Value of uniqueness:
When I would take a spinning class, martial arts class, personal development program, yoga class, etc… I would learn different things from different teachers even though they were communicating 99% the same thing. We each learn in different ways and resonate with different words and methods. Some learn by watching, some by reading, some by feeling, some by listening.
What is your best way of learning? More importantly, do you know what is the best way you learn. I have a sense of how I learn best, but it has taken many years to figure it out. The first step is to think about it. I will readily admit that I didn’t think about things like this until I started struggling.
Because of my ADHD, it takes me a long time to read. I’ll get halfway down a page and then be thinking of something else that one of the words, sentences, ideas, visions, … really almost anything, the material might convey. And then I have to stop and re-read the material. This might happen a number of times. Sometimes I’ll read an entire page and then have to start again at the top. Maybe a few times. I try to recognize that and pay attention to what is trying to push itself to my awareness to deal with. So I find listening to audio and watching videos can be easier for me. But I actually like reading so, for me, I have learned to do a bit of all of them. The point is to pay attention to the ways you learn. You are unique. Your teachers are unique. The interactions are unique.
I’ve found the Martial Elements system I have created for myself, to be a useful foundation and structure from which to navigate my life. There are tools to get me where I want to go and allow me to get there the way I want to do it. Letting me live happily in the moment. And once the activity gets mundane or lacks the fun and excited feeling, I have built in ways to allow it to change. I love structure. And I am also bored by it. I don’t get anything accomplished when I lack structure. And I also stop putting energy into things that I like because they’ve become too repetitive.
That is one reason I love martial arts and specifically, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It has a structure but is always flowing, evolving and unique in the moment. In class, you learn a technique or string of techniques and you practice and repeat them a number of times. It will feel different with every partner you train with as they have different sizes, weights, skill levels, and personal spirit/attitude/energy. And then when you move to live rolling/sparring, you really learn the ins and outs of your own strengths and weaknesses.
Same thing with Yoga. I predominantly do Hot Yoga that follows the 26 and 2 method. That is the 26 poses and two breathing exercises that make up the system founded by Bikram Choudhury. Some studios follow the exact structure and wording laid out by Bikram and some have evolved it by using slightly different wording and cues. Each teacher brings a different energy and their own uniqueness comes through in what they emphasize. I have my favorite teachers and those that aren’t. Even those teachers that aren’t my favorite have taught me invaluable lessons. For example, a teacher that I find kind of easy and a bit too woo woo for my general goals for yoga, taught me a small tweak to the pose “balancing stick” when clasping hands together that no other teacher mentioned. I found that by holding the hands more firmly together than I normally do, really helped with my balance and stability.
In my experience, I have learned to value uniqueness in many different areas. Both for myself and for those I connect with in my life.
“You are valuable and important to the universe because of your uniqueness.”
Seth