us anxious which leads to procrastination, and the cycle of doom gets repeated.

To counter this Seth gives an analogy of juggling, if one wants to learn juggling he/she needs to forget about catching and focus on perfecting throwing Instead.

Seth then talks about how he teaches people juggling so they can apply this lesson and learn it at a deeper level.

How juggling can help to be hooked on the process

When we see a juggler on a tv show or in person, what we notice is they don’t drop the ball, it’s a driving force of what makes them a juggler.

When we start learning to juggle, we do it all wrong. We throw the first ball, then the second ball, and then we lunge forward or backward to catch the first ball which makes us out of position to catch the second ball.

After some failed attempts at catching, we decide to give up on juggling.

We assume that juggling is all about catching and when we fail to catch, it means we are bad at juggling.

But Seth reminds us that learning to juggle is all about learning to throw, and he teaches us how to throw in this VIDEO.

He instructs us to spend anywhere between 20–30 minutes throwing the ball and letting it hit the ground, making an arc.

With the then second ball, same rule, throw the ball from other hand and let it hit the ground, throw drop- drop,

If we do this for 40 min total, we get really good at throwing and catching takes care of itself. And this teaches us how to divorce from the outcome because if we want to learn to juggle, all we have to do is learn to throw.

In the excitement of learning a new skill, I left all my work and started practice juggling with some lemon I found In my fridge. I spent 40 minutes throwing the lemon and without any concern for catching it.

At first, my hands itched to catch the ball as soon as I threw it, but after some time I was able to throw well.

And after 3o minutes of practicing throwing the ball and letting it hit on the ground, it finally happened!

I could finally juggle, without lunging, it was as if my hands would catch the ball without me trying to. It was like experiencing my hands do the magic by itself

Anyone who might have watched from outside might have thought that I was doing nothing but just throwing the ball, but that is the most crucial part the throwing part, once throwing is done the catching takes place by itself.

What Seth wanted to teach through juggling is our outcome-based approach is like our first attempt at learning to juggle. when we focus on catching Instead of throwing. We care more about the outcome, Instead of working on the process itself.

The throwing part is all we can control. all we can focus on corrective our throw so it makes a proper arc and gives it a proper elevation. if we manage to do the throwing right the catching will take place by itself.

That is we take care of the process, the outcome will happen by itself.

Ending Motivation

In 2021, lets promise ourselves, that we’ll spend less time thinking about the outcome and more time on working on the art we wish to create.

“The time we spend worrying is actually the time we’re spending trying to control something that is out of our control.”

In 2021, lets promise ourselves, that we will let our genius Ideas out in the world and not let them to die.

“Any idea withheld is an idea taken away.” — Seth

In 2021, lets promise ourseves, to produce work we are proud of by commiting ourselves to it.

“The practice is not the means to the output. The practice is the output because the practice is all we can control.” — Seth

In 2021, lets make this year the year, where we showed up to our work, even if we didn’t feel like doing it.

“Your work is too important to be left to how you feel today.” — Seth Godin

In 2021, lets promise ourselves, that no matter how far the destination might seem, that we will start from small.

“The only choice we have is to begin. And the only place to begin is where we are. Simply begin. But begin.” — Seth

In 2021, Lets promise ourselves, that even if our work doesn’t do well, we will keep learning and keep adapting our process instead of giving up.

“It’s hard to get blocked when you are moving, even if you’re not moving in the direction you had in mind that morning” — seth

In 2021, lets promise ourselves, that at the end of the year when we meet ourselves again, we’ll Identify oursleves as someone who shows up at practice everyday.