Mental Frameworks and Classroom Learning đ´
Kobe Bryant's alter ego and learning yoga with a 59-year old teacher
Hey learners,
I was reading this article on mental frameworks yesterday which talks about the mindset of the most successful and interesting people in the world.
âThe highest-performers don't use "tricks" or "hacks" to achieve greatness. They use mental frameworks that fundamentally change the way they see the world.â
While success is subjective, the stories shared in the post are powerful. I share two of them below:
.focus on process over outcome
Monica Aldama is the head coach of Navarro Junior College, which boasts one of the best college cheer programs in the country. She is a no-bullshit leader who repeats one sentence over and over again regardless if you failed or nailed the stunt â âDo it again.â She seeks out the obscure details that make up our daily routines, improving them by small increments, and repeating the habits until they stick. Her motto is: âYou keep going until you get it right, and then you keep going until you canât get it wrong.â
.create alter egos when you have to perform
NBA legend Kobe Bryant created his "Black Mamba" alter ego as a way to get through the lowest point of his career. His nickname was inspired by the movie "Kill Bill," in which the snake, known for its agility and aggressiveness, was used as a code name for a deadly assassin. "The length, the snake, the bite, the strike, the temperament," he said. "That's me!'" At a time when people were chanting "Kobe sucks," while he was playing, Bryant said that using an alter ego gave him emotional distance from his real self. "I was able to switch my mind to something else," he says. "When I make the mental switch [to the Black Mamba], I know it's 'go time.'"
"The most important things canât be taught, they must be learned. Just because you canât be taught what you need doesnât mean you can absolve yourself from learning. You can learn the principles but you canât learn the patience. You can copy the answer but not the understanding and confidence. These you need to learn on your own."
On Classroom LearningâŚ.
I started doing yoga 2 years ago after attending a few in-person classes and then followed through with youtube videos.
During the lockdown, I finished many yoga courses including a 200-hour teacher training. My yoga philosophy knowledge certainly increased but I saw little improvements in my asana practice.
Last month, I had a chance to attend a yoga class in Varkala, Kerala with a 59-year old hatha yoga teacher. He was phenomenal. In just 90 minutes, he taught me more than I had learned in the last 6 months and stretched my body in ways that seemed unthinkable before.
Having a teacher physically present comforted me as he corrected my mistakes and taught me alternate poses.
I read one of his reviews online, which said, âIn just 10 days, the teacher helped me make improvements equivalent to what I did alone in the last 2 years.â
The made me think about the value of in-person teaching. The internet cannot and should not replace classroom teaching.
Personally, I would rather prefer to be in a physical class than on Zoom (unless thereâs a pandemic going on lol).
I say this mostly for non-digital skills. The environment matters a lot.
What style of learning do you prefer - online or offline?
I think the ideal teaching method is a hybrid of both. Imagine a school with access to the best teachers from around the world online paired with an in-person session run by expert facilitators.
P.S.
If youâre looking to take on some new courses, hereâs a list of last yearâs Most Popular Free Online Courses.
My daily Instagram average was 1h 30 min last month so Iâve deleted the app for February and only checking it for a few mins daily on the browser.
If you want to cut back on your screen time, check out this guide on How To Start a Digital Detox.
Being in control of how you use tech is a secret superpower.
Thatâs all for this week, folks!
If you have any feedback or comments on what youâd like to read more of, Iâd love to hear from you, just hit reply :)