The miracles of switching your approach or attitude

The for-result approach vs. The for-practice approach

The for-result approach: if you do something just to get a result, you don’t enjoy the work, you will be likely to get a disappointing result; you’ll always be in fear of losing or not having a result; you constantly have a need to protect something, a good feeling or your focus, etc. You thus easily create conflicts within and without. How much energy will be left for you to do the work?

Also, when you desperately want to get a result, the energy of desperation will be born in you. Desperation and enjoyment never go together. You feel a lack of energy. You may want to manipulate others to get what you want; this motive will meet with hatred and disappointment.

This is not a great way to manifest.

The for-practice approach: if your doing is a kind of practice, for practice, you do the work for the sake of the work. Your consciousness is always in the moment, in what you're working on. 

 As Eckhart Tolle said, enjoyment doesn’t come from work, but comes from opening to the present moment. Through working, you connect with the moment, with reality. Surrendering to this moment and suddenly you feel subtle energy enters you. This energy is what makes you fulfilled!

Working generates energy! Yes, you may be surprised to know this. Not focusing on an external reward or a result will give you the best result.

This phenomenon is written in the book Drive.

Harry Harlow, a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, and his colleagues conducted a 2-week experiment with 8 monkeys. The researchers created a puzzle. The puzzles then were placed in the monkeys’ cages.

The monkeys began playing with the puzzles with focus; they seemed to enjoy it. In a few days, they started figuring out how the contraptions worked. At the end of 2 weeks, the monkeys had become adapt with solving the puzzles.

The monkeys solved the puzzles simply because they found it gratifying to solve the puzzles. The enjoyment of solving the puzzles was the reward.

Then the researchers predicted that if the monkey were rewarded, with raisins, they would perform even better. When the researchers tested this prediction, surprisingly, the monkeys made more errors and solved the puzzles less frequently.

“Introduction of food in the present experiment served to disrupt performance, a phenomenon not reported in the literature.” Harlow then wrote.

You may know that the disruption of performance happened because the monkeys switched their attention from the present moment awareness (while solving the puzzles) to the rewards.

So do everything, however small, as for precious practice to enter this moment. Enjoy the doing and let the Universe deliver the result. You can’t be more powerful than the Universe.

The vast differences between the two approaches:

(1) In terms of life experience: Your experience changes immediately when you just remember to switch the approach!

With “for practice”, all obstacles suddenly become helpful to brighten your awareness; just as solving hard questions sharpens your mind. You welcome life!

With “for result”, just thinking about obstacles makes you feel fearful. The moment seems to be unbearable. You feel fearful of life. (What a terrible way to live!)

When you see obstacles as chances to practice, you will have adventures.

When you see obstacles as pain to avoid, you’re likely to stop your journey.

(2) In terms of results:

The for-practice motivation always gives you the best possible result and the feeling of satisfaction. On the contrary, the for-result motivation often gives you a mediocre result and the feeling of insecurity. Why is that so?

When you do something “for practice”, you naturally seek the most challenging way or the best way possible to do it. Thus you get the best result even beyond your imagination. And because you choose to do it the hardest way, not being forced to do so, you don’t feel resistant. You already have great satisfaction right at the time of “practicing”, regardless of the result. Just like running, you run not because of reaching the destination. You enjoy running. You feel satisfied with the process itself. Because of the fulfillment in each step, you will keep going anyway.

When you do something just to get a result: you want to choose the easiest way and always feel fearful about whether you get the desired result. Thus, you get a mediocre result.

“For practice”, you “already have it”!

“For result”, you’re always in lack.

(3) In terms of transformation, the for-practice approach also gives you an unparalleled advantage. If you take one difficult emotion or situation and sincerely practice transforming it, you will have peace in all similar situations you encounter later on. How nice!

But if you don’t take the time to truly transform it, you will have to deal with the same difficulty over and over again. You may have an illusion of feeling relieved between the two events, but it’s always there in your consciousness. You can see many people struggle with one issue for years, if not throughout their life.

In fact, the for-practice approach helps you tap into the source, while the for-result approach comes from the desperate ego. That is the reason why one approach makes you confident or ready in any situation while the other makes you frustrated, even if you live in comfort.

One approach makes you adventurous while the other makes you fearful.

One approach gives you freedom (and thus gives you everything) while the other puts you in bondage.