Overcoming the Paradox of “Easy.”
Photo by Matthias Speicher on Unsplash
Back when I was still working as a university administrator, I was tasked with finding an adjunct instructor for a course. With an abundance of talent out there, it’d be easy, right?
Wrong.
I didn’t have a lot of time before the class was to start. You also, ideally, need a pool of vetted people to choose from, which we didn’t have. Usually we would choose from current faculty who needed to make up a “unit” for whatever reason, but there was none, and no one wanted to take on an overload course.
“Why don’t you teach it?” one of the faculty suggested.
“Me?” It had never even occurred to me. I had taught a few independent studies or small group seminars over the years, but not a full graduate-level core course. I had taken the course myself - 20+ years ago.
“Sure, I’ll help you.”
And so, I ended up teaching Intercultural Communication. Fortunately I had a solid syllabus to work from. Still, it was a LOT of work up front, updating readings and assignments and simply remembering all the theories and information.
I remember my first day of class, stomach jumping with nervous excitement. It had been a long time since I was in front of a classroom full of people. It had been a long time, in fact, since I had stretched myself in such a way that I wondered if I’d even be able to pull it off.
I did, and taught that class, and others, for the next few years, until I moved on to other things. I loved it.
And it reminded me of a valuable lesson: growth comes only when we are working in our Stretch zone.
The “zone theory” goes something like this:
Comfort zone - we can coast along, not pushing ourselves too much. It feels, well, comfortable, but can lead to stagnancy.
Stretch zone - we push ourselves beyond what we know we can do. It feels uncomfortable, but we are learning new things and adding to our skills.
Crisis zone - we feel overwhelmed, panicked, unsafe. It’s too much for us to function.
Of course, sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between the Stretch zone and the Crisis zone. Stretch means “it’s probably doable, and it’s not going to kill me (literally or figuratively) if it doesn’t work out.”
It’s also important to remember that one person’s Stretch zone is another person’s Crisis zone. For me, running a marathon would be a Crisis - it’s too much. But for someone who regularly runs half-marathons, a full marathon is a logical next Stretch.
We usually feel most alive in our Stretch zone. The paradox is, we’re wired to operate in our Comfort zone. Daniel Kahneman breaks down our mental effort into two “systems”, 1 and 2.
System 1 is our default system. It’s all about leaping to conclusions, making assumptions, using your intuition, and acting on autopilot. A lot of the time this is fine: if I had to think through how to make my coffee every morning, I would be very grumpy indeed.
System 2 is more effortful. It’s slower, and uses more complex reasoning and analysis. We think things through, figure things out. However, it takes a LOT more energy.
Our brain doesn’t want to use this much energy, so we default to System 1 a lot (which is when leaping to conclusions, making excuses, etc., gets us into trouble).
What does this have to do with writing?
Where our brain goes, the body follows. If the brain thinks, “this writing stuff takes so much effort, and I just don’t have the energy today,” the odds of us actually writing are slim.
And writing is effortful. We’re constantly having to figure out what we want to say and how to say it. We’re learning our craft, taking bigger swings. Even if we come to the page with an idea of what we want to write, we still have to do a lot of work to actually get it down, and then revise it.
It’s easy to put it off until tomorrow, with the solid intention of doing it. Until tomorrow rolls around, and we’re just as tired, and use the same reasoning.
The problem? It keeps us in our Comfort zone. We never get around to making the effort to do something that feels hard but will bring great reward. Or we manage to do it once in a while, and think, “Wow! This feels great! I can’t believe I haven’t done it more often!”
And maybe that enthusiasm carries us along for a little while, then… we go back to easy again. And then we get discouraged, and think maybe we’re not really a writer after all.
So, how to keep ourselves willingly in the Stretch zone?
If we try to force ourselves - in neurological terms, to override the amygdala with the prefrontal cortex - it will work for a little while, but in the end it feels even harder. We need to use the energy to “force” ourselves to write, as well as the energy to write. And most of us know how that turns out: we can push it for a while, but then we burn out. We just don’t want to do it anymore.
But there is a 3-step process we can use to help us stay in the Stretch zone.
Clear goals - Have a clear overall goal in mind (to finish a novel). Have intermediate-term goals (to finish a chapter a week). Have a short-term goal (I will write 500 words in this writing session). The clearer the goals, the easier it is to imagine being able to do them. With this, make them doable but not so easy your brain thinks it’s not worth it. For example, 500 words may feel like a Crisis. 100 may feel not worth it. Maybe 250 is your perfect Stretch for the day.
Clear schedule - Showing up at the same time, on the same days, does wonders for evaporating your brain’s excuses. You just do it. Your brain gets used to the idea “at this time we write.” It’s a lot less effortful when you’re not deciding when you might have time to write that day, or that week. The writers in our Zoom group who show up day after day, week after week, make tremendous progress because they just do it. At the beginning of the week, I write down what my plan is for each day. Being able to see it makes it more real - and more likely I will follow through.
Clear Rewards - This is an often-overlooked part of the process. At least for me, and I think many other writers too. This can be as simple as a piece of chocolate after a writing session, to a new book after you meet your goals for a month, or a mini-vacation to celebrate finishing a whole novel.
Also included in this is REST. Allowing ourselves to relax after pushing through a Stretch Zone goal is crucial. If you’re constantly whipping yourself onward to do more, more, more, your brain will eventually balk like a tired horse. The creative brain responds to rest, to new forms of stimulation, to fun.
Once we’re in the Stretch zone, the creative energy takes over and pushes us beyond where we could have imagined. In order to get there, we either need outside encouragement (extrinsic motivation) or a structure that allows us to act with the least amount of friction (intrinsic motivation).
As we start this new year, take a look at your Goals, your Schedule, and your Rewards. How could you tweak them to stay in your Stretch zone? What other support might you need - an accountability partner? A coach?
Remember, it’s easy to fall into our Comfort zone. But the Stretch zone is where the magic happens.
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