Improvement

I’ve noticed a counterintuitive fact about improvement most obviously from two activities: exercise and singing. And that fact is this:

The thing that you’re thinking is the obstacle to your improvement, that you need to deal with before you can start getting better: dealing with that obstacle is the improvement itself.

When I started running, I used to have a blocked / inflamed nose that made it impossible to breathe efficiently. So I’d have to breathe through my mouth, drying out my throat. Eventually, though, my nose cleared, and not only was I able to breathe more easily while running, I could breathe more easily in general.

Even many years into singing, I would consistently sing notes 30+ cents sharp, perhaps because early on it was difficult for me to project over my harmonium. I had to go back and retrain every single note, singing into a tuner as my voice wavered wildly.

When I got back into the gym with some level of consistency with the gym after COVID, I initially only went a couple of times per week. Eventually I developed pain in both shoulders. Thanks to my trainer, I learned some exercises that helped, but it wasn’t until almost a year later that I resolved to dedicate every session to hammering this weak point, until they got better. After about a month, the pain was gone.

When singing (or at the gurudwara), you’re supposed to sit cross-legged on the floor. I would force myself to sit cross-legged, let my feet fall asleep, wake them up, repeatedly. After about six months to a year of this, I’m now able to sit cross-legged, pain free. I was convinced I’d never perform for long periods again, and now an hour passes, with the pain lessened to the point where I barely notice it, and I’m able to stand and walk after, where before I would have to sit and massage my feet. The body adjusts.

It took so long for me to nail the basics, but once I finally did, my rate of improvement skyrocketed. Dealing with the obstacle to improvement is improving.