You know those parts in movies where a blasting soundtrack comes on and the hero trains and progresses in about two minutes from zero to superstar? I’m thinking the Rocky Balboa training sequences (or any other boxing movie for that matter) or the limitless Eddie Morra sequence where he finishes his book, learns piano, some languages, and a bunch of other stuff in synch to a Black Keys banger.
Real-life doesn’t work like that of course. It’s often hard to get motivated long enough and push oneself hard enough to make big progress on skills. In turn, it’s easy to drop the ball when results don’t come quickly. It’s easy to go watch some Netflix instead.
There’s a scene in the book Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, which probably would end up as a compilation should the book ever turn into a movie. Musashi is kept a prisoner in a castle. The room he finds himself in is small and dark. The only thing of interest in it is lots of books about strategy, warfare, and philosophy. A monk put him there to pay for his sins but also to learn. Musashi would stay years in this room, studying and training his body, until his sentence is finished. He returns a different man. He returns as a rough but capable Ronin.
This scene stuck with me because it wasn’t a compilation. No banging soundtrack, no quick two-minute sequence. The scene was dragging on a bit and making no real secret of the fact that reading and training was the only thing Musashi could do in his cell. Less of the sparks and more of real life.
It reminds me of the situation I find myself in these days. It’s the start of 2021, Germany is still under heavy lockdown due to Covid-19. I live in a small apartment and although I have all the comfort I need as well as the freedom to walk outside, I see some similarities to the scenes described above.
There’s not much to do. Everything used to socialize or entertain oneself is closed. I work from home and only meet more than one person through a digital screen. If I meet someone it’s to walk and talk or to drink tea or coffee at our homes. Entertainment is mostly found on a screen as well. Thanks to the internet there are plenty of options.
However, couldn’t this be compilation material? What if you would learn a new skill or train your body during all those months of lockdown? Because of lacking social events and commuting there is suddenly more time available each day for these things. There are also fewer distractions (if you can keep Netflix at bay). In some way, these are almost ideal conditions to get your habits on point and develop yourself further.
I for my part started learning to code. I also increased my reading and exercise regime. Lastly, I decided to write regularly again. I might as well be fitter and more knowledgeable coming out of this lockdown than going into it. Lockdown will end and I want to step out of my apartment a bit like Musashi, fit and prepared for the next chapters.
How would you feel in a couple of weeks and months, if you raise from lockdown fit, maybe with new language skills or a finished personal project, while others have waited for life to return to normal?
I’m pretty sure it would be great compilation material.