“Discipline is wisdom, and vice versa.” - M. Scott Peck
Throughout January we’ve explored what it takes to create change. We reviewed the importance of building a compelling vision for the future, one that is aligned with our needs and values. When this vision is palpable it becomes a beacon that shines brightly on our horizon. To make that vision a reality we need a spark, some type of friction that gets us moving forward. Friction is created when we contrast our current reality with what we want to achieve. By objectively assessing the obstacles that stand in the way of realizing our future, we spark movement in one of two directions. If we have the resources and skills to overcome the obstacles, we design a plan and forge ahead. If the obstacles seem overwhelming, we scale our vision to make it more accessible. Either way, contrasting a vision with our resources, skill level, and strengths generates the spark needed to get us moving.
This process is the recipe many of us follow to initiate change. But while it creates energy, excitement, and focus, it rarely brings us to the finish line. In fact, it can be the reason we fall short of realizing our dreams. Relying on these two steps exclusively is like starting a car, shifting into drive, and stepping on the gas with your hands off the steering wheel. The car will most certainly move ahead but will inevitably crash. To make our visions a reality, we need our hands on the wheel and our eyes on the road to keep moving in the right direction. That is, we need to know how to direct our energy—when to go straight ahead, when to change speed, how to work around detours and get back on the road when we get sidetracked. Although change starts with the knowledge of both our destination and our current location, arrival is dependent on how well we navigate the road between those two points.
In our culture, we define the energy needed for change as “willpower”. We are taught at an early age that hard work, determination, and discipline are the keys to success. Collectively, we define willpower as a show of strength, an ability to stay focused, the self-discipline needed to resist temptations and distractions. But herein lies a darker, implicit message: failure is a result of a lack of effort, an underlying sense that one did not try hard enough, or wasn’t disciplined enough. The consequences of valuing willpower run deep, such as when we judge people who are overweight as lacking control and poor people as lazy. On an individual level, willpower leaves no room for compassion as it allows only one explanation for failure: our own shortcomings. It is a toxic concept that sets us up for a lifetime of shame, guilt, and, over time, dampens our motivation to build a life of meaning and hope.
Change is difficult and requires much more than hard work and determination. Creating the changes necessary to bring a vision to life is a step-by-step process in which making one small change paves the way for another, moving us incrementally toward our future. Each step requires a specific set of skills, resources, and task related knowledge. We practice these skills until they become effortless. Only then are we ready to move on to the next step. To illustrate, consider what needs to happen before running a marathon. If you are not a runner, you most likely would not expect to run 26.2 miles without training. Preparing for a such a long run calls for a methodical approach that starts months before the event. First, you need to learn running mechanics. Once your body has adjusted to the impact of running, the next step is to build endurance. Only when you have mastered the first two steps can you focus on increasing speed. Skipping through any of these steps will most likely result in injury. The same approach is required for realizing our visions; we need a plan that details the incremental steps necessary to reach our destination. Each step in our plan requires mastery of a specific set of skills before we can move forward to the next. This is a steady and consistent approach to change which requires energy that lasts over time. To be transformed, we need to develop the endurance that enables us to stay in the slow burn of intention as we move toward our vision of the future.
We can look to yoga for the type of effort and discipline required for the long haul. We find this effort in tapas, which translates as “heat” in Sanskrit. In yoga, fire represents the power of transformation; tapas is the practice of enduring the discomfort of heat so that we emerge transformed with greater clarity and understanding of our purpose. Although frequently associated with burning off impurities and leading a life of austerity, tapas is a not a practice of extremes, but one of balancing our energy between the containment of discipline and the release of freedom. Clarity is the goal of tapas, which helps us choose actions that keep us on the right path so we don’t get sidetracked. By practicing tapas, we build endurance to the discomfort that is experienced from the heat of transformation, strengthening our resolve so that we can gradually make our way to our destination.
How do we generate tapas? The heat generated in tapas is different from that of Sun Salutations, which are invigorating and energizing. Yoga places the fire of tapas in the area surrounding the navel, in the vicinity of our digestive organs, where we physically transform food into energy through the heat of digestion. I encourage you to approach your practice with a spirit of exploration, discovering how you can gently stretch the edges of your endurance. To practice tapas, ask if you can stay in the heat just one more second, one more breath. Know that staying in the challenge of the moment brings you closer to the next level, gently moving you in the direction of positive change.
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